1st Lieutenant Lewis C. Parmelee, 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters. Parmelee was from an affluent New England family with strong ties to Connecticut and New York. Prior to the war he was a member of the esteemed 7th Regiment New York State Militia. In October 1861 after seeking a commission in a volunteer regiment, Parmelee joined the field and staff of the 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters as Adjutant at their training camp outside of Washington. On the morning of Sept. 17th, 1862 the adjutants life was cut short. After being ordered into the fight in the now-famous Miller cornfield, Col. Henry VanZo Post was wounded and retired to the rear leaving adjutant Parmelee in command. Upon advancing beyond the cornfield and seeing Confederates of Starkes brigade falling back, Parmelee grabbed the regimental colors and exulted his men to press their advantage and charge forward. During the sharp fighting a Confederate flag bearer was shot dead and a race ensued to capture the colors. Parmelee made it far ahead of his regiment to the Hagerstown Pike fence where, in the face of scores of enemy soldiers, he captured the CS flag and held it aloft on his sword while coolly walking back towards his regiment. Such actions did not go unnoticed by the rebels just yards away on the opposite side of the road and Parmelee was shot dead in his tracks. He was eventually buried next to other casualties from the 2nd USSS. The regiment entered the battle with approximately 130 officers and enlisted men; afterward they had only 66 present to answer the roll call. Nine were killed outright, four died of wounds in field hospitals, fifty-one were wounded, and two were missing/captured. The original glass plate negative of this pose was taken in Washington by Matthew Brady and appears to have been Parmelees preferred photograph. Every print I am aware of uses this negative and not a Napoleonic Pose variant by Brady now held by the Library of Congress. Despite many other cdvs of Parmelee bearing the mark of Brady himself, this one was published by E.S. Dunshee of New Bedford, MA. The whereabouts of the original glass plate negative for this pose is unknown. Brian White collection.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 02:03:29 +0000
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