The Trial of Col. Dixon Miles

The fourth in my trial series of men who didn’t go to trial…and what might have happened. Col. Dixon Miles was the commanding officer of the troops defending Bolivar Heights at Harpers Ferry on September 15, 1862 — just two days before the much more famous Battle of Antietam. Miles surrendered over 12,000 Union soldiers, the largest surrender in the Civil War. He certainly would have faced a court martial for failing to follow orders — “to hold the heights at all cost”, but he was mortally wounded and died the following day.