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Commanding Officers on the Sharpsburg Campaign:
Lt. E. S. McCarthy*
Lt. R.M. Anderson
Arms:
2 6-pdr. Gun
This Battery's Chain of Command:
Army - Army of Northern Virginia
Corps - Longstreet's Command
Division - McLaws' Division
Brigade - McLaws' Division Artillery
Unit history
"Organized by George Wyeth Randolph, the grandson of Thomas Jefferson, at the time of John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia, the Richmond Howitzers grew into a battalion of three companies by 1861. An elite unit, the Howitzers served with distinction from 1st Manassas to Appomattox."
(from Richmond Howitzers)
On the Sharpsburg Campaign
Attached to Barksdale's Brigade shortly before the campaign, this battery was severely undermanned and was equipped only with 2 6-pounder guns.
* Their senior Lieutenant, Edward S McCarthy, and other men of the battery were probably left behind in Richmond.
Statistics
Initial Strength: 33; Killed in Action (KIA): 1; Wounded (WIA): 1;
Losses, % of Initial Strength: 6.1%
Maps Showing this Unit
Detail Map #4: Greene's High-Water Mark in the West Woods (9am-noon)
Detail Map #5: Sedgwick is Flanked in the West Woods (9-10am)
Battlefield Tablet for this Unit
Tablet #357: McLaws' Division, Longstreet's Command - 16 Sep, 11 AM to 18 Sep, 9 PM
References & Notes
Johnson and Anderson1 have the battery equipped with a pair of 10-pounder Parrott rifles and 2 6-pounders, but estimated the 6 pounders had been left behind in Leesburg, VA. Wallace2 says that the battery had turned in all their guns in August 1862 and had only received a pair of 6-pounders before marching on the Maryland Campaign. Carman3 notes the service of those 2 6-pounders at Sharpsburg. Thanks to Jim Rosebrock for helping clarify that situation.
We have 5 individuals in the AotW database who were on the Maryland Campaign with this unit:
| Co. | Rank | Name | Casualty? | Details* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | Lt | Anderson, Robert Meriwether |  | |
| -- | Lt | McCarthy, Edward Stephens |  | |
| -- | Corp | McCarthy, Jr., Daniel Stephens | | |
| -- | Pvt | Morrison, M. | KIA 09/17 | |
| -- | Pvt | Wingo, Charles Evans | WIA 09/17 | |
* If there's a symbol in the Details column ... - We have a picture for this person - We have details beyond name and rank
Click on their last name to see more
1 Johnson, Curt, and Richard C. Anderson, Artillery Hell: Employment of Artillery at Antietam, College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1995, pg. 87 [AotW citation 21864]
2 Wallace, Lee A., The Richmond Howitzers, Lynchburg (Va): H.E. Howard, Inc., 1993, p. 20 [AotW citation 35008]
3 Carman, Ezra Ayers, and Dr. Thomas G. Clemens, editor, The Maryland Campaign of September 1862, 3 volumes, El Dorado Hills (CA): Savas Beatie, 2010-17, Vol. 2, p. 199 [AotW citation 35015]