Two Old Soldiers Greet FDR at Antietam on 75th Anniversary-- Part 3: Robert E. Miles, CSA

One of the two old soldiers was Confederate, the other Union.

The Confederate one was Robert E. Miles, 101, who was a sergeant in the 57th Virginia Infantry Regiment.  He was struck in the hand and foot by shell fragments at Antietam and lay wounded  on the field for hours until he was able to crawl to the safety of his own lines.  He claimed that later in the war, he carried dispatches for Robert E. Lee, whom he said greeted soldiers each morning with, "Good morning, boys."

By the end of the Rebellion, Miles had been promoted to captain.

After the war, he returned to his Virginia farm in Franklin County, where he and his wife raised ten children.  The old soldier's advice for a good life was simple, "When you start through the world," he told a local newspaper, "commence laughing.  Then never quit."

When he turned 100, Miles received a letter marking the occasion from FDR who noted his milestone was "a privilege  not vouchsafed to many."  That note was one of his most treasured possessions.

Born in Pig River, Virginia, on December 8, 1839, Miles died at Shawsville, Virginia, in 1942, two days shy of his 103rd birthday.  He was buried in his Confederate uniform.

--Old Secesh