William Haines Lytle William Haines Lytle ( November 2 , 1826 – September 20 , 1863 ) was a politician in Ohio , renowned poet , and military officer in the United States Army during both the Mexican - American War and American Civil War , where he was killed in action as a brigadier general . Biography . Lytle was born in Cincinnati , Ohio , the scion of a leading area family , the Lytle family . He graduated from Cincinnati College and studied law . After passing the bar exam , he established a law firm in Cincinnati , but soon enlisted in the 2nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served as a captain in the Mexican - American War . After returning from Mexico , Lytle resumed and expanded his legal practice . He was elected to the Ohio state legislature as a Democrat . He unsuccessfully ran for Lieutenant Governor in 1857 , losing the election by just a few hundred votes . He was a celebrated American poet before the Civil War . Lytle ' s most famous poem , " Antony and Cleopatra " ( published in 1857 ) , was beloved by both North and South in antebellum America . Lytle was appointed as a major general in the Ohio state militia . In 1860 , he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for his district ' s seat in the United States House of Representatives . He campaigned in Ohio for the candidacy of Stephen A . Douglas in the 1860 Presidential Election . When the Civil War erupted in 1861 , through his political and military connections , Lytle was commissioned as colonel of the 10th Ohio Infantry . He and his brigade were assigned to the western Virginia ( now West Virginia ) , where they engaged in a series of small engagements in a campaign that led to the withdrawal of Confederate forces in that region , helping pave the way for statehood . Lytle was given command of a brigade of infantry . He was severely wounded in his left calf muscle in a fight at Carnifex Ferry on September 10 , 1861 , and was sent home to recover . After a four - month recuperation , Lytle was assigned commander of the Bardstown , Kentucky military training camp . Returning to field duty , he led a brigade in Maj . Gen . Ormsby M . Mitchel ' s division . He participated in Mitchel ' s operations along the Memphis and Chattanooga Railroad . Lytle was again wounded and taken prisoner at the Battle of Perryville in Kentucky on October 8 , 1862 . He was soon exchanged and rejoined the army . On November 29 , Lytle was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers , and led his brigade in numerous engagements in the army of William S . Rosecrans . Admiring officers from his old 10th OVI presented him with a jeweled Maltese cross in September 1863 , just eleven days before his death . Lytle was mortally wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga in Georgia while leading a counterattack on horseback . Once his identity was known , respectful Confederates placed a guard around his body , and many recited his poetry over their evening campfires . The hill where he died is now known as " Lytle Hill " in the Chickamauga National Military Park . His funeral was held in the early afternoon at Christ Church on Fourth Street in Cincinnati . So many people lined the streets that the funeral cortege did not reach Spring Grove Cemetery until dusk . Lytle ' s monument , one of the most impressive ones there , is near the entrance to the cemetery . Namesake . Lytle Park in Cincinnati , One Lytle Place in Cincinnati , and Lytle Street at 1235 west in Chicago , are named for the fallen general or his family . He never married and left no direct descendants . Anthology . Venable , William H . ( ed . ) , " Poems of William Haines Lytle " ( Cincinnati : Robert Clarke Co . ) , 1894 . The Shooter . The alleged shooter of Lytle was never discovered , and to this day has never been discovered , all that is known is that the shooter was a Confederate sniper using a Whitworth . 45 caliber percussion rifle . However , according to history presented to The Daughters of The Confederacy , the shooter was Hillary Garrison Waldrep of Company B of the 16th Alabama Regiment of Infantry . In order to make the shot that was purportedly approved personally by General Bragg , Waldrep had to adjust the sights on his rifle for 200 yards beyond where they usually were . According to the account , once General Lytle fell to the ground , his horse was spooked and ran toward the Confederate soldiers . Bragg gave Hillary Garrison Waldrep General Lytle ' s horse , bed - roll and equipment . Waldrep later sold the horse for $ 100 .