Captain John A. Tompkins commanded Battery A, 1st Rhode Island Artillery at the Battle. His battery was part of the Second Corps attack toward the Sunken Road or Bloody Lane. Captain Tompkins and his men fired over 1,000 rouds of ammunition is about three hours and withstood a Confederate infantry attack right into their guns that led to hand to hand fighting.
Did You Know?
The First Texas Infantry lost 82% of their men killed, wounded and missing while fighting in the Cornfield at Antietam, the highest casualty rate for any Confederate regiment in one battle of the Civil War.