John K. Doolittle was born around 1840 in Connecticut to Abisha and Mary Doolittle. His father was a manufacturer who owned $2,000 of real estate in 1860. Doolittle grew up and attended school in Middletown, Connecticut, before also beginning work as a manufacturer. He enlisted in the Union army on April 25, 1861, and mustered in as a private in Company B of the 3^rd Connecticut Infantry on May 14. Three months later, on August 12, 1861, the army transferred him to the 8^th Connecticut Infantry. He was wounded in the knee on September 17, 1861, in the Battle of Antietam, and he received treatment at the German Reformed Church in Sharpsburg, Maryland. His health, however, quickly deteriorated. A surgeon who attended him on October 6 reported that there was “No hope except amputating soon.” Another surgeon agreed, observing that Doolittle had “No chance without an operation and symptoms such as to deter any but the boldest from operating.” He died in Sharpsburg at 7am on October 10, 1862.

 

Image: John K. Doolittle (courtesy Middlesex County Historical Society)

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