Alois O. Bachman

Alois O. Bachman (May 17, 1839 – September 17, 1862) was an American lawyer and Union Army officer during the American Civil War. He organized the Madison City Greys militia company, served as captain of Company K, 6th Indiana Infantry Regiment, and later became lieutenant colonel of the 19th Indiana Infantry Regiment, part of the famed Iron Brigade. He was mortally wounded leading the 19th Indiana at the Battle of Antietam.

Early life and education Alois O. Bachman was born on May 17, 1839, in Madison, Indiana to Alois O. Bachman Sr. (1790–1860) and Emily Thiebaud Bachman (1800–1850). He was the only son among seven children. Bachman attended Hanover College from 1856 to 1858, studying law and rhetoric. He then enrolled at the Kentucky Military Institute near Frankfort, Kentucky, for approximately two and a half years, receiving formal military training.

Early military service Shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, Bachman organized the Madison City Greys, a local militia company.

On September 17, 1862, at the Battle of Antietam, Bachman led his men in a morning advance that pushed Confederate forces out of the West Woods. During a charge across the Hagerstown Pike and toward Farmer Miller's cornfield, he was struck by enemy fire and mortally wounded. Captain William Wade Dudley immediately assumed command of the 19th Indiana and withdrew the regiment under severe fire. Bachman's final words reportedly urged his men onward until he fell.

Death and legacy Bachman was evacuated from the battlefield but died of his wounds on September 17, 1862. His remains were returned to Madison, Indiana, and interred in Springdale Cemetery.

Bachman was the highest-ranking Indiana officer killed at Antietam. His funeral procession on September 26, 1862, was reported as the largest ever held in Madison up to that date, with six companies of the city guard and two cavalry companies escorting his remains. In 1998, the bridge at the foot of Hanging Rock Hill in Madison was named the Alois O. Bachman Bridge in his honor.