Thomas Sloan Bell Jr. (May 12, 1838 – September 17, 1862) was an American soldier who served as a Union Army lieutenant colonel of the

51st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment The 51st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 51st Pennsylvania Infantry was organized in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and mustered in November 16, 1861 f ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He was killed in action at the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgi ...

shortly after capturing a key stone bridge over

Antietam Creek Antietam Creek () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Potomac River located in south central Pennsylvania and western Maryland in the ...

held by

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

troops.

Early life and career

Born in

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,671 at the 2020 census. West ...

, on May 12, 1838, Bell was the third son of Thomas S. Bell and was descended from Colonel Joseph McClellan, who had distinguished himself as an officer during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. Among his siblings was US Army officer, William Hemphill Bell. Thomas Bell Jr. studied at West Chester Academy, read law under his father's supervision, and gained admittance to the Chester County bar in April 1859. On May 20, 1859, Governor William F. Packer appointed him notary public for Chester County. Bell pursued a military career in the Pennsylvania militia in conjunction with his law practice. On March 11, 1858, he was commissioned aide-de-camp to the major general commanding the 3rd Division of the uniformed militia of Chester and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

counties. On October 3, 1859, he became paymaster of the same division, with the rank of major. In October 1860, he ran for the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...

on the Democratic ticket but was not elected.

Civil War

In the spring of 1861, Bell promptly responded to President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

's call for volunteers to suppress the Southern secessionists. He was elected to serve as a lieutenant in the first company of volunteers that marched from West Chester and served as adjutant of the 9th Pennsylvania Regiment, which consisted of soldiers who had volunteered for three months of service. Bell mustered out with the rest of his regiment in July 1861 and promptly reenlisted. Governor

Andrew Gregg Curtin Andrew Gregg Curtin (April 22, 1815October 7, 1894) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as the 15th governor of Pennsylvania during the American Civil War, helped defend his state during the Gettysburg Campaign, and oversaw the crea ...

commissioned Bell a lieutenant colonel of the

commanded by Colonel John F. Hartranft. On November 18, 1861, the regiment left

Camp Curtin Camp Curtin was a major Union Army training camp in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War. It was located north of Pennsylvania's state capitol building on 80 acres of what had previously been land used by the Dauphin County ...

and traveled to

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, where they drilled for six weeks before embarking for military operations on the coast of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

on January 6, 1862.

Burnside's North Carolina Expedition Burnside's North Carolina Expedition (also known as the Burnside Expedition) was a series of engagements fought along the North Carolina Coast between February and June 1862. The expedition was part of Winfield Scott's overall Anaconda Plan, which ...

was a Union naval and infantry assault aimed at closing blockade-running ports inside the

Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separatin ...

. The 51st Pennsylvania joined the expedition as part of the 2nd Brigade, commanded by General Jesse L. Reno. Bell commanded part of the regiment at the

Battle of Roanoke Island The opening phase of what came to be called the Burnside Expedition, the Battle of Roanoke Island was an amphibious operation of the American Civil War, fought on February 7–8, 1862, in the North Carolina Sounds a short distance south of the ...

and commanded the entire regiment at the Battle of New Bern, leading a charge against Confederate batteries, which he captured. Also at New Bern, he commanded a detachment that dragged army's artillery through downpours along muddy roads in time for the Union attack, for which he earned personal thanks from General

Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everts Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the American Civil War and a three-time Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successfu ...

. At the inconclusive Battle of South Hill, Bell commanded the entire 2nd Brigade. On June 30, Burnside's expedition embarked and sailed for

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth o ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, landing on July 8. During this period, Bell was nominated for colonel of the newly formed 124th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment (composed largely of Chester County volunteers). However, the War Department barred officers from swapping positions, so Bell remained with his regiment as a lieutenant colonel. Back in Virginia after the North Carolina Expedition, Bell's regiment was assigned to the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Division, commanded by General

Edward Ferrero Edward Ferrero (January 18, 1831 – December 11, 1899) was one of the leading dance instructors, choreographers, and ballroom operators in the United States and served as a Union Army general in the American Civil War, being most remembered for ...

, in the

IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...

under the overall command of General Burnside. As part of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

, Bell fought at the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

(August 28–30) and the

Battle of South Mountain The Battle of South Mountain, known in several early Southern United States, Southern accounts as the Battle of Boonsboro Gap, was fought on September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles ...

(September 14). He went on to fight in the

on September 17, 1862. He led his troops as they stormed a tactically important stone bridge across

held by the Confederates. Soon after the Union troops seized the bridge,

grapeshot In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of a collection of smaller-caliber round shots packed tightly in a canvas bag and separated from the gunpowder charge by a metal wadding, rather than being a single solid projectile ...

struck Bell in the left temple and inflicted a mortal wound. Carried to a nearby farmhouse that had been converted into a field hospital, he died of his wounds at 5 p.m. The regiment sustained heavy casualties of 125 men killed and wounded during the battle. Two of Bell's brothers also served in the Union Army. William H. Bell graduated from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, and Joseph McClellan Bell served as a colonel in the

Army of Virginia The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate Army of ''Northern'' Virginia ...

and fought at the

Death and legacy

Bell's remains were returned to West Chester and interred in the family plot at Oaklands Cemetery. He was an

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

. The Chester County History Center holds a collection of Bell's wartime letters and sketches.

References

External links

Finding aid to Lt. Col. Thomas S. Bell Papers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Thomas S. Jr. 1838 births 1862 deaths 19th-century American lawyers American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law American notaries Burials at Oaklands Cemetery Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania lawyers Military personnel from West Chester, Pennsylvania People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Union army colonels Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War