The National Guard and the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

Left: Georgia Army National Guard Sgt. Shane Obanion, pauses for a picture with a patriotic citizen before participating in the Olympic Torch Relay
near Fort McPherson. Obanion is  member of the National Guard marathon team.  Photo by Spc. Jeff Lowry. Right: Opening ceremonies of the
Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games. Photo by Sgt. Thomas Meeks.

On July 19, 1996, the opening ceremony of the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta welcomed more than 10,000 athletes from nearly 200 nations.[1]  Nearly 14,000 National Guardsmen from 47 states supported the Olympic Games in the largest National Guard peacetime support mission of the 20th Century.[2] Citizen Soldiers and Airmen of the National Guard worked with civilian volunteers as well as state and federal agencies supporting Olympic events from the Tennessee border to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Lieutenant General Edward D. Baca, chief of the National Guard Bureau addresses Georgia National Guardsmen of the 190th Military Police Company
before the start of their duty day. Photo by Staff Sgt. Gail Parnelle

Securing the Games

Preparations began shortly after the International Olympic Commission announced the awarding of the Olympic Games to Atlanta in September 1990. Initial plans called for the activation of 2,000 to 3,000 Georgia Guardsmen and assignment of 8,000 Army Soldiers to bolster civilian security efforts; however, the Department of Defense General Counsel ruled that the use of active military personnel in security roles might violate the Posse Comitatus Act which limits the use of federal military forces in law enforcement activities.[3] The security gap would ultimately be filled by the National Guard and its Citizen Soldiers and Airmen. Initially, National Guard personnel were to be mobilized in state active-duty status; however, due to myriad state laws, NGB authorized the use of annual training status which cleared the way for all participating states to equally fund their assigned units.[4]

 

Under the direction of Maj. Gen. William P. Bland, Georgia’s Adjutant General, The Georgia National Guard established two task forces: TF Centennial Guard and TF 165.

 

ATLANTA, July 31, 1996 – Sergeant 1st Class Randall Webb of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 121st Infantry Regiment directs visitors to events near the
Georgia Dome during the Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games. Photo by Staff Sgt. Gail Parnelle.

TF Centennial Guard

Aviation support, equipment and facility use, liaison and venue security were key mission elements of TF Centennial, commanded by Ga. ARNG Col. Robert Hughes. Task Force Centennial Guard established military venue officers to liaise with law enforcement and augment venue security. Base support officers helped coordinate support for National Guard personnel from other states who would provide critical support to security operations. Over the course of the Olympic Games, more than 11,000 National Guard personnel were assigned to TF Centennial with a peak strength of 7,000.[5]

 

An air crew of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 148th Medical Company (Air Ambulance). Conducts a medical evacuation training exercise in support of
the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta in July 1996. photo by Spc. Jeff Lowry.

National Guard aviation assets were key to TF Centennial Guard. Guard aviators provided aerial reconnaissance to help coordinate traffic flow on the ground and stood ready to provide medical evacuation in the event of an emergency. Aviators from Arizona, Indiana, New Mexico and Tennessee joined Georgia Guardsmen in flying more than 600 mission hours in 22 aircraft, in addition to 700 hours in the days preceding the Games.[6]

 

In addition to the federal missions, TF Centennial Guard fielded two missions at the direction of the Governor of Georgia. These state active-duty missions were Team Hotel and TF 121.

