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470:, deteriorating his mental state, affecting his family and no longer allowed to work as a surveyor and civil engineer. An instance of his worsening mental health as one time, Christian was seen placing a saddle over the banister of his front porch, mounting it, and delivering orders to a nonexistent group of soldiers. Veterans of the 26th were kind enough to invite Christian to reunions but sometimes, Christian would erupt into uncontrolled fits of laughter.
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While the situation was going bad for Duryée and
Hartsuff, Christian decided that now would be a good time to run the men through the manual of arms but as he was doing this, Confederate Artillery from Nicodemus Heights and the Dunker Church and the artillery strikes were sending sharp chunks of wood
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When he got home, Christian lied about why he departed as he told everyone that he left by intrigue among some of his fellow officers but the truth eventually caught up to him in both talk and his own mind. After the disaster, Christian actively sought to regain any chance of military commands, even
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where he spent his final days there as a patient before dying on May 8, 1887, and was buried at Forest Lawn
Cemetery, Utica. After the death of William, Mary applied for a pension, claiming that her husband's demise was caused by his supposed wartime heatstroke with the support from members of the
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and was appointed as first commander on May 21, 1861. Christian was described as being a strict disciplinarian but proved to be beneficial as the soldiers were now well-drilled. Another differing aspect of
Christian's training was the prohibition of the consumption of alcohol and insisted that his
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Soon enough, Christian snapped and he fled from the scene with his horse as
Christian abandoned his brigade and Coulter's men to their own fates as he proclaimed that the battle was lost. As he fled, his men could do nothing but watch, confused and left the brigade in a nearly complete leadership
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Command came to begin an assault on the line, he found
Christian lying under a tree and wrapped in a blanket, being attended to by Surgeon Dr. Coventry as Christian had apparently had heatstroke and a case of poison ivy on his hands although he made a miraculous recovery and then went to take the
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and although
Christian was competent at both at those engagements, he only played a supporting role in the battles. Later on, Christian and his brigade marched across Antietam Creek and commenced a skirmish with the Confederate lines although the tension of the battle began to affect Christian's
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for permission to raise a regiment of volunteers and Morgan saw
Christian to be the ideal person to rally troops from Utica as he was a veteran of the Mexican–American War and granted Christian permission to do so and in a few weeks, managed to rally over 1,000 Men needed to form the
429:'s brigades in the opening attack with Christian's Brigade having to deal with the direct Confederate artillery while at the North Woods but after intense artillery, Christian himself ran into the safety of the East Woods by himself and leaving the rest of his men leaderless.
450:. That evening, Ricketts himself called Christian to his headquarters and demanded he resign or face a court-martial and Christian chose to resign claiming that “business of importance” required him to return to Utica and he did so two days later.
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on
October 21, 1861, to capture Confederate cavalry operating there but proved to be a disaster as his targets escaped unharmed, his soldiers proceeding to pillage Alexandria along with one of his men accidentally killing another.
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reportedly told
Christian: "For God's sake, come and help us out, our ammunition is exhausted!" and Coulter ran back to the cornfields but Christian didn't follow and stood still on the spot where he encountered Coulter.
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404:. His soldiers however were unimpressed by Christian's actions and held a secret meeting to whether to report Christian to his superior, Ricketts but the final result was against performing such an act.
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352:. During this time, he married Mary Timmerman on November 6, 1861, and both remained on the fort until May 1862 until when new orders arrived that the 26th New York would be transferred to
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occurring and became a teacher before returning to New York in 1856 as he became a city surveyor for Utica. He then renewed his service in the New York
Militia in the years prior to the
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and the rest of the men would go on to redeem themselves for the rest of the battle. As for Christian himself, he was spotted shaking under a tree behind the lines by Brig. Gen.
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vacuum as they did nothing, wanting things to sort themselves out. Matters got so bad that Colonel Peter Lyle had to assume command of Christian's remaining men as well as the
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officers sign a temperance pledge. His training was described as having "military skill and energy," having "the best-drilled volunteer regiment," and "energy and firmness."
