U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865
Local Kin's Sgt. Kirkland Was "Angel of Mercy" At Marye's Heights
This article is compiled by Julian Williams.
Sergeant Richard Rowland Kirkland, in the midst of the horrors of the Civil War, "had found Christ in the camp." What he did after this religious experience can hardly be equaled in the annals of warfare. His story is magnificent and touching. His courageous and unselfish act should encourage all of us to be the human beings we are capable of being.
But, before I tell of this brave soldier from Kershaw County, South Carolina, let me mention this: I ran into Nanette Nipper Richey at the AARP meeting the other day and upon introducing myself and finding out her name, our chat soon revealed that we both liked history. Talking more I found out that her mother is Oleph Kirkland and that they are kinfolk of the focus of this article - Sgt. Richard Kirkland. She was very familiar with all the details of the story of "The Angel of Marye's Heights" related here. Looking around I found Kirklands in Atkinson, Bulloch, Dodge, Telfair, South Carolina and other places - but Coffee County, Ga., had the most in one county - 70 listings.
Richard joined the Camden Volunteers just in time to arrive at Charleston to see the sky light up with the flare of guns at Fort Sumter. The Civil War had begun.
In the Peninsular Campaign, the eager young Kirkland found that war was real. He was wounded but he yearned to join his friends from Flat Rock, his hometown, in the coming actions of the War. Destiny would soon have him at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 13, 1862.
Union General Burnside was trying to beat General Lee to the punch by arriving at Fredericksburg ahead of him and continuing on to capture Richmond. While General Burnside was planning and waiting for pontoon bridges to cross the river, Lee was moving and had his men strategically located on a hill behind Fredericksburg. This elevation was known as Marye's Heights. At its base there was a stone wall about four feet high. A perfect place for defending the heights. Also a perfect place to get killed if you were coming across that wide-open grassy field in front of that stone wall.
Back down at the river, General Burnside was finally getting across. And actually without too much trouble. An occasional burst of enemy fire would sometimes aggravate his effort but his army was crossing. But an unknown Union private might have had the strategy analyzed: "[Expletive!] -- They want us to get in. Getting out won't be quite so smart and easy. You'll see!"
Evidently, he possessed some knowledge of the art and science of deception because his words, even though crudely crafted, proved to be prophetic.
As the Federal soldiers tried to attack Marye's Heights Richard Kirkland and his comrades stood in firing lines six deep. While one line fired another would be reloading. The whole field was in a continuous flame of fire. Colonel E.P. Alexander was right: not even a chicken could live out there on that field. But the Confederates were not fighting chickens. They were fighting brave men - they came no braver than the men of the North who tried to cross that field that day and storm that stone wall at Marye's Heights. Some Confederates shot and cried at the carnage. Why did they keep coming? God help us all! But they did keep coming - and coming - and coming. And as one officer said, "they fell like melting snow." Thousands.
The night was even worse. Dying, hurting and thirsting men lay upon that field of blood. As General Joshua Chamberlain recalled, "--- the deep, many-voiced moan that overspread the battlefield." For some it was unbearable. For Richard Rowland Kirkland, the enemy on the other side of the stone wall, it was too unbearable.
He appealed first to his colonel, John D. Kennedy. He asked that he be allowed to cross the wall and give water to the tortured and hurting men. His request was denied. But Richard Kirkland did not stop. He went to the commander of the brigade, Kershaw, now a general. General Kershaw had personally recruited Richard - they were friends from the same county in South Carolina.
At first General Kershaw would not hear of letting Richard go to the aid of the enemy because he knew in his heart they would shoot him the second he showed his head above that stone wall. But Kirkland persisted and the general knew he was not dealing with a fly-by-night grandstander. Richard was on a mission and the general knew it. Finally, he gave the young sergeant his reluctant permission to embark upon what he thought a suicidal endeavor. Not even a white handkerchief could be waved because the enemy would receive that as a sign of truce. There was no truce.
Sergeant Kirkland filled up as many canteens as he could carry with fresh water and slid over that stone wall that had absorbed thousands of Yankee bullets. Initial fire never hit him but as soon as the enemy saw that he was attending to the needs of the wounded they held all fire. Richard Kirkland would lift the head of an injured man, give him water and leave a fresh canteen beside him. He went from man to man administering aid and comfort in a field of hopelessness and misery. It was as if God Himself had sent an angel. Time after time he returned to Widow Stevens's house to refill the canteens with the lifesaving water. He worked that field of desolation and pain for another hour and a half doing what he could for the wounded enemy. He made them comfortable and covered them as best he could because the ground was cold that day in Fredericksburg. Both sides cheered him on.
Richard Kirkland would have surely made the Confederate Roll of Honor, but it was not in place at the time. His reward was two months' recruiting leave to his home county. Rejoining his company, he was in the thick of things at Chancellorsville and Salem Church. At Gettysburg, he was cited for heroism as his brigade fought its way through the peach orchard in an effort to smash the enemy line at Plum Run. For this, he was promoted to lieutenant.
After Gettysburg, the brave Kirkland made his way to Chickamauga. He had fought with Georgians, including the 49th, at Marye's Heights and now he was fighting with Georgians again. At Snodgrass Hill, against the forces of Union General George H. Thomas, he and his comrades assaulted the hill. He was struck in the chest by a single bullet. His last words - "Save yourselves and tell my father I died right."
Indeed he did. "You couldn't hitch a horse within a quarter mile of his house there was such a crowd." Even Sherman protected the Kirkland home "because even in 1865, Richard Kirkland's name had become a legend on the lips of soldiers in both North and South." The general had not forgotten the sergeant and his brave and compassionate deed.
His grave reads: "Richard Kirkland, CSA. At Fredericksburg he risked his life to carry water to wounded and dying enemies and at the Battle of Chickamauga laid down that life for his country. 1843-1863." No more needs to be said.
