John Pelham was killed during the battle

Young artilleryman John Pelham, who has a stellar resume. He led the initial push on the Union line and was killed by a shell fragment even though he had no troops under his command on the battlefield. Moving forward with Lee's soldiers, Pelham waved a girl through a fence gate when a shell exploded over his head, piercing his brain with a small piece of shrapnel and killing him instantly. Few hours later, he passed away. The 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry's carbine fire and Martin's battery's shelling successfully stopped the Confederate assault.

When Stuart learned of the boy's passing, he sobbed, saying, "Our loss is irreparable." Stuart later suggested in a letter to his wife that they name their future child after the brave fighter. It came as a shock to many veterans of the Battle of Fredericksburg and Robert E. Lee when young Pelham, who was 24 years old, passed away. "The courageous Pelham—so noble, so true—will be mourned by the nation," Stuart wrote following the war.