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| Richard Rowland Kirkland, known as "The Angel of Marye's Heights", (August 1843 – September 20, 1863) |
The history and traditions of our
country are rich in examples of great heroism and patriotism. These great
examples are mirrored at every turn in our country's national experience. One
such example comes to us from a period of great suffering and sadness as our
nation underwent the tortuous ordeal of War...a war that pitted brother against
brother and father against son - the great War Between the States.
Richard Kirkland was a young
South Carolina Confederate volunteer of 18 years of age at the beginning of the
War. He fought in most of the major battles early in the War from First
Manassas to Fredricksburg and, later, Chickamauga.
Serving under Colonel Kershaw at
Fredricksburg, Sergeant Richard Kirkland found himself a member of Company G of
the South Carolina Regiment of Kershaw's Brigade. The Union Army of the Potomac
under the inept command of General Ambrose Burnsides had crossed the
Rappahanock River and was massed before the Virginia city of Fredricksburg.
That city, having refused surrender by its mayor, was destroyed by the heavy
Union guns which thundered against its defenseless buildings.
The company of which Kirkland was
a member was assigned a defense position along the base of a large and
prominent hill called Marye's Heights. Marye's Heights was a formidable
tactical position as the artillery of Confederate General Jackson's Army
commanded favorable purview of the entire battle area.
There was a stone wall of solid
construction which skirted the base of Marye's Heights, and it was behind this
wall that Kirkland and his fellow soldiers sought cover from the overwhelming
numbers of arms which were wielded by the numerically superior Union Army.
Burnside, ambitious and reckless,
ordered wave after wave of blue clad soldiers against this bulwark of defense.
The Confederate marksmen behind the wall had little trouble in repulsing these
assaults with hundreds and thousands of Union casualties left behind to die or
otherwise fend for themselves. On the afternoon of 13 December 1862, the open
fields before Marye's Heights were littered with untold numbers of dead, dying
and seriously wounded Union soldiers. The cries of their anguish were
relentless.
Kirkland was a compassionate soul
who could not long endure these sad cries for water and mercy. He sought
permission from Col. Kershaw to cross the wall and provide water to these poor
souls. Kershaw was reluctant, but acceded to the young man's request despite
his firm opinion he would be shot the moment he raised his head above the wall.
Kirkland gathered as many
canteens of water as he could carry and bounded over the wall. To all his
comrade's amazement, the Union lines drawn up opposite the field did not open
fire. Kirkland raced to the first soldier who lay freezing in the cold December
weather and gave him water to drink and then threw his coat over him. He then
raced to the next, and the next, and the next, giving life-saving water to
these desperate victims of the cruelty of war. He perhaps gave aid and comfort
to more than one hundred Union wounded that day and was revered by Union and
Confederate alike for his great courage and compassion.
Following this great
demonstration of humanity, Kirkland became known to both sides as the Angel of
Marye's Heights. He was later killed at Chickamauga where the Union Army
suffered another resounding defeat.
Later, when the Union Army of
General Sherman approached the home of Richard Kirkland in South Carolina, even
this ruthless General remembered the Angel of Marye's Heights and gave order
that his home be spared from pillage and burning.
Angels come in all forms and
personalities. Kirkland was angel to a great number of his enemies. Whose angel
are you?
Jerry Ogles
