Civil War Union Army Officer. The son of war correspondent Samuel Wilkeson, he enlisted in Union Army at age eighteen, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in Battery G, 4th United States Regular Light Artillery on October 22, 1861. Promoted to 1st Lieutenant on August 14, 1862, he was in command of the battery on the First Day of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1, 1863). His battery arrived on the field with the rest of the Army of the Potomac's XI Corps, and was stationed on the area north of the town now known as Barlow's Knoll. He was riding up and down his line on a white horse shouting orders when a Confederate artillery shell tore mangled his leg. He fell from his horse, tied off his leg, and with a pocket knife amputated the rest of his leg. He was carried to the county poor house nearby for medical attention. He died there during the night and was temporarily interred, most likely on the grounds of the Alms House. His father, serving at the time as a correspondent with the "New York Tribune" stationed in the rear with Army headquarters, later recovered the body a day or two after the battle. Bayard Wilkeson was later posthumously brevetted up to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, US Regular Army to date from July 1, 1863. His gravesite is marked by an upright Napoleon barrel.
Civil War Union Army Officer. The son of war correspondent Samuel Wilkeson, he enlisted in Union Army at age eighteen, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in Battery G, 4th United States Regular Light Artillery on October 22, 1861. Promoted to 1st Lieutenant on August 14, 1862, he was in command of the battery on the First Day of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1, 1863). His battery arrived on the field with the rest of the Army of the Potomac's XI Corps, and was stationed on the area north of the town now known as Barlow's Knoll. He was riding up and down his line on a white horse shouting orders when a Confederate artillery shell tore mangled his leg. He fell from his horse, tied off his leg, and with a pocket knife amputated the rest of his leg. He was carried to the county poor house nearby for medical attention. He died there during the night and was temporarily interred, most likely on the grounds of the Alms House. His father, serving at the time as a correspondent with the "New York Tribune" stationed in the rear with Army headquarters, later recovered the body a day or two after the battle. Bayard Wilkeson was later posthumously brevetted up to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, US Regular Army to date from July 1, 1863. His gravesite is marked by an upright Napoleon barrel.
Bio by: EFB III
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