 

ATLANTA, July 1996 – Georgia Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Patrick McNaughton of Company H, 121st Infantry,
Long Range Surveillance Unit checks security points and ensures his Soldiers have food and water for the day’s duties
during the Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games. Photo by Staff Sgt. Fred Baker

Team Hotel was a 275-member special unit of Georgia Guardsmen tasked to secure the Olympic Village from July 1 to August 5, 1996. Team Hotel was comprised of Company H, 121st Infantry Regiment, Long Range Surveillance Unit; 178th Military Police Company and the 190th MP Company.[7] 

 

Following the bombing of Centennial Olympic Park, TF 121 was established to augment security at Olympic venues across the state. The task force was composed of more than 450 Georgia Guardsmen of the 48th Infantry Brigade, recently returned from a Fort Irwin National Training Center mobilization. Units of the 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment with units based in Winder, Gainesville, Covington, Lawrenceville, Eatonton and Milledgeville were supplemented by cavalry scouts of the Griffin-based Troop E, 108th Cavalry and received training at the Georgia State Patrol Training Center in Forsyth, Ga. They performed security operations in conjunction with Soldiers of the Indiana National Guard operating metal detectors and staffing baggage check stations.[8]

 

TF 165

ATLANTA, July, 1996 – Georgia Air National Guard Major
Randy Scamihorn goes over security requirements with Olympic volunteer
Debra Johnson. Georgia National Guard photo by TSgt. Rick Cowan

Task Force 165 was commanded by Georgia Air National Guard Col. Steve Westgate, commander of the 165th Airlift Wing. In addition to providing military support for Olympic events in the Savannah vicinity, TF 165 established satellite communication networks in support of events statewide. Leading the communications effort was the 283rd Communications Squadron along with personnel and equipment from the 117th Air Control Squadron and 224th Joint Communication Support Squadron. [9]

 

The Ga. ANG’s Combat Readiness Training Center in Savannah hosted 600 U.S. Coast Guard personnel who supported Olympic marina events. The CRTC and other base camps of TF 165 offered medical, transportation and laundry services 24 hours a day throughout the games.[10]

Perhaps the greatest challenge faced by TF 165 was the approach of Hurricane Bertha which prompted the evacuation of personnel and athletes from the Olympic marina on July 10, 1996. Events were delayed two days until the track of Hurricane Bertha carried it away from the Georgia Coast.[11] 

 

Department of Defense Support

The National Guard Bureau coordinated personnel and equipment resources for the Centennial Olympic Games that were beyond Georgia’s capability. A primary contributor was the 38th Infantry Division with units from Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Major General Robert Mitchell, commander of the 38th Infantry Division recalled the Olympic mission.

 

“The real value of (the Olympics mission) was the performance of the individual Guardsman,” said Mitchell. “Each was a true ambassador of goodwill representative of the games.”[12] 

 

Colonel Walter Corish, commander of the Ga. ANG, speaks with Army National Guard Soldiers of the 38th Infantry Division during operations supporting the
Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta in July 1996. Georgia National Guard Archives.

The U.S. Army Forces Command established a joint task force to coordinate all federal support to the Olympic Games by the Department of Defense. Commanded by Maj. Gen. Robert Hicks, Joint Task Force Olympics received and approved support requests, provided support to 10 base camps and assisted in the transportation of military personnel from base camps to Olympic venues. The JTFO tasked the Army’s 24th Corps Support Group to convert an abandoned Delta Airlines hangar into a main billeting area for Guardsmen. More than 4,000 Guardsmen and other military personnel stayed at the facility throughout the games.[13] 

 

Major General Hicks praised the efforts of the National Guard at the end of Olympic support operations.

 

“All National Guard members performed superbly,” said Hicks. “The world focused on our country as the host of the Olympic Games, and it was the National Guard Soldiers and Airmen who made it possible to host the largest peacetime event in history.”[14]

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[1] Jere Longman. “ATLANTA 1996: THE GAMES BEGIN; In Atlanta, Festivities Touched by Sorrow.” The New York Times, July 19, 1996 B13.

 

[2] Georgia National Guard. After Action Report Operation Centennial Guard: June 1, 1996-August 26, 1996. NP, Dec 20, 1996, 1.

 

[3] Georgia National Guard. After Action Report Operation Centennial Guard: June 1, 1996-August 26, 1996. 5.

 

[4] Georgia National Guard. After Action Report Operation Centennial Guard: June 1, 1996-August 26, 1996. 5.

