Long, Woodward had no bullets
that contained their names

You’ve  probably heard it in B-movie dialogue when the hero avoided a near miss.

“Guess that bullet didn’t have my name on it,” he’d comment.

There are at least two instances in the Civil War when combatants could have uttered that cliché in the plural.

One was a Confederate Sgt. Long and the other was Union Lt. Evan M. Woodward.

At the Battle of Bristoe Station (Va.), Oct. 14, 1863, following the confrontation at  Gettysburg, the 44th North Carolina infantry charged a strong Union position located behind a railroad embankment. The Confederates advanced to within some 50 yards of the railroad when the color bearer was felled. Sgt. Long (first name not known) grabbed the flag, retreated to a safe position and attempted to reorganize his regiment.

“Rally on the flag, 44th, rally on the flag!” Long cried as minie balls flew around him. The sergeant wasn’t hit, but didn’t realize until later how lucky he was. He discovered 17 bullet holes in his coat and pants.

The Fredericksburg (Va.) Campaign, November-December 1862, had a similar occurrence.

Lt. Woodward, adjutant of the 2nd Pennsylvania Reserves, received the Medal of Honor for his heroics on Dec. 13. The Philadelphia native advanced his men between the lines and, caught in a cross fire between Union and Confederate troops, ran ahead and dove into the Confederate trench occupied by more than 100 Southerners. He asked if they cared to surrender, and, after a brief consideration, his opponents agreed.

The 19th Georgia infantry surrendered and Woodward captured its battle flag. Later, he realized he’d led a charmed life, counting 13 bullet holes in his uniform.

However, unlike Sgt. Long, another Confederate, Pvt. George Barnhart Zimpelman, Terry’s Texas Rangers, did find two bullets that contained his name. Zimpelman, a Bavarian born German-American, was wounded twice and maimed for life by one of the missiles. But, amazingly, the private went through more than 400 battles and skirmishes and led his regiment in the number of horses shot from under him.

Zimpelman, who fought at Perryville, became an influential Texas statesman and businessman who was a previous owner of the LBJ Ranch, owned by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Interestingly, it was found that firing on both sides during the Civil War was so inaccurate that it took more than a man’s weight in lead to kill a single enemy in battle.  A federal authority said 240 pounds of powder and 900 pounds of lead were required to wound a single Confederate.