Two days after the battle, Crocker, whose only punishment for disobeying orders was a reprimand, described his harrowing battle experience in a letter to his parents: "As we got to the riverside we had to go near a half mile to a dam over which our men were attempting to cross, and to make this dam many a man lost his life, as the rebels were stationed on the bluff taking deliberate aim during the whole fight."
"I was cool and collected during my travel by the riverside," he continued, "but when I reach this dam, I think my cheek blanched, for it seemed certain death to cross it, as the rebels had got into a large brick building below the dam, and the main body above on the bluff, picking off our poor fellows."
Ravaged by time, nature and graffiti, that brick building used by the Confederates still stands.
After Lemuel Crocker's death in Buffalo in 1885, apparently from a stroke, no mention appeared in the local newspaper of his long-ago heroism. It said that he was a respected businessman "noted for for his liberality, public spirit and kindheartedness. he had many warm friends by whom his sudden taking off will be greatly deplored.
He was buried at Buffalo's famous Forest Lawn Cemetery.
He did not receive a Medal of Honor for his Shepherdstown efforts. Hopefully at some time soon that will be rectified. He definitely deserves one (along with William Barker Cushing in my book).
--Old Secesh
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