behind AotW

Joseph A. Grosvenor and his brother Samuel E. Grosvenor came to America from England with their family as very small boys in 1845, and both enlisted in the 16th Connecticut Infantry in August 1862. In their first battle, at Antietam a month later, Joseph was killed and Samuel was wounded.

Samuel survived his wound and also a stint as a prisoner at Andersonville in 1864. But, in April 1865, on his way back to his regiment after convalescing, he drowned when his transport collided with another vessel on the Potomac River off Southern Maryland. As many as 87 men died that morning; he was one of the 7 soldiers from the 16th Connecticut who drowned, out of the 13 aboard.

That clipping is from the front page of the New York Times of 27 April 1865. Click to see the whole piece.