 

[5] Georgia National Guard. 1996 Olympic Games Executive Summary. ND, NP, 2.

 

[6] Georgia National Guard. 1996 Olympic Games Executive Summary. 2.

 

[7] Fred Baker and Thomas Meeks. “Team Hotel Protects Olympic Athletes.” The Georgia Guardsman, Summer 1996, 19-22.

 

[8] Susan Kirkland. “Bombing Gives Guardsmen Double Duty.” The Georgia Guardsman. Summer 1996, 12.

 

[9] Wendy Thompson. “GSU’s Provide Communication Link.” The Georgia Guardsman. Summer 1996, 28.

 

[10] Wendy Thompson. “Task Force 165 a Huge Success.” The Georgia Guardsman, Summer 1996, 26-27.

 

[11] Georgia National Guard. 1996 Olympic Games Executive Summary. 1.

 

[12] Georgia National Guard. 1996 Olympic Games Executive Summary. 5.

 

[13] Toby Moore. “’A Massive Job’ The Guard’s Olympic Involvement.” The Georgia Guardsman, Summer 1996, 4-5.

[14] Georgia National Guard. 1996 Olympic Games Executive Summary. 5.

Profiles in Georgia National Guard Leadership: Col. Sheftall Coleman Jr.

 By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

On July 12, 1958, Major Sheftall Coleman Jr., World War II flying ace and second-generation Georgia Guardsman assumed command of the Georgia Air National Guard’s 158^th Fighter Squadron in Savannah, Ga. The son of Col. Sheftall Coleman Sr. who commanded the 118^th Field Artillery Regiment in the years leading up to World War II, Coleman Jr. served in two wars and led the 158^th through a critical time in its history.

Col. Sheftall Coleman Sr. Commander, 118th FAR.

Early Life and Father’s Service

Sheftall Coleman Jr. was born Feb. 5, 1922 to Sheftall Sr. and Inez Coleman of Savannah. The younger Sheftall grew up with military service as a constant in his life. The elder Coleman, a 1912 graduate of Oglethorpe Business College had enlisted in the Republican Blues, Company M, 1st Georgia Infantry February 24, 1908 and had risen to the rank of sergeant before commissioning as a second lieutenant June 24, 1916.[1] Lieutenant Coleman mobilized with the 1^st Georgia to the Mexican Border in 1916 and upon returning in 1917 was promoted to 1^st lieutenant. He served stateside through World War I[2] and upon reorganization of the Georgia National Guard field artillery in 1921 was commissioned a captain in Headquarters Company, 1^st Field Artillery. Five years later, he was appointed major and placed in command of the 1^st Battalion 118^th Field Artillery in Savannah. Promotion to lieutenant colonel followed in 1926. After a stint as executive officer of the 118^th Field Artillery Regiment, Coleman was promoted to colonel and placed in command of the 118^th May 30, 1931 upon the retirement of Col. Walter R. Neal.[3]

The younger Coleman grew up with his father’s military influence in a multi-generational household that included his grandparents Ernest and Elizabeth Mickler. The extended family provided continuity for the Coleman family as Col. Coleman attended to his military duties. Coleman Jr. attended Sacred Heart elementary School and later Benedictine High School. Tragedy struck the Coleman family when Inez died Dec. 29, 1935.

In 1940, on the eve of World War II, the elder Coleman remained in command of the 118^th Field Artillery Regiment and was employed as a senior field deputy with the state unemployment office. The younger Coleman, while still in high school, worked as an excavator for the National Park Service.[4]

World War II

On Sept. 16, 1940, Col. Coleman and the 118^th FAR were called to active federal service. The younger Coleman completed one year of college before enlisting in the Army Air Corps April 2, 1942. He completed his flying training at Luke Field, Ariz. and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He was mobilized to the European Theater and flew the P-51 Mustang on fighter escort missions and was severely wounded during an engagement in 1944. Lieutenant Coleman received the Distinguished Flying Cross for actions over enemy territory Aug 25, 1944. The award was presented for:

“Outstanding courage and flying skill in vigorously pressing home an attack upon superior numbers of enemy aircraft. In the face of overwhelming odds, he exhibited remarkable calm and aggressive tactical technique and was successful in the destruction of one of the hostile planes while assisting in the dispersal of the remainder.”

