"Mansfield Monument" Series
Just Steps From Where A Union General Was Mortally Wounded at Antietam, A Stately Ash Tree Dies
Representative Gallery
About The Mansfield Monument
From the website of CT Monuments.net:
"Connecticut native and Civil War General Joseph K.F. Mansfield is honored with two monuments near the site of his mortal wounding on the Antietam battlefield. Mansfield, commander of the Army of the Potomac’s Twelfth Corps, was wounded as he led troops into battle early on the morning of September 17, 1862. The larger of the two monuments honoring the general features a pink granite column topped with a sphere. The monument was dedicated in 1900 and stands near Antietam’s East Woods, at intersection of Smoketown Road and Mansfield Avenue. A dedication on the west side of the monument’s base reads, “Major General, Joseph K. F. Mansfield, commanding the 12th Corps, Army of the Potomac. Mortally wounded near this spot, September 17, 1862, about 7:35 A.M., while deploying his corps in action.” The south face features a bronze plaque with the Connecticut shield and an inscription reading, “Erected by the State of Connecticut A.D. 1900 under the auspices of Mansfield Post No. 53, Department of Connecticut G.A.R.” The G.A.R. refers to the Grand Army of the Republic, the post-Civil War veterans’ organization. The Mansfield Post was established in Middletown, the general’s adopted hometown. The plaque featuring the Connecticut seal is a 2002 reproduction sponsored by the reenactment and preservation group Company G, 14th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry 1861-1865. The new plaque was modeled after a similar one on the Gen. John Sedgwick monument at Gettysburg. The east side of the monument’s base is not inscribed, and the north face bears an inscription reading, “The spot where Gen. Mansfield fell is a few yards easterly from this monument. Born December 22, 1803. Killed September 17, 1862.”
In March, 2017, in celebration of its recent acquisition of acreage in the East Woods at Antietam national battlefield, The Civil War Trust posted the following on social media:
"On September 15, 1862, General Joseph K.F. Mansfield was placed in command of the Union Twelfth Corps. Two days later, his corps went into action at and around the East Woods in the opening early hours of the Battle of Antietam. It was the first time Mansfield commanded a large number of infantry soldiers in battle. As he encountered one of his regiments firing into the woods, Mansfield thought that his men were firing at Union soldiers. Mansfield ordered them to stop. The Federals convinced Mansfield that they were indeed engaged with enemy forces. Mansfield admitted, “Yes, yes you are right” right before being mortally wounded in the chest. General Alpheus Williams took over command of the Twelfth Corps as his men moved by the Cornfield and toward the Dunker Church. Mansfield died the next morning at a nearby field hospital." source: Civil War Trust facebook page
The photos below show General Mansfield, the mortuary cannon marking the site of his mortal wounding, the tree standing in both summer and winter and felled as I found it, and the privately owned "Samuel Poffenberger Farm," upon whose land it stood. The first Ash bowl in this series was given to the donor who generously allowed me to harvest some of the wood.
"Connecticut native and Civil War General Joseph K.F. Mansfield is honored with two monuments near the site of his mortal wounding on the Antietam battlefield. Mansfield, commander of the Army of the Potomac’s Twelfth Corps, was wounded as he led troops into battle early on the morning of September 17, 1862. The larger of the two monuments honoring the general features a pink granite column topped with a sphere. The monument was dedicated in 1900 and stands near Antietam’s East Woods, at intersection of Smoketown Road and Mansfield Avenue. A dedication on the west side of the monument’s base reads, “Major General, Joseph K. F. Mansfield, commanding the 12th Corps, Army of the Potomac. Mortally wounded near this spot, September 17, 1862, about 7:35 A.M., while deploying his corps in action.” The south face features a bronze plaque with the Connecticut shield and an inscription reading, “Erected by the State of Connecticut A.D. 1900 under the auspices of Mansfield Post No. 53, Department of Connecticut G.A.R.” The G.A.R. refers to the Grand Army of the Republic, the post-Civil War veterans’ organization. The Mansfield Post was established in Middletown, the general’s adopted hometown. The plaque featuring the Connecticut seal is a 2002 reproduction sponsored by the reenactment and preservation group Company G, 14th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry 1861-1865. The new plaque was modeled after a similar one on the Gen. John Sedgwick monument at Gettysburg. The east side of the monument’s base is not inscribed, and the north face bears an inscription reading, “The spot where Gen. Mansfield fell is a few yards easterly from this monument. Born December 22, 1803. Killed September 17, 1862.”
In March, 2017, in celebration of its recent acquisition of acreage in the East Woods at Antietam national battlefield, The Civil War Trust posted the following on social media:
"On September 15, 1862, General Joseph K.F. Mansfield was placed in command of the Union Twelfth Corps. Two days later, his corps went into action at and around the East Woods in the opening early hours of the Battle of Antietam. It was the first time Mansfield commanded a large number of infantry soldiers in battle. As he encountered one of his regiments firing into the woods, Mansfield thought that his men were firing at Union soldiers. Mansfield ordered them to stop. The Federals convinced Mansfield that they were indeed engaged with enemy forces. Mansfield admitted, “Yes, yes you are right” right before being mortally wounded in the chest. General Alpheus Williams took over command of the Twelfth Corps as his men moved by the Cornfield and toward the Dunker Church. Mansfield died the next morning at a nearby field hospital." source: Civil War Trust facebook page
The photos below show General Mansfield, the mortuary cannon marking the site of his mortal wounding, the tree standing in both summer and winter and felled as I found it, and the privately owned "Samuel Poffenberger Farm," upon whose land it stood. The first Ash bowl in this series was given to the donor who generously allowed me to harvest some of the wood.