The Angel of the Wheatfield

The Angel of the Wheatfi eld them to halt. Purman, fearing capture, took fl ight and soon cried out, “I’m struck!” as he fell among the wheat, having been shot about four inches above his left ankle. Th e ball entered from the side and shattered both bones of his lower leg. He described the sensation of being shot: “At fi rst there is no pain, smarting, nor anguish. It is very like the shock of an electric battery. But that delusion soon passes and the acute pain follows, and you know that a missle [sic] has passed through the tender fl esh of your body.”2 Pipes was also wounded in the leg. His less severe injury allowed him to hobble off the fi eld using his rifl e as a crutch. Th ere, he was taken prisoner by Confederate fl ankers. Purman lay on the fi eld watching, as a Confederate regiment charged over him. Looking up, he saw the words “24th Georgia” on the fl ag going past. Night fell, and Purman lay among the wheat, listening to the cries of those about him. Sunrise revealed that Purman was trapped between the lines, with only the stalks of wheat and undulations of the fi eld to protect him. As the sun climbed above the horizon, the gunfi re of the previous day was renewed with shots being exchanged between the Pennsylvania Reserves and the TwentyFourth Georgia Infantry. A wounded Michigander called to Purman for water. Purman off ered his canteen of whiskey and attempted to toss it, but it landed between them. Th e Michigan man was struck a second time when he tried for the canteen. “Nothing could be seen except a line of blue on one side and gray on the other, and nothing heard