Honored in Life and Death: Color Sergeant George A. Simpson at Antietam

The day after the bloody battle of Antietam, both opposing armies remained in their lines around Sharpsburg, Maryland. Dead and wounded men littered the ground. So, too, did the wreckage of war: artillery shells, bullets, smashed muskets and rifles, paper cartridges, and the ever-present smell of black powder and death. The sights became unbearable to some. Within their lines, living soldiers sought to care for the dead and wounded within reach.

Informal truces popped up sporadically. During one near the shot-riddled Dunker Church, members of the 125th Pennsylvania, who were no longer green soldiers after the regiment’s baptism of battle the previous day, sought to find their dead comrades and return them to friendly lines. The screen of Confederate skirmishers did not allow access to their previous position. They had to wait the next day to bury their dead.

Among the heaps of corpses lying in the West Woods was the regiment’s 22-year-old color sergeant, George Simpson. This young man, tasked with great responsibility, soaked the flag he carried with his blood. On September 19, the surviving members of the regiment found him lying as if he was still clutching the flag. They hoped to return his body home to Huntington County, Pennsylvania. Laying in the woods for two days decayed the body to a point where they felt it was impossible to move. Picking up a shovel, Simpson’s comrades buried him in a marked grave near where he fell. Later, Simpson’s remains were moved to Antietam National Cemetery, where they can be found today in Grave 3,953.

Years after the battle, the 125th Pennsylvania’s veterans never forgot Color Sgt. Simpson. When they dedicated their monument in 1904 near where the regiment fought on September 17, 1862, they invited George’s sister Annie to unveil it. Annie brought with her the flag her brother died holding. “The flag has been seen by but a few of the boys since the battle,” reported the Huntington Globe, “and the sight of it will revive many of the recollections and emotions of that exciting and strenuous day.” When Annie removed the flag obscuring the monument, the gray-haired veterans looked up to see that a likeness of George Simpson–defiantly clutching the flag–adorned the top of the monument.

In 1916, George’s brother John visited Grave 3,953. During his visit, he learned from the cemetery’s superintendent that another regimental veteran paused at George’s grave the previous year and openly wept. After collecting himself, the veteran requested that flowers be placed at George’s grave each Decoration Day. He even provided funds for this request to be fulfilled. The veteran was Eugene Boblitz, the first man of the regiment to pick up the flag following George’s death.

The men of the 125th Pennsylvania honored George Simpson in life and death. In life, he received the honor of carrying the regiment’s colors into battle. In death, Simpson stands in stone, forever holding the regiment’s flag. He is the only soldier buried in Antietam National Cemetery also represented on a battlefield monument.