In the course of 120 combat missions, Coleman shot down seven enemy aircraft and assisted in the destruction of an eighth. His victories were reaped against ME 109s, FW 190s He 111s and JU 88s. Coleman left active duty at the end of World War II with the rank of major.

Georgia National Guard Service

Maj. Sheftall Coleman Jr. 

In February 1947, Coleman joined the Georgia National Guard’s 158^th Fighter Squadron.[5] He served during the Korean War in a classified assignment and returned to Georgia following the conflict. On June 7, 1952, Coleman and his wife Sara welcomed son Michael Eugene Coleman into the world.[6]

In August 1954, Capt. Coleman was one of five pilots of the 158^th brought on active duty for stand-by
service at Travis Field in support of American air defense.[7] He remained on active duty through the remainder of 1954.[8]

Major Coleman was alerted for an unscheduled mission in Sept. 1956. While on runway alert duty at Travis Field, Coleman received the order to launch on an intercept mission. A radio control target aircraft had flown out of the range of its controller on the Fort Stewart antiaircraft range. The controller was unable to get the target aircraft to respond and the 350-pound drone continued flying at 230 miles per hour. Coleman received coordinates for the drone after take-off and directed his F-84 Thunderjet on an intercept course. Coleman was prepared to shoot down the drone to prevent it from crashing in a populated area. For more than an hour Coleman shadowed the drone as it flew erratically through the skies before the drone’s parachute opened and it drifted harmlessly to the ground near Odum southwest of Fort Stewart.[9]

Assuming command of the Savannah-based 158^th Fighter Squadron July 12, 1958, Major Coleman guided the squadron through the transition from the F84F Thunderchief to the F-86 Saber Jet. The sun had not yet risen on the first day of 1960 when the 158th was put on alert status and prepared to scramble fighter interceptors at a moment’s notice. The 158th was one of 21 Air National Guard Squadrons across the nation to participate in this readiness exercise which was designed to test the ability of National Guard pilots and aircraft to take to the air in response to the detection of incoming enemy aircraft. Additionally, the alert tested the ability of Air National Guard units to conduct sustained operations against a possible enemy attack.[10]

Maj. Sheftall Coleman Jr. (on ladder) briefs pilots of the 158th Fighter Squadron before a mission in July 1960. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1960, Coleman led the 158^th through another transition as the 165^th Fighter Group was redesignated the 165^th Air Transport Group April 1, 1962.[11] Coleman witnessed the delivery of the first four-engine C-97 Stratofreighter March 8, 1962 marking a historic change in mission for the 158^th which was among the first Air National Guard units in the United States to be issued jet aircraft in 1949. Major Ben Patterson, a future commander of the Ga. Air National Guard succeeded Coleman in command of the 158^th Air Transportation Squadron in 1962. Patterson had previously served as operations officer and flight leader in the 158^th.[12]

Major Glenn Herd, commander of the 128th Air Transport Squadron shakes hands with Maj. Shaftall Coleman Jr. after delivering the first C-97 Stratofreighter to Travis Field March 8, 1962.
Georgia National Guard Archives.

