Civil War Veteran, Supreme Court Justice, legal historian, and one of the most respected jurists in American history, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was born On this Day, March 8, 1841, in Boston.

He was the Son of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr—the celebrated poet—and was the eldest of three children

A Civil War veteran of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, he was wounded 3 times at: the Battle of Ball’s Bluff (in the chest); Antietam (in the throat); Chancellorsville (in his foot).

At Antietam, Captain Holmes was struck by two bullets, one broke the buckle of his knapsack, the other pierced his neck. Holmes father famously recorded his search for his son in "My Hunt for the Captain." He traced him to Hagerstown, Maryland, and there found him on a train bound for home to recover from his wounds.

There are many stories about Holmes, but this one always comes to mind (albeit disputed), when, in July 1864, Confederal General Jubal Early’s forces were threatening Washin