to make the movement against the Confederate rear; the historian Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes believes that Bielaski supported the decision. After turning onto a plank road and later making another turn, the 27th Illinois Infantry Regiment reached a point within of the Confederate camp, where the trees surrounding the camp had been cut down to form abatis. Bielaski had helped make the decisions about which roads to take during the movement. The 27th Illinois Infantry then charged the Confederate line, which was held in that sector by Company A of the 13th Tennessee Infantry Regiment. Confederate fire initially disrupted the Union line, but Bielaski rallied the men and took part in the charge. He was first shot in the hand, and was then forced to dismount from his horse after the animal was wounded in the neck. After firing several shots with a musket he picked up on the field, Bielaski grabbed the regiment's battle flag and led the charge. Carrying the flag made him a target, though, and he was killed during the attack. Hughes states that he was killed by a bullet to the head,, while Joseph A. Wytrwał, writing for Polish American Studies, attributes his death to a cannonball. A contemporary newspaper report stated that he "fell mutilated by cannon bullets". Union Colonel John A. Logan stated "a braver man never fell on the field of battle" when writing about Bielaski's death in his action report, and McClernand also noted his bravery. Grant's men were initially able to capture the Confederate camp, but Pillow received reinforcements from Columbus and counterattacked, driving the Union soldiers from the field. Bielaski was buried in a mass grave until his remains were disinterred in 1864 and transferred to the Mound City National Cemetery in Illinois. His grave is marked as "Unknown Soldier, killed at the Battle of Belmont". Family Bielaski was the father of Oscar Bielaski, who was one of the first Polish-Americans to play professional baseball in the United States. Through his other son, Alexander, Bielaski was the grandfather of A. Bruce Bielaski, who served as director of what became the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1912 to 1919. Ruth Shipley was A. Bruce's sister and Bielaski's granddaughter; she served as the head of the passport division of the United States Department of State for 27 years. References Sources Further reading 1811 births 1861 deaths Congress Poland emigrants to the United