Coleman completed training on the multi-engine C-97 en route to logging his 5,000^th flight hour. In January 1967, Coleman served as co-pilot on a mission to fly life-saving serum to a Savannah child. The aircraft, piloted by Brig. Gen. Paul Stone, commander of the Ga. Air National Guard, was conducting practice approaches at Bush Field in Augusta when radio traffic informed the crew of the medical emergency in Savannah. The aircraft immediately flew to Charleston Air Force Base to pick up the serum and rush it to Travis Field. The serum was delivered 65 minutes after the radio report was received and the child recovered.[13]

Coleman remained with the 165^th Air Transport Group and in May 1967, reported to Tinker Air Force Base for ten weeks of training in C-124 aircraft.[14] The 165^th ATG replaced its C-97s with C-124s in July 1967.[15]

Coleman retired from the Georgia Air National Guard in 1971 and was promoted to colonel. He continued to work at his civilian job as safety and security director for Chandler Hospital in Savannah. He died February 21, 2003 at the age of 81.

 

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[1] Official Registry of the National Guard, 1939. (Washington DC: War Department, 1939) 318.

 

[2] World War I Service Record of Sheftall Coleman, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/3129/images/41187_1220705227_0989-01687?usePUB=true&_phsrc=HOp402&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=31588

 

[3] Pictorial Review of the National Guard of the State of Georgia, 1939, 160.

 

[4] Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Retrieved from https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/M-T0627-00650-00589?pId=51201571

[5] “Biography of Maj. Sheftall Coleman Jr.” Georgia National Guard Archives, NP.

 

[6] City Directory, Savannah, Ga. 168.

 

[7] “Savannah’s 158^th Ftr. Bmr. Sqdn. Alerted for 14-hr., 7 Day Watch.” The Georgia Guardsman. July August 1954, 6.

 

[8] “Modern Minutemen of the Air National Guard Maintain Daily Guard of Skies Above Savannah.” The Georgia Guardsman, Nov Dec 1954, 6.

 

[9] “Travis Air N.G. Pilot tracks RCAT by Jet.” The Georgia Guardsman, Sept Oct 1956, 11.

 

[10] William Carraway “Sixty Years Ago: The Georgia Air National Guard Enters a New Decade on High Alert.” Georgia National Guard History Jan. 2, 2020, http://www.georgiaguardhistory.com/2020/01/sixty-years-ago-georgia-air-national.html

 

[11] “165^th Gets First Stratofreighter.” The Georgia Guardsman, March April 1962, 6.

 

[12] “Biography of Brig. Gen. Benjamin L. Patterson.” Georgia National Guard Archives, NP.

 

[13] “B/G Paul S. Stone, Travis Field Airmen Fly Vital Serum to Save Sav. Child.” The Georgia Guardsman, January 1967, 3.

 

[14] “School Bells.” The Georgia Guardsman, May-Aug 1967, 15.

 

[15] The Georgia Air National Guard. 165^th Tactical Airlift Group, 1946-1984, 23.

The Macon Volunteers at Gettysburg July 2, 1863

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

Note: This article is an excerpt of a history of the Macon Volunteers currently in progress.

 

Logo of the Macon Volunteers and Map of the Actions of Anderson's Division July 2, 1863 by Hal Jespersen

Gettysburg

In the reorganization of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia following Chancellorsville, the Division of Brig. Gen. Robert H. Anderson was assigned to the newly created 3^rd Corps under Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill. The Macon Volunteers, as part of the 2^nd Georgia Battalion were assigned to the brigade of Brig. Gen. Ambrose Wright, Anderson’s Division.

 

Array of forces July 2, 1863. LOC

In support of Gen. Lee’s second attempt to take the war to the North, the Macon Volunteers took up the march on June 14 1863 and entered Pennsylvania on June 26.[1] Alerted to the presence of Federal forces at Gettysburg July 1, Anderson’s Division, then in Cashtown, marched to the battlefield and assembled on Herr Ridge by 5:00 that evening.[2]

 

On the morning of July 2, Hill ordered Anderson to advance and occupy positions on Seminary Ridge preparatory to an assault on Federal lines. The Confederate assault proceeded en echelon from the right as Longstreet’s 1^st Corps initiated the assault with an artillery barrage at 2:00 pm. It would take more than three hours for the units to the right of Anderson’s Division to be committed.

