“Coffee Bill”: William H. McKinley’s Civil War Heroics

President William H. McKinley has played a surprisingly large role in the news lately. Perhaps best known for being the once-and-future namesake of the tallest mountain in North America, he was president from 1897-1901. He secured that office in part because of his heroics combining two of my favorite things: Civil War history and coffee.

McKinley was one of five future presidents to serve in the U.S. Army during the Civil War. He enlisted in the 23rd Ohio, originally commanded by Col. William Rosecrans, and later by Lt. Col. Rutherford B. Hayes, another future president. Through 1861 and into early 1862, the regiment operated in West Virginia, seeing some light skirmishing around the edges of Stonewall Jackson’s famous Shenandoah Valley campaign. [1]

The regiment got its first taste of major combat in the Antietam campaign. As part of the Kanawha Division of the Union IX Corps, they saw hard fighting at the battle of South Mountain. Just a few days later, they were deployed to the far left flank of the Union line. Positioned along the banks of Antietam Creek, the IX Corps was tasked with crossing the stream and overwhelming the Confederate left flank. If all went according to plan, they would be in position to cut off Lee’s path back to the Potomac River.

The terrain at what is today known as the Burnside Bridge is one of those pieces of ground that you really need to see in person in order to appreciate the challenges faced by the men fighting for it. The troops of the IX Corps needed to cross an open field and charge across a bridge that was only a few feet wide, all while under fire. Once they reached the Confederate-held west bank, Union soldiers faced one of the steepest hills I’ve seen on any major battlefield. Lee had already pulled most of the defenders away to bolster other parts of his line earlier in the day, but the difficult terrain allowed even the scratch force of remaining Confederates to inflict severe damage on the Federal attackers.

Eventually fighting their way across the bridge and capturing the heights on the far side, the IX Corps was expected to keep up the pressure on the Army of Northern Virginia’s right flank. The 23rd Ohio was understandably exhausted from their hard fighting just three days earlier at South Mountain, and now at Antietam. Rutherford B. Hayes recalled that, “Early in the afternoon, naturally enough, with the exertion required of the men, they were famished and thirsty, and to some extent broken in spirit.”[2]

Seeing that his comrades needed a boost keep them going, McKinley leapt into action. He braved heavy enemy fire to deliver hot coffee and warm food to every man in the 23rd Ohio. His heroics kept the regiment in the fight and earned him the nickname “Coffee Bill.” Today, you can find a monument to McKinley and his famous coffee run on the Antietam battlefield, just south of the parking for the Burnside Bridge.

While Lee’s army was able to escape back into Virginia – very much to Lincoln’s displeasure – Antietam was a major turning point in the war. It ended a months-long string of victories by the Army of Northern Virginia, and paved the way for the Emancipation Proclamation.

The 23rd Ohio spent the remainder of the war in West Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, including seeing significant fighting during the 1864 Valley Campaign. McKinley eventually reached a brevet rank of major, and mustered out of the army in 1865. He went on to serve in Congress and as the governor of Ohio, before being elected President of the United States in 1896.

Naturally, McKinley’s Civil War heroics featured prominently in his campaign. No surprise that he won – if someone risked their life to bring me coffee in a battle, I’d vote for them too.

————

[1] The five future presidents who fought in the Civil War are Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Harrison, and McKinley. Remarkably, all of them had roots in Ohio. While he isn’t traditionally included in this list, Andrew Johnson could be added, given that he was commissioned as a brigadier general when he was made the military governor of Tennessee.

[2] “Monument to William McKinley,” National Park Service, January 27, 2020.