Emerging Civil War
By Chris Mackowski, Ph.D. · Originally published September-October 2025 · pp. 42–44
Moment of Mercy —and Reflection
Sgt. Richard Kirkland died at the Battle of Chickamauga on September 20, 1863. (Photo courtesy Emerging Civil War)
Sculpted by Terry Jones, Moment of Mercy was dedicated in 2001.
Sergeant Richard Kirkland of the 2nd South Carolina Infantry leans with a canteen over a wounded soldier cradled in his arms. The wounded man is a member of the 127th Pennsylvania Infantry, although nothing on the nearby bronze tablet indicates that. You have to recognize the unit designation on the man’s kepi. Instead, the tablet recounts the story of Kirkland’s act of compassion, delivering water to wounded enemies in the wake of the December 1862 battle of Fredericksburg. “Soldiers in blue and soldiers in gray repeated this incident many times throughout the Civil War,” the plaque says. “This Moment of Mercy sculpture pays homage to them and the uniquely American spirit of aiding those in need.” My group and I are not in Fredericksburg, Va., though, but rather, we’re standing in front of the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, Penn. The choice of the 127th PA—a unit raised in Harrisburg—helps ground this scene in this place. The life-size figures help ground the story in common humanity. A similar monument, titled The Angel of Marye’s Heights, stands in front of Fredericksburg’s infamous stone wall in the very area where Kirkland ministered to the wounded. That statue stands atop a large granite base, raising the tableau above the visitor and accentuating the larger-thanlife scale of the figures. Moment of Mercy brings them to ground level and invites you to bear witness to the scene. I’m co-leading a bus tour from the American Battlefield Trust’s Teacher Institute on a half-day trip to the museum.
This is our last exhibit to look at before we hop back on the bus for the return trip to Gettysburg. Stories such as Kirkland’s capture our attention and imagination for many reasons. We like to be reminded of common decency, kindness, and our shared humanity. We admire people willing to put themselves in harm’s way to help others. We struggle to make sense of the chaos and carnage of war.
“The men in these armies spent the previous day trying to kill each other,” I tell the teachers. “And then, in a pause in the action, Kirkland goes out to help these wounded men and does what he can for them.” While such scenes can inspire us, we have to be careful not to romanticize or even fetishize them. For as touching as this moment of mercy was, let’s not forget that the men in these armies went right back to trying to kill each other— and they kept on trying to kill each other for another twoplus years. “Every monument has a story it wants you to remember,” I explain. “But remember: those stories aren’t histories. They are ways of remembering. The monument wants you to remember something a certain way.”
As dramatic as the 72nd Pennsylvania monument can be to photograph, it’s not nearly as dramatic as the legal fight over the statue’s placement. (Jack W. Melton Jr.)
Collector’s Arms 1700-1945 Militaria Specializing in Civil War-World War II
WALLACE MARKERT
csacquisitions@gmail.com 16905 Nash Road • Dewitt, Virginia 23840 804-536-6413 | www.csacquisitions.com
J&J Military Antiques
Buying and Selling Original Rev. War – WWII Guns, Swords, Bayonets, Molds, Flasks, Tools and Accoutrements. Specializing in all Civil War Union & Confederate Artifacts.
PO Box 18 • Mt. Bethel, PA 18343 • Phone: 610-599-0766 Email: jjmilitaryantiques@gmail.com
9150 John S. Mosby Hwy. (Rt. 50) Upperville, Va 20185 for US Mail: PO BOX 602 (540) 592-7273 • SophiaCSArms@aol.com
Photographs from the Original Article
Captions and credits appear in the article text as originally printed.