Bees in the Bloody Lane

Marion V. Armstrong recently released his new Antietam book, “Unfurl Those Colors”. I grabbed a copy and have been enjoying the read. One thing that confused me, though, was when he quoted Private John D. Hemmingen of the 130th PA:

“In our line of advance a number of beehives were over turned, and the little fellows resented the intrusion, and did most unceremoniously charge upon us, accelerating our speed through the orchard toward the entrenched position of the enemy”.

Hmm. That’s strange. It was my recollection that the bee story belonged to the 132d PA. So I checked “Pennsylvania at Antietam”, and sure enough, George Lovett, Co. A recalls,

“In the line of advance by Kimball to attain this point, his forces had to pass through the garden and yard of a residence known as the “Roulette House” and in going through this place on the double-quick several bee hives were upset, which caused some disorder and confusion amongst the men, especially the line of the One Hundred and Thirty-second Pennsylvania Volunteers, but the confusion caused by the accident of the bees was soon straightened out by the aid of the Brigade Commander, Field and Staff of the One Hundred and Thirty-second.”

The only thing that “Pennsylvania at Antietam” says about bees and the 130th PA is that,

“The bullets flew thicker than bees,…”

I guess the point is that both regiments encountered bees. But one mystery remains. I seem to recall reading that the 132d PA encountered bees that were disturbed by a Confederate artillery shell. I took a quick look at Hitchcock’s “War From the Inside” and O.T. Reilly’s guide book, but saw nothing about bees. Anyone know of any other reference to bees in the Bloody Lane?