John Disbrow, killed at Harpers Ferry
9 February 2020
Sad Story Sunday …
Private John Disbrow, 111th New York Infantry had been in the Army about a month when he was killed on Bolivar Heights above Harpers Ferry on the night of 14 September 1862.
The saddest parts are three: he had turned 16 years old shortly before he enlisted, he was among the very first of his regiment killed in the war, and he may have been shot by his own men.
The picture here (from 2007, thanks Craig Swain!) is of a marker at the Park about that action. It might have indeed been “enemy cavalry”, or maybe just frightened rookies of the 111th NY firing at noises in the dark.
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