Private efforts to save our heritage are also saving our ecosystems
Fort Welch, just outside Petersburg, Virginia, has exactly one review on Google Maps—a solitary 5-star rating, referencing “another overlooked bit of history.” Go there today, and it would be a surprise if you saw another human soul at this American Civil War site. Despite the area in and around Petersburg being home to the final, dramatic acts of the war, Fort Welch is mostly frequented these days by impassioned history nerds and diehard Civil War buffs.
The fort’s namesake is as obscure as its location. Named after Colonel Norval E. Welch—the “coward” colonel who allegedly lost his nerve during the climactic moments of the Battle of Gettysburg, while commanding the 16th Michigan Infantry Regiment on Little Round Top—one could hardly be blamed for failing to grasp why a military installation would be christened after such a soldier. But Welch’s story didn’t end at Little Round Top. After a period back home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to recuperate his nerves and his reputation—Welch was likely suffering from what we would now recognize and treat as PTSD—he returned to the front lines and led his men at the Battle of Peebles Farm near Petersburg on September 30, 1864.
Despite his enlistment having technically just expired, Col. Welch, in an attempt to inspire his troops—and likely restore his honor—launched himself over a Confederate redoubt during the battle, as he dramatically called out, “On boys, and over!” For his efforts, he received two bullets in his skull and instant martyrdom as a hero. And, of course, the eponymous fort that stands as a silent memorial to his sacrifice.
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C. Jarrett Dieterle is a legal policy fellow for the Manhattan Institute.
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