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After the disaster, Christian was supposed be faced in the Court of Inquiry but due to the case being dropped, General Slocum transferred Christian and the 26th to
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but saw no active military service during the war although seemed worthy enough to be promoted to First Sergeant by the end of the war. After the war, he stayed in
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After the First Battle of Bull Run, Christian and the 26th New York wouldn't see any military service for 6 months before being assigned as a part of the new
391:'s 2nd Division. However, when the 26th began to hold the line at Chinn Ridge, Christian was notably absent during the engagement. This was because when
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in the air as well as knocking down entire trees. As an attempt to escape the perilous situation, Christian ordered his men to retreat. While doing so,
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although their only service was covering the retreating Union soldiers although was notable enough to receive direct praise from
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Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Volume 2, pages 497-499; Official Records, Series I, Volume XII, Part 3, pages
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mental state due to the tension of uncertainty. During the early morning hours, Christian's brigade was to support
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243:. He was known for being unnerved during the battle, and for the deterioration of his mental state after the war.
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and would stay there until the end of August where they joined the rest of Pope's army which located
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653:"Showing the White Feather": The Civil War Ordeal of Col. William H. Christian: Emerging Civil War"
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proposing at one point to serve without pay but to no avail. On December 8, 1868, President
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Manassas National Battlefield Park - Battle of Second Manassas, Union Order of Battle
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His actions during the American Civil War made Christian haunted and made him gain
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broke out, Christian traveled to Albany where he personally asked Governor
543:"Cowards in the Cornfield?: The Sorry Story of Colonel William Christian"
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as Brigadier as Tower was wounded and the brigade made their way back to
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nominated Christian a posthumous promotion to brevet brigadier general.
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By early 1886, his wife had enough of Christian and sent him to the
231:(1825-1887) was an American Brevet Brigadier General who served the
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26th but the claim was denied, likely due to William's actions.
336:'s brigade and soon took the 26th New York to a new camp in
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American military personnel of the Mexican–American War
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People of New York (state) in the American Civil War
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Forest Lawn Cemetery, Utica, New York, United States
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488:List of American Civil War brevet generals (Union)
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383:The 26th New York would then participate at the
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684:"Antietam: Col William Henry Christian"
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475:New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica
256:William was born on April 9, 1825, in
16:United States Army colonel (1825–1887)
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444:90th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment
412:Christian then participated in the
387:as a member of the 2nd Brigade of
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303:26th New York Infantry Regiment
237:26th New York Infantry Regiment
159:26th New York Infantry Regiment
468:Post-traumatic stress disorder
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268:before being transferred to
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190:Northern Virginia Campaign
598:"Poor Bill Christian. . "
385:Second Battle of Bull Run
378:Army of Northern Virginia
195:Second Battle of Bull Run
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414:Battle of South Mountain
356:'s III Corps of the new
319:First Battle of Bull Run
212:Battle of South Mountain
183:First Battle of Bull Run
229:William Henry Christian
23:William Henry Christian
547:antietamscornfield.com
239:that took part in the
402:Centreville, Virginia
252:Early military career
129:Years of service
338:Alexandria, Virginia
332:and being a part of
278:California Gold Rush
262:Mexican–American War
169:Mexican–American War
753:Union Army colonels
743:Union Army generals
688:Antietam on the Web
418:Battle of Chantilly
398:Zealous Bates Tower
334:Henry Warner Slocum
330:Army of the Potomac
200:Battle of Chantilly
657:Emerging Civil War
604:. November 5, 2007
408:Battle of Antietam
309:After arriving on
294:American Civil War
288:American Civil War
284:as a drillmaster.
282:American Civil War
241:Battle of Antietam
235:who commanded the
233:American Civil War
217:Battle of Antietam
173:American Civil War
118:United States Army
389:James B. Ricketts
266:Governor's Island
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63:(1887-05-08)
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733:1825 births
276:due to the
132:1846 – 1862
61:May 8, 1887
727:Categories
494:References
274:California
122:Union Army
86:Allegiance
44:1825-04-09
396:place of
368:and then
362:John Pope
350:Fort Lyon
325:himself.
292:When the
247:Biography
482:See also
427:Hartsuff
423:Duryée's
416:and the
370:Manassas
366:Falmouth
155:Commands
69:New York
710:581-588
67:Utica,
146:Brevet
109:Branch
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76:Buried
102:Union
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425:and
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58:Died
38:Born
376:'s
374:Lee
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