The vast scale of the American Civil War resulted in a series of events that seemed almost unbelievable. Among these were bullets meeting and fusing in mid-flight, a Union general with the same name as the Confederate president, wounds that glowed mysteriously in the darkness, and notably, Confederate Brig. Gen. Martin Green’s claim of invincibility, just moments before his death.
Confederate Brig. Gen. Martin Green
Martin Green was born on June 3, 1815, in Fauquier County, Virginia. At 21, he relocated to Missouri, where he and his brothers set up a sawmill. During this period, he was appointed as a judge of the Lewis County Court, while his brother embarked on a political as career as a Senator with Missouri’s Democratic Party.
When the American Civil War erupted in 1861, Green became a leading secessionist in Missouri. He gathered a large group of like-minded civilians and organized a cavalry regiment, which initially struggled against David Moore’s Union Home Guard Regiment. Nevertheless, Green led a successful assault on Lexington but faced a series of defeats following this victory.
A year into the war, Green was promoted to brigadier general and took command of John S. Bowen’s division during the Siege of Vicksburg. This battle saw Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant‘s offensive against the well-fortified city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, one of the final Confederate bastions along the Mississippi River.
The irony of Martin Green’s last words
On June 27, 1863, Martin Green was busy inspecting Vicksburg’s defenses. He carried out his inspection as if there wasn’t an army of Union men attempting to put an end to him and his troops. He was warned to keep his head down, to which he responded, “A bullet has not yet been molded that will kill me.”
In perhaps one of the worst cases of “speaking too soon,” almost immediately after his reply, Green was shot in the head by a Union sharpshooter, killing him instantly.
A similar incident happened with Union Gen. John Sedgwick
A similar incident happened to Union Gen. John Sedgwick, one of the highest-ranking officers to die during the Civil War. Sedgwick’s grandfather was also a military general, serving alongside George Washington. With such a heritage, it wasn’t surprising that he, too, served.
Before the Civil War began, Sedgwick had fought in Seminole Wars, the Mexican-American War, the Utah War and the American-Indian Wars. When the Civil War broke about, he was a colonel and assistant inspector general with the Military Department of Washington. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in August 1861.
At the Battle of Antietam, Sedgwick and his division were sent by Maj. Gen. Edwin Sumner on a poorly-prepared assault and was shot three times. He was out of action for a few months while he recovered from his wounds. During the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Sedgwick was directing artillery placements when he came under fire from Confederate sharpshooters positioned 900 meters away.
His men dived for cover to avoid the hail of bullets, but this angered Sedgwick, who, like Green, was not phased by the very real danger. He said to his men, “What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line?”
However, they remained in cover. Despite being more familiar than most with being shot, Sedgwick was ashamed by how they were acting and said, “Why are you dodging like this? They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.” Shortly after these famous last words, the Union general slumped over dead, having been shot in the head.
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A well-respected general, Sedgwick’s death hit Grant hard. Upon hearing the news, he asked, “Is he really dead?”