 

With the advance of Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws immediately to his right, Anderson ordered his brigades forward.[3] Wright positioned his regiments with the 28^th on the right adjacent to the 2^nd Florida of Lang’s Brigade. The 3^rd advanced in the center with the 48^th Georgia to their left. Wright ordered the 2^nd Georgia Battalion to advance forward of the brigade as skirmishers. Rushing forward, the battalion posted behind a split rail fence northwest of the Codori Farm and the Emmitsburg Road.[4] Two Federal regiments, the 82^nd New York and 15^th Massachusetts were on the opposite side of the road supported by the Battery B, 1^st Rhode Island Artillery commanded by Capt. Thomas Brown.

 

The fence bordering the Emmitsburg Road behind which the Macon Volunteers formed on July 2, 1863. Photo by Maj. William Carraway

The Macon Volunteers and others of the battalion passed several tense minutes in their forward exposed position before Wright’s regiments reached them. Whereas the 2^nd Battalion was supposed to fall into the marching order on the left of the 48^th, Ga. its soldiers were disrupted as the brigade passed through its ranks and the Volunteers were compelled to fall in with the advancing regiments. Though undulating terrain and tall grass obscured their early advance, the Georgians were exposed to a galling fire from three brigades of infantry and three artillery batteries as they approached the Emmitsburg Road. Nevertheless, Wright’s advance was so swift that by the time Brown observed them he scarcely had time bring two of his sections to bear. Unleashing a devastating volley that sent “scores of Wright’s men sprawling in the grass,”[5] the New Yorkers realized with horror that Wright’s line, three regiment’s wide, would presently envelop their left flank. Reading the tactical situation, the veterans of the 82^nd N.Y. began to withdraw and with them followed the 15^th Mass. As its infantry support melted away, Brown’s battery was engulfed by the 48^th Georgia which captured the guns and mortally wounded Brown. Seizing the opportunity afforded by the fleeing Federals, the 22^nd and 3^rd Georgia, supported by elements of the 2^nd Battalion swiftly advanced as the Federal units to their front could not fire for fear of hitting their own men. Wright regarded this opportunity while casting fleeting glimpses to his left. Posey’s brigade had failed to match the advance of Wright’s Georgians leaving their left flank exposed. Into this flank 1^st Lt. Alonzo Cushing’s Battery A, 4^th U.S. Artillery, poured a murderous fire of grapeshot and cannister. In the maelstrom of combat, Capt. George S. Jones, commanding Macon Volunteers, was desperately wounded in the face, side and arm and collapsed to the ground. He was captured and sent to Johnson’s Island. Subsequently exchanged, Jones rejoined the Volunteers and fought on until the surrender at Appomattox Court House.[6]  

Command of the Macon Volunteers devolved to 1^st Lt. Edward Grannis, but he scarce had time to execute command before he fell mortally wounded not far from his captain. He died the following day. Second Lieutenant Thomas Kennedy Campbell, the sole remaining officer of the Macon Volunteers was shot through the lower abdomen by cannister fire. He was captured, treated at a Federal field hospital, and dispatched to Fort McHenry, Md.[7]

 

The Codori Farm viewed from the position of Cushing's Battery. The Macon Volunteers passed over this ground July 2, 1863. Photo by William Carraway

Wright’s Georgians had penetrated the Federal line and advanced farther than any Confederate troops that day, farther indeed than any of the soldiers who would cross over the same fields the next day as part of Maj. Gen. George’s Pickett’s doomed charge. Nevertheless, surveying the murderous scene, Wright realized that his gains were unsustainable. Seething at the absence of support from adjacent units, Wright ordered his troops to withdraw to their pre-assault position on Seminary Ridge where they remained until called forward to help cover the retreat of Pickett’s shattered units the next day. On the evening of July 4, the 87^th anniversary of the independence of the United States, Wright’s Brigade, and what remained of the Macon Volunteers quietly marched away From Gettysburg. Ten days later, they crossed the Potomac with half the men they had taken north just 19 days earlier.[8]

