Library of Congress

Thure de Thulstrup’s depiction of the Battle of Antietam

Among the over 3,600 men killed at the Battle of Antietam in September 1862 was Henry Keeler, a corporal in the 14th Connecticut Infantry. As his sister later wrote of Henry, “He had been gone but five weeks when the sad news that brought mourning to so many homes, brought the intelligence to us that our brother was among the noble slain!” News of Corporal Keeler’s death also quickly reached one of his soldier-brothers, S.P., who wrote the following letter about his search to find Henry’s battlefield grave a few weeks after the engagement—and how he was dealing with the loss. It’s reproduced below in full:

Army of the Potomac, October 6th, 1862

Dear Brother — I was surprised to hear of the death of Henry. I had heard that he was wounded, and got a furlough of two days to go and find him. Starting when your letter came to me, I wandered all day over the field at Antietam. I kept going for miles and miles, looking at every grave I saw, and was about to give up the search from fatigue and hunger (for I had already gone over twenty-five miles), but I kept on till dark, and just as I was about to lie down for the night, I saw a few graves under an apple-tree, a few rods off, and there I found the grave of our dear brother. It was a solemn time for me as I sat by the grave.

I found a person who watched with him, and was present at his burial. He was shot in the early part of the action. He died without a struggle. It will be a hard struggle for mother. To think he was taken away in so short a time after leaving home, while I have been engaged in six or seven battles! But the thought of his dying so peacefully (and no one can doubt his Christian character or fitness to meet his Maker), will lessen the grief of our mother, and brothers, and sisters. We have lost him; but this we know, he was a Christian, and showed a Christian spirit in all his actions. It seems like a dream. As I look from the “Heights” (Bolivar), I can see the rebel army, and a battle is expected in a few days. I am willing to meet them, no matter how hard the battle, or how long and forced the marches are, if we can only finish the war, or make a beginning of the end. I may too, like Henry, be shot down. If I die, I die in the faith of Christ, and have no fears as to what awaits me. I am happy wherever I am. I can lie down with as much ease, and rest for the night within range of the enemy’s guns, knowing that at dawn we may meet face to face, as I could at home upon my bed. It is near midnight, and I must close.

Sergeant S.P. Keeler