Beside the river, a field hospital cared for the wounded as best it could in darkness and rain, but the swollen North Anna prevented the men from being carried to safety, leaving Federal soldiers to endure a night of suffering until dawn. Among them, Color Sergeant Leopold Karpeles of the 57th Massachusetts was especially distraught after being wounded while holding the regiment’s colors and refusing to leave the flag until Lieutenant Colonel Chandler ordered him to the rear. In the darkness, Karpeles heard a rumor that Chandler had been killed after seizing the flag to protect it from the Rebels when Color Corporal Ira Bullard died in the final enemy charge, and although a regimental historian later wrote that the rumor had no basis, Karpeles spent the night blaming himself for the death of his “dear colonel” because he had left the field. Lieutenant Colonel Chandler did in fact die of his wounds. Karpeles survived and later received the Medal of Honor for his bravery at the Battle of the Wilderness. Brigadier General Ledlie received no known reprimand for his performance at Ox Ford and, instead of facing a court-martial, was promoted to command the 1st Division, 9th Corps, where further blunders culminated in the Federal disaster at the Battle of the Crater on July 30, 1864; found in a bunker while his division attacked Petersburg, he left the army in disgrace by resigning on January 23, 1865.