 

In his report on the Gettysburg Campaign, Wright bitterly lamented the sacrifice his troops had made for naught. He credited his troops with capturing 25 artillery pieces, noting that the 2^nd Battalion had accounted for “as many as 5 or 6 pieces.”[9] The cannons came at a high price. Wright reported 688 killed or wounded and a casualty rate of nearly 51 percent. Three of Wright’s four regimental and battalion commanders fell including Maj. George Ross of the 2^nd Battalion who was mortally wounded and captured at the crest of Cemetery Ridge.[10] The 2^nd Battalion lost 82 out of 173 who went into action.[11]

 

Analysis of the Macon Volunteers service records finds that of an aggregate strength of 52, 16 were killed, wounded or captured including all the company’s officers. In a rear-guard action at Manassas Gap, July 23, 1863, the company lost five of its remaining 36 Solders to a superior Federal force.[12]

 

Postscript

On Aug. 4, 1864, more than one year after being shot through the bowels by cannister at Gettysburg, and long after other prisoners from Gettysburg had been exchanged, Lt. Thomas Campbell of the Macon Volunteers penned the following letter to Col. William Hoffman, commissary general of prisoners from his cell at Fort McHenry hospital:

Sir,

I have the honor to submit my care to you for your human consideration. I was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg July 2, 1863. Ball entering the left side of the bowel, passing through making its exit near the spinal column. I have been confined to the bed ever since... I feel quite sure from the condition I am in at this time that my stay upon the earth will be short. My only desire is to be permitted to return to my home and spend the few days left me in this life in the bosom of my family where their kind attention may soothe my journey to the grave. Hoping this application may meet with your approval and early considerations.

I am, colonel, your most obt. svt.

 

Thos. K Campbell

Lt. Co. B 2^nd Ga Batt[13]

 

Lieutenant Campbell died from the effects of his wound Sept, 23, 1864 at Fort McHenry. He was 31 years old.

The headstone of 2nd Lt. Thomas K. Campbell in Rose Hill Cemetery, Macon, Ga. Photo by Jimmy Allen.

---

[1] U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1 / v. 27, Part 2: Reports. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1889) 613.

 

[2] U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1 / v. 27, Part 2: Reports. 622.

 

[3] U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1 / v. 27, Part 2: Reports. 614.

 

[4] Bradley M. Gottfried, The Maps of Gettysburg: An Atlas of the Gettysburg Campaign, June 3-July 13, 1863 (New York: Savas Beatie, 2010), 204-205.

 

[5] Bradley M. Gottfried, The Maps of Gettysburg: An Atlas of the Gettysburg Campaign, June 3-July 13, 1863, 206.

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[6] National Archives Microfilm Publications Microcopy No. 266. Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Georgia. The Second Battalion Infantry. Roll 159-162.

[7] National Archives Microfilm Publications Microcopy No. 266. Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Georgia. The Second Battalion Infantry. Roll 159-162.

 

[8] U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1 / v. 27, Part 2: Reports. 615.

 

[9] U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1 / v. 27, Part 2: Reports. 624.

 

[10] U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1 / v. 27, Part 2: Reports. 625.

 

[11] J. David. Petruzzi and Steven Stanley, The Gettysburg Campaign in Numbers and Losses: Synopses, Orders of Battle, Strengths, Casualties, and Maps, June 9-July 14, 1863 (El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2013) 130.

 

[12] National Archives Microfilm Publications Microcopy No. 266. Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Georgia. The Second Battalion Infantry. Roll 159-162.

[13] National Archives Microfilm Publications Microcopy No. 266. Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Georgia. The Second Battalion Infantry. Thomas Campbell.