Unexpected Discovery at Antietam Monument

Yesterday I visited Antietam with my friend Chuck and hiked several battlefield trails in humid conditions under an overcast sky. Along The Cornfield Avenue we came upon the State of New Jersey Monument, dedicated in 1903 to the Third, Fourth and Thirteenth Infantries and Hexamer's Battery (Battery A, First New Jersey Artillery).

Along the base of the monument is inscribed the names of the governor and three veterans, all commissioners who helped make the monument a reality. The name of the third commissioner instantly caught my attention, for John James Toffey is one of the seventy-seven soldiers featured in Faces of the Civil War. That Toffey's name should appear at Antietam is unexpected, for he did not serve in these units (he was part of the Twenty-first and Thirty-third infantry regiments) nor participate in the battle.

Toffey (1844-1911) received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Chattanooga in 1863.