Henry J. Savage

Age 21, a printer by trade, he enlisted in Wilmington, DE on 20 September 1861 and mustered there on 24 September as a Private in Company G, First Delaware Infantry.

He was wounded by a gunshot to his left hand in action at Antietam on 17 September 1862. More than 20 years later he told a horrific story about his experience there:

... After [firing] eleven rounds, the writer [Savage] was wounded and ordered to the rear. While retreating in good order, but making most excellent time, his route led him through a portion of the Irish Brigade. Here he saw a sight that capped the climax of horror. A member of that brigade was aimlessly stumbling around with both eyes shot out, begging some one, ‘for the love of God,’ to put an end to his misery. A lieutenant of the 4th N.Y.* was passing by, and seeing the poor fellow’s condition and hearing his appeal, he halted before him and asked him if he really meant what he said. ‘O, yes, comrade,’ was the reply, ‘I cannot possibly live, and my agony is unendurable.’ Without another word the officer drew his pistol, placed it to the victim’s right ear, turned away his head, and pulled the trigger. A half wheel, a convulsive gasp, and one more unfortunate had passed over to the silent majority. ‘It was better thus,’ said the lieutenant, replacing his pistol and turning toward the writer, ‘for the poor fellow could—‘ Just then a solid shot took the lieutenant’s head off, and the subsequent proceedings interested him no more.

Henry was treated in a field hospital near the battlefield. He was listed as a deserter "while on the march" on 28 June 1863, but had fallen behind his unit earlier and had been under medical care at Camp Convalescent in Alexandria, VA (the charge of desertion was later removed). He returned to duty and was sick in a hospital by the end of July. He was discharged for disability due to heart disease on 1 October 1863 and was granted a veteran's disability pension in April 1864.

Then a printer in Philadelphia, PA, he was admitted as a resident to the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers at Milwaukee, WI on 26 November 1868 and was discharged at his own request in June 1870. He returned to Philadelphia, but had frequent stays in the Home afterward (1871-1879, 1883-85, 1887-88, 1889-90) being dishonorably discharged each but the final time. He died there of "haemoptisis" (coughing up blood) on 3 December 1890.

His service from his Compiled Service Records,1 online from fold3. The story quoted above from a piece he contributed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel of 9 February 1884 (during one of his stays in the Soldiers Home). Personal details from the US Census of 1870 and the Registers.2 His gravesite is on Findagrave.

He was married to Mary E (?) and she lived in Smyrna, DE when he was a resident of the Home.

* I have found no Lieutenant in the 4th New York Infantry killed at Antietam, by cannonball or otherwise. Given Savage's "incorrigible" behavior at the Home, it is possible that he invented all or part of the story. I include it here, as it is found online and in print as an example of a "mercy killing" at Antietam.

c. 1840; Kent County, MD

12/03/1890; Milwaukee, WI; burial in Wood National Cemetery, Milwaukee, WI