Lt. Col. Thomas S. Bell, one of West Chester’s favorite sons who died during the Battle of Antietam, was one of the few who received a proper burial, writes Mark E. Dixon for Main Line Today.

Bell was the son and namesake of a prominent local judge. He was raised in a house at Church and Miner streets that still stands. He graduated from the West Chester Academy — now known as West Chester University — and studied law in his father’s office.

During the Civil War, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel as a member of the 51st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. The summer before he died, his regiment participated in the disastrous Second Battle of Bull Run.

On Sept. 14, 1862, Bell found himself amid the Battle of South Mountain. Three days later, while the troops moved, he lost his life during the Battle of Antietam, where 23,000 men were killed or wounded.

Unlike regular soldiers who were buried without a coffin at the scene of the battle, Bell’s remains were sent home to his family for a proper burial at Oaklands Cemetery.

Read more about the history of West Chester’s Thomas S. Bell in Main Line Today.

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