ANTIETAM: A Civil War Battle Documentary
Sandmoon for Sergeant Thomas Galway, 8th Ohio [UNION]
Sergeant Thomas Galway of the 8th Ohio Volunteers took part in the bloody Union assaults towards The Sunken Road, an eroded farm lane-turned fortification by the Confederates. The 8th Ohio was a veteran regiment who took cover below the crest about 100 yards in front of the farmlane to reload, only exposing themselves when ready to fire.
In this quote, Thomas Galway recalls the horrifying sights of dead and wounded laying in the field as the Union tries desperately to push through the Sunken Road. He compares previous skirmishes to what he sees now, which he refers to as "systematic killing."
“The din is frightful, our men are falling fast. We’ve seen a great deal of service before now, but our fighting had always been mostly of the sultry skirmishing sort. What we see now looks to us more like… systematic killing. Sergeant Thomas Galway, 8th Ohio Volunteers.”
