Richard Rowland Kirkland joined the Confederate Army shortly
after the Civil War began, though he was not yet eighteen. He saw action at Bull
Run, Savage's Station, Maryland Heights and Antietam. December 13, 1862, Kirkland's
unit encountered Union forces near Fredericksburg, Virginia. The fighting
subsided when darkness fell, and walking wounded made their way to a field
hospital during the night. The next morning revealed that over 8,000 Union
soldiers still lay on the field. Many were still alive and too badly hurt to
move. Soldiers on both sides heard their cries, but didn’t dare to help lest
they should also be shot. Kirkland got permission to go to their aid. He
gathered all the canteens he could carry, filled them, and hurried out onto the
battlefield. He ran back and forth with water and blankets until he had helped
every last man. Kirkland’s errand of mercy took at least 90 minutes, but during
that entire time, not a single shot was fired.
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