Collector's Corner: Rare gem tintype of 14th Connecticut Sergeant Thomas J. Mills, who was mortally wounded at Antietam

A gem tintype of  Thomas J. Mills, who was mortally wounded at Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862.

When it comes to Civil War collecting, luck often plays a big factor. 

Just seconds before I was to go for a run during our vacation last summer in Myrtle Beach, S.C., my iPhone rang. The caller was an antiques dealer from Michigan, who had noticed an image of 8th Connecticut Sergeant George Marsh on my blog. She had just purchased five images of Marsh and his family and wanted to know if I had more information on the man who may have been the first Connecticut soldier killed at the Battle of Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862. Our conversation soon turned to whether she wished to sell the images, and a week later we struck a deal. The terrific photos -- two pre-war images of Sergeant Marsh, a member of his regiment's color guard, as well as photographs of the soldier's father, mother and sister -- soon were on their way to their new/old home in Connecticut.

Tad Sattler, a 14th Connecticut Civil War re-enactor, recently got lucky when he stumbled onto an eBay auction of old, miniature photo album. Among the 22 images in the fragile family keepsake was a gem tintype of Thomas J. Mills, a color sergeant in 14th Connecticut, who was mortally wounded at Antietam. From New London, Mills died on Oct. 16 or 17, 1862, at Smoketown Hospital near the battlefield.  (See my Antietam hospital site post here.) Mills left behind a wife named Sarah, whom he married in 1853, and a 6-year-old daughter, Julia. After the war, his remains probably were re-buried in Antietam National Cemetery under a stone marked "Unknown."

According to this document in Mills' widow's pension file, he died on Oct. 16, 1862 at
 Smoketown Hospital. Another document in the file notes he died on Oct. 17, 1862.
(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE.)

Sattler, who has an impressive collection of Connecticut Civil War militaria, was ecstatic when he won the auction and amazed when the album arrived in the mail this week. Only an inch thick, the album measures 1 3/4 inches by 1 3/4 inches.  "It came in a flat-rate, small priority box and weighed close to nothing," Sattler said. "I thought there was no way this could be a photo album." The image of Mills is about the size of a thumbnail.

Earlier today, Sattler answered five questions about his purchase:

What was your reaction when you first saw the Mills image on eBay?

Sattler: The item's availability on eBay was brought to my attention by my friend, Alan Crane. (See my post on Crane's amazing Civil War discovery here.) When I first saw the pictures on the site, I couldn't make out much detail, but the "Died at Battle of Antietam" written under the image caught my eye. I wasn't overly excited until I researched the name, which revealed more information than the seller listed in the auction detailed. I always research the names because sometimes a seller will say that the soldier was in a certain regiment and then you find out no one with that name existed in said regiment.

Sattler says the most unusual item in his Civil War 
collection is this wooden peg leg, which may have belonged to a 
14th Connecticut soldier.

The seller listed the name as Thomas J. Mills and that he first served as a 1st lieutenant in the 1st Connecticut (a three-month regiment) and joined the 14th Connecticut as a sergeant. The day the auction ended, I looked up his name in the 14th Connecticut regimental history and realized that he was not only a sergeant but a color sergeant who was mortally wounded in the 14th's first battle shortly after leaving Hartford. In paperwork provided to me by Fran Moir, I learned that Mills carried the regimental flag. At that point, I realized that this was no ordinary soldier and I really wanted this image for my collection.

How did you feel when you knew you won the auction?

Sattler: I was on vacation when the auction ended, and I normally do not bid on items like this until the very end because it usually just drives the price up. But seeing that I didn't know where I would be at the auction's end and that no one had placed any bids yet, I submitted a proxy bid two hours previous to the end time. Within an hour someone else bid, which made me a little nervous. Someone else placed another bid at the very end, but I still came out on top. I don't know if anyone else realized the significance of this image, but I was ecstatic to be its new keeper, and hopefully I will be able to bring it to light for future generations.

You have a fairly extensive collection of Connecticut Civil War items. Where does this item rank in the collection?

Sattler: I would have to say image-wise that this ranks in the top two of images I own. It is second behind an image I have of John Hirst, David Whiting and Elbert Hyde of the 14th Connecticut taken in the field with a fake campfire. Hirst talks about this very image in his letters sent back home. The Mills image is extremely tiny -- it's about the size of a thumbnail.

What's the most unusual item in your collection?


Sattler: It  would have to be a wooden peg leg that came out of trunk in East Glastonbury, Conn., that also contained an image of a Civil War soldier that appears to be missing a leg, possibly a 14th Connecticut soldier.

What do you know about Mills?

Sattler: This image actually shows him with shoulder boards, but you can't make out the rank because the image is very small and because they actually tinted the boards along with the buttons as well as his cheeks. I find his story extremely interesting because I have to question why someone who was an officer became a color sergeant. If he had lived or survived Antietam, would he have been promoted to an officer? His death led to Charles Dart becoming the next color sergeant to carry the regimental flag, and he too was mortally wounded, at the regiment's next battle at Fredericksburg, Va., on Dec. 13, 1862.

Have something you would like to share for Collector's Corner? E-mail me jbankstx@comcast.net.

