Mine Eyes Have Seen

Francis Jefferson Coates of Boscobel,Wisconsin served in the 7th Wisconsin regiment of the Iron Brigade. During day 1 of the battle of Gettysburg, Coates was flag bearer in company H. A single rifle shot entered behind his right eye and exited behind his left eye severing the connections of both eyeballs. Coates received the Medal of Honor For extraordinary heroism on 1 July 1863, while serving with Company H, 7th Wisconsin Infantry, in action at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for unsurpassed courage in battle, where he had both eyes shot out. On that day, losing his sight was just the beginning of Coates ordeal. A fellow soldier propped him up against a tree where he was later bayoneted by a rebel soldier. He managed to linger on at a field hospital and was discharged in 1864. His medal of Honor was the first such medal awarded for bravery at Gettysburg. He was 19 years old. After the war he returned to Wisconsin, married and moved west - to Dorchester, Nebraska. He taught himself a trade. established a land trading business and raised a large family. He passed away in 1880. He is buried in Dorchester Cemetery. In 1966, his Grandson, Gordon R. Coates would donate 167 acres of land and $200,000 toward the creation of the Jefferson Coates Campus of the Missouri School of the Blind.