William F. Fox, Lt. Col. U. S. V., Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865: A Treatise on the extent and nature of the mortuary losses in the Union regiments, with full and exhaustive statistics compiled from the official records on file in the state military bureaus and at Washington

[45] C. Drake, Colonel of the One Hundred and Twelfth New York, an officer conspicuous for gallant and meritorious service on many occasions. A similar instance is found in the Confederate federate Army in the case of Bishop Polk, a corps-general, who fell while on the Atlanta campaign.

The musicians formed a numerous class among the non combatants. Although their legitimate duty in time of battle was confined to that of stretcher-bearers, they often participated in the fighting. At Shiloh, the band of the Forty-eighth Ohio laid aside their instruments, procured rifles, and went into the fight, where two of their number were killed.¹ Still, it must be confessed that the dead drummer-boy was not so common a feature on the field as might be inferred from the work of battle-field artists.

The frequent loss of life among the stretcher-bearers attests the faithful work of the men employed in that duty, most of whom were musicians. At the battle of the Weldon Railroad, the ambulance train of the Fifth Corps lost 2 sergeants killed and 6 stretcher-men wounded: 8 horses were killed, and shells passed through two of the ambulances. This was not an uncommon experience.