The 9 Lives of John Brown Gordon

(HistoryNet) - John Brown Gordon lay face down in the dust and smoke swirling along a sunken farm road in Maryland. It was midafternoon on September 17, 1862. Only moments before, the tall, slender colonel had used his booming voice to rally his 6th Alabama Infantry in their defense of the Sunken Road at the Battle of Sharpsburg, despite being slowed by two gunshot wounds to his right leg and one each in his left arm and left shoulder. As his men held the road that would later be re-christened Bloody Lane, a Yankee bullet had slammed into Gordon’s face, knocking him senseless and pitching him face-down into his hat. Continued

Photos: Library of Congress, Civil War Women