Near Boonsboro in Washington County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Deaths of Two Generals

“Hallo, Sam, I’m dead!”

— Antietam Campaign 1862 —

Deaths of Two Generals Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 2, 2006

1. Deaths of Two Generals Marker

Inscription.
The fight for Fox’s Gap on September 14, 1862, claimed the lives of two generals, one from each side. Confederate Gen. Samuel Garland, a Lynchburg, Virginia native, attended the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington and later obtained his law degree. Married in 1856, he suffered tragedy early in the war when both his wife and four-year-old son died in an influenza epidemic. Grief-stricken, he left Lynchburg as captain of the Lynchburg Home Guard, excelled during the Peninsula Campaign and Seven Days’ Battles, and soon attained general’s rank. Charged with defending Fox’s Gap, he fell mortally wounded by a bullet through his chest while rallying his men about ¾ of a mile south of here.

As evening fell and the Confederates fell back through the gap and off to the north, Union Gen. Jesse L. Reno rode by here and into the field across from Wise’s cabin to investigate what he believed was a delay in the push for Turner’s Gap. Just then, Gen. John Bell Hood’s Texans arrived on the field and fired the final Confederate volley, mortally wounding Reno. Carried on a stretcher to his friend Gen. Samuel D. Sturgis’s headquarters,

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Reno called to him, “Hallo, Sam, I’m dead!” A few minutes later he died, the first Union Corps commander killed during the war. His monument is the second oldest one erected for the Maryland Campaign.

Erected by Maryland Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Maryland Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical month for this entry is September 1861.

Location. 39° 28.231′ N, 77° 37.043′ W. Marker is near Boonsboro, Maryland, in Washington County. It is on Reno Monument Road near the Appalachian Trail, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 21605 Reno Monument Rd, Boonsboro MD 21713, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Western Maryland.

It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At

The Two Maryland Civil War Trails Markers image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 2, 2006

2. The Two Maryland Civil War Trails Markers

Also visible is the Near Here in Wise’s Field General Garland marker.

least 5 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Maryland Campaign of 1862 (here, next to this marker); The Battle for Fox’s Gap (here, next to this marker); The Lost Orders (here, next to this marker); Welcome to Historic Wise's Field (here, next to this marker); Near Here in Wise’s Field (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Boonsboro.

More about this marker. Portraits of Garland and Reno are displayed on the lower left and right respectively. A photograph of the Monument to Gen. Reno, South Mountain Battlefield is in the upper right. In the upper left is a general map of the area with stars indicating nearby Civil War Trails sites.

Also see . . .
1. General Samuel Garland – Brave and Accomplished. (Submitted on July 23, 2006.)
2. General Jesse Reno – Remember Reno. (Submitted on July 23, 2006.)

Markers at Fox’s Gap image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, November 10, 2005

3. Markers at Fox’s Gap

Several markers are found at this location. The Deaths of Two Generals marker is seen here on the left.

Photographed by Brandon Fletcher, June 24, 2009

4. Deaths of Two Generals Marker

Gen. Samuel Garland image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, March 26, 2005

5. Gen. Samuel Garland

Close-up of image on marker

Gen. Jesse Reno image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, March 26, 2005

6. Gen. Jesse Reno

Close-up of image on marker

You Are Here image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, March 26, 2005

7. You Are Here

Close-up of map on marker

Credits. This page was last revised on October 6, 2021. It was originally submitted on July 23, 2006, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 3,612 times since then and 67 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 23, 2006, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 3. submitted on September 23, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 4. submitted on August 9, 2015, by Brandon Fletcher of Chattanooga, Tennessee. 5, 6. submitted on December 15, 2017, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 7. submitted on February 3, 2018, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.