Mills' image appears in this tiny, fragile family album, which measures 1 3/4 inches by 1 3/4 inches.

When the miniature album arrived in the mail, Tad Sattler was amazed. 
"It weighed close to nothing," he said.

Wounded at Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862,  Mills died at Smoketown Hospital near the
 battlefield on Oct. 16 or 17, 1862.

Collector's Corner: 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery ribbon

The 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery suffered more than 300 casualties 
at the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 1, 1864.

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This 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery regiment reunion ribbon, freshly added to my collection, was worn by a veteran at the unit's 60th reunion in Litchfield, Conn., on Sept. 11, 1925. Most of old soldiers were well into their 80s then, some perhaps even 90-plus years old. I hope someone will be able to identify the veteran pictured on the ribbon on Saturday when I am in Litchfield, where an all-day event will honor and remember soldiers from that area who served during the Civil War. Here's the schedule for Saturday's "Reverberations" program.

Collector's Corner: Irish Brigade officer's effects

A tintype of Richard Bentley, who as a major in the 63rd New York was wounded in the arm during 
the Irish Brigade's attack at Bloody Lane at Antietam. (Images courtesy Joseph Maghe)

Collector Joseph Maghe purchased these boots and the other  effects of Bentley shown below
 at a Civil War show in Nashville.

Bentley's belt and buckle.

Richard Bentley's trunk. His name is stenciled on the front.

Bentley carried this sword and scabbard during the Civil War.

In the first installment of a semi-regular blog feature on Civil War collections, the effects of Irish Brigade officer Richard Charles Bentley are shown. I hereby dub this "Collector's Corner." Genius! Joseph Maghe, whose collection focuses on men of Irish birth, Irish parentage or who served in Irish-American regiments, generously supplied these images of his impressive Bentley collection as well as terrific information about the officer. Initially interested in edged weapons, Maghe has collected Civil War since 1985, when he purchased a M1860 cavalry saber at a show in Tampa, Fla., while on vacation with his family.  He purchased the Bentley items from a major dealer at the Nashville Civil War Show. A shipping merchant and an insurance agent from Albany, N.Y. before the war, Bentley was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 30th New York  in May 1861. He was discharged for promotion into the 63rd New York on Feb. 14. 1862.

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Carte-de-visite of Bentley's wife, Mary. (Photo courtesy Joseph Maghe)

In a vast rural cemetery outside Albany, N.Y., among the graves of a U.S. president, a president's son and Revolutionary War generals, rest the remains of a well-regarded Irish Brigade officer who survived a wound at Antietam and brushes with death at two other major battles. "... a better nor braver man could not be found to draw a sword in the defence of his country," a soldier wrote home about Richard C. Bentley after the officer was wounded in the head at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863. "I hope soon to have the pleasure of informing you of the entire recovery of our gallant Lieutenant-Colonel, and of his return to duty. We can ill afford to spare such men from the field in the present disturbed state of the country."

At Antietam, Bentley served as major in the 63rd New York, one of the hardest-fighting regiments of the war and part of the famed Irish Brigade. Wounded in the arm during the attack at Bloody Lane, he was sent to the rear. Bentley, who for weeks was unable to mount a horse after he suffered the wound, returned to the 63rd and was promoted to lieutenant colonel and commander of the regiment on Oct. 25, 1862. Bentley suffered another wound at Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863, when a shell burst in front of him and a piece struck him in the right side of the head.

Bentley's children. (Photo courtesy Joseph Maghe)

"We have had a terrible battle, lasting since Thursday. I went in yesterday, commanding the balance of my regiment and the 69th (New York) put together, about 160 men," Bentley wrote to his father two days after the battle. "We did not get under musketry fire, but the shelling was terrible. As I marched along the road to get in position, a shell struck in the centre of my line and killed one and wounded two men of the 69th. I received a piece of shell, burst in the air, on the head, which passed through the centre of the top of my hat, grazing my head, without cutting out the side, through the rim, and tore through my coat, vest and shirt, at the back of my left shoulder.

"I remained in command nearly an hour before I felt any effect, save a slight shock. The sun was very hot, and after getting them into the last position they occupied before being withdrawn, I sat down and keeled over and was taken to the rear. To-day I am all right, save some pain in the head and back, but nothing to notice." The wound left Bentley, who also suffered from sunstroke at Chancellorsville, with slight paralysis in his left arm, leg and face.

During fighting in the Wheatfield at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, Bentley survived another close call. He commanded the Irish Brigade, consisting of the 63rd, 69th and 88th regiments, when another shell burst near him, causing another wound in his left leg. The brigade suffered 24 casualties that day, nearly a third of the its 75 men.

Like so many Civil War veterans, Bentley couldn't escape the trauma of the Civil War. He died in Albany, N.Y. on Dec.1, 1871, from effects of his Chancellorsville head wound, according to Dr. Charles P. Staats, who was the assistant surgeon in the 63rd New York. He was only 40 years old.

A shamrock is carved at the top of Irish Brigade officer Richard Bentley's grave
 in Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, N.Y. See Google map below.
(Photo courtesy Dave Whitaker)