For two days after the battle, wounded Union soldiers lying between the lines cried out for water as exposure to enemy fire even for a moment meant almost certain death. Sergeant Richard Kirkland of the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers filled several canteens with water and stepped over the stone wall to care for his wounded enemies. When Union soldiers understood his purpose, they ceased firing at him, and for nearly two hours he continued his ministrations. Kirkland was nineteen years old when he performed this deed, and he died in battle at Chickamaunga, Georgia, in September 1863.