Death in Battle
Ward was mortally wounded in the Battle of Cixi, about 10 miles from Ningbo on September 21, 1862, when he was shot in the abdomen (Smith, 79; Cixi is a location and not related to the dowager empress). One version is that he was wounded at the base of the city wall. Ward survived 14 previous battlefield injuries.
Ward lingered for a day. During that time he dictated a will ensuring his brother, sister and Chinese wife would be cared for; he expired on the morning of September 22, 1862. Ward died at the height of his fame, leaving an unusual, original army forged by an even more unusual commander.
Read more about this topic: Frederick Townsend Ward
Famous quotes containing the words death and/or battle:
“Yet the wound, O see the wound
This petrified heart has taken,
Because, created deathless,
Nothing but death remained
To scatter magnificence....”
—Philip Larkin (19221986)
“The easiest period in a crisis situation is actually the battle itself. The most difficult is the period of indecisionwhether to fight or run away. And the most dangerous period is the aftermath. It is then, with all his resources spent and his guard down, that an individual must watch out for dulled reactions and faulty judgment.”
—Richard M. Nixon (19131995)