Tuesday, October 22, 1861
The Twentieth Massachusetts suffered a devastating blow to their ranks at Ball’s Bluff. The regiment reported 87 killed or wounded and 111 captured, for a total of 198 casualties, a loss of approximately one-third of the regiment.
The casualties among the officers were catastrophic. The high command of the regiment were captured and taken prisoner by the Confederates. Colonel William R. Lee, Major Paul Revere, Adjutant Charles Peirson, and Assistant Surgeon E.H.R. Revere, as well as First Lieutenant George Perry of Company D, were reported captured. Major Revere was also wounded.
Among the officers killed were Second Lieutenant Reinhold Wesselhoeft of Company C, Second Lieutenant William Lowell Putnam of Company E, and Captain Alois Babo of Company G.
Among the officers wounded were First Lieutenant Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. of Company A, Captain Ferdinand Dreher of Company D, Captain George Schmidt and First Lieutenant James Lowell of Company E, and Captain John Putnam of Company H.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 59-61.
Showing posts with label Reinhold Wesselhoeft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reinhold Wesselhoeft. Show all posts
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
A Tragic Outcome for Two Friends
Monday, October 21, 1861
As the terrible events of Ball's Bluff unfolded, and the men of the Twentieth Massachusetts lined up along the Virginia side of the Potomac River, they were faced with the choice of swimming across the river or finding boats along the river bank to carry them across. Many of those that could swim made the attempt, and those that could not remained on the river bank. Either choice was equally perilous. Captain Alois Babo of Company G and his friend Second Lieutenant Reinhold Wesselhoeft of Company C attempted to swim. As they navigated the rough current of the Potomac River Captain Babo was shot by the pursuing Confederates lined along the heights of Ball's Bluff. In a valiant effort Lieutenant Wesselhoeft tried to save his friend from drowning but tragically he drowned in the attempt. Nearly two weeks later Lieutenant Wesselhoeft's lifeless body washed ashore nearly twenty miles downstream.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 55.
As the terrible events of Ball's Bluff unfolded, and the men of the Twentieth Massachusetts lined up along the Virginia side of the Potomac River, they were faced with the choice of swimming across the river or finding boats along the river bank to carry them across. Many of those that could swim made the attempt, and those that could not remained on the river bank. Either choice was equally perilous. Captain Alois Babo of Company G and his friend Second Lieutenant Reinhold Wesselhoeft of Company C attempted to swim. As they navigated the rough current of the Potomac River Captain Babo was shot by the pursuing Confederates lined along the heights of Ball's Bluff. In a valiant effort Lieutenant Wesselhoeft tried to save his friend from drowning but tragically he drowned in the attempt. Nearly two weeks later Lieutenant Wesselhoeft's lifeless body washed ashore nearly twenty miles downstream.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 55.
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