The Last Prison
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The Last Prison The Untold Story of Camp Groce CSA by Danial Francis Lisarelli Copyright (c) 1999 Danial Francis Lisarelli All rights reserved. published by Universal Publishers/uPUBLISH.com 1999 • USA ISBN: 1-58112-783-9 www.upublish.com/books/lisarelli.htm INTRODUCTION Five years ago, I was told that Union prisoners of war from the Civil War were buried in Hempstead, Texas. In being a descendent of six Union veterans of the Civil War, I was obligated to investigate. The story turned out to be true, but there was much more to it than what I bargained for. My original goal was never to write a book but to simply account for all of the prisoners who died at Camp Groce. As time went by however, I realized that researching and telling the history of Camp Groce was needed as well. Although I sacrificed much during this project I also gained a great deal. As I struggled to understand what happened at Camp Groce and to account for all of the prisoners, I began to see that I would be held responsible for the memories of those who are still there today. That is truly an awesome responsibility. I have done my best to live up to it. The search began when I was referred to Mr. Randy Gilbert of Tyler, Texas. Mr. Gilbert had already done extensive research on Camp Ford, and he agreed to help get me started. We met at a re-inactment at Sabine Pass. There at the place of so much strife, a man dressed in Confederate grey met a man in Union blue, shook hands and agreed to cooperate. My journey into the past began on a wet September day in 1994 at Sabine Pass, Texas, but the story of Camp Groce started on the docks of Galveston 131 years before. DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF MY SISTER Judy WHOM I LOST ALONG THE WAY. I can see her on the other side with all of the boys around the camp fire. She’s singing to them. FOREWORD “So, Companions, let our desire for harmony and reconciliation overrule any harsh feeling of criticism, but, at the same time, let us preserve the memory of the brave men who died for the honor of their country.” John Read, Paymaster USS Granite City December 7, 1910 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 Island of Misfortune 1 CHAPTER 2 A Camp of Instruction 10 CHAPTER 3 Summer on the Hill 16 CHAPTER 4 The Battle for Texas 24 CHAPTER 5 Death of an Irishman 39 CHAPTER 6 Prisoners of State 44 CHAPTER 7 On to Shreveport 54 CHAPTER 8 Into Oblivion 62 CHAPTER 9 Hempstead Bound 68 CHAPTER 10 The Devil’s Summer 73 CHAPTER 11 Treue der Union 82 CHAPTER 12 Over the Wall 88 CHAPTER 13 The Scene was Horrible 102 CHAPTER 14 Gloria Deo! 116 CHAPTER 15 The Last Stand 127 CHAPTER 16 A Despised Man 132 CHAPTER 17 Sacred Ground 139 CHAPTER 18 Clarence Miller 145 CHAPTER 19 The Prisoners of Camp Groce 147 CHAPTER 20 The Sons of Africa 170 CHAPTER 21 The Last Memorial 174 CHAPTER 22 Sterling’s List 200 CHAPTER 23 The Union Honor Rolls of the Battlesof Galveston and Sabine Pass 206 CHAPTER 24 The Confederate Honor Roll of Camp Groce 211 CHAPTER 25 Last Glance with a Paymaster 214 CONCLUSION 217 IN GRATEFUL APPRECIATION 218 END NOTES 220 BIBLIOGRAPHY 250 About the Cover The Cover Art is a color adaptation of an illustration of Camp Groce found in the work, Camps and Prisons, Twenty Months in the Department of the Gulf, by Augustine Joseph Hickey Duganne, J.P. Robens Publisher, New York, 1865, colorization done by Leda A. Chang Ph.D. CHAPTER 1 Island of Misfortune When the sun rose upon his position Colonel Burrell saw that he had no choice. The USS Harriet Lane had been rammed, boarded, and captured, and the steamers Clifton and Owasco had escaped under a temporary truce. The flagship of the squadron, the USS Westfield, had run aground near Pelican Island. In order to prevent her capture, Commodore William R. Renshaw, the squadron commander, ordered the entire crew of the Westfield onto a transport while he attempted to scuttle the ship. While two cutters waited alongside for Renshaw to finish setting the charge, it went off prematurely, killing Renshaw and thirteen other men waiting alongside in the two boats.1 On Kuhn’s Wharf, Colonel Isaac Sanderson Burrell, Commander of the 42nd Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, had successfully defended his position with only three companies of infantry, but was now surrounded by land and sea. Left with no options, Burrell ordered Corporal Henry W. MacIntosh to the stand on the barricade with a piece of sailcloth tied to an oar blade. It was surrender. 2 When the Confederates observed the signal of capitulation, Brigadier General William R. Scurry cautiously approached the barricades. Colonel Burrell stepped out in front of the works and offered Scurry his sword, which was refused. “Colonel--a brave man deserves his sword, and I cannot take yours” said Scurry. The Battle of Galveston was over. Colonel Burrell was then introduced to Major General John Bankhead “Prince John” Magruder, the overall commander of the Confederate attacking force. The victorious general consoled Burrell by telling him, “Don’t be cast down colonel, it is the fortune of war; you will soon be paroled.”3 General Magruder had kept his promise. From a speech made on the steps of the Galveston Customs House weeks before the battle, Magruder said, “Gunboats, troops and all, I will clear the state of Texas of the Yankees by New Year’s.”4 After the surrender was finalized, the Confederates swarmed upon the wharf, celebrating their great victory. Aboard the captured Harriet Lane, the Union sailors were disgusted. The crew of the Harriet Lane was made up of men from the USS Congress and USS Cumberland, two ships which had been attacked and destroyed by the CSS Merrimac the year before. As the sailors were marched off the ship, they were heard to say, “This is New Year’s, our liberty day.”5 1 THE LAST PRISON The day was indeed New Year’s Day, January 1, 1863. The forces under the command of General Magruder had won a brilliant battle. They captured Companies D, G, and I of the 42nd Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, the USS Harriet Lane and her crew of 110, three sailing vessels loaded with coal, a large supply depot on Pelican Island, and the regimental colors of the 42nd Massachusetts. The defeat of the Union forces present at the Battle of Galveston was stunning. Little did any of the Union soldiers and sailors captured at Galveston know that the entire Confederate attack was based upon the reports of a Union deserter. On Christmas Day 1862, Coxswain George Monroe of the USS Owasco left his ship and was soon reporting to the Confederate authorities in Houston. Claiming “the fleet can be easily driven out of the harbor,” Monroe wanted to serve the gun himself on the lead attack boat. Although it is not known if he participated in the attack, Monroe’s report was enough to convince the Confederates that the attack should be commenced at once. As things turned out, the deserter’s reports were true.6 Left behind in Galveston harbor was the Harriet Lane, which was badly entangled with the CSS Bayou City. General Magruder ordered his Chief Engineer, Major Albert Lea, to inspect the Lane for salvageability. Major Lea, a Confederate, knew before the battle that his son, Lieutenant Commander Edward Lea, was the First Officer of the Harriet Lane. After boarding the ship, Albert found his son Edward who was mortally wounded. Badly hurt, Edward was able to recognize his father, and spoke the words that became the legend of the Battle of Galveston when he said, “My father is here,” and then died.7 As are the fortunes of war, Rear Admiral David G. Farragut in New Orleans wrote an order relieving Edward Lea of his duties on the Harriet Lane and assigning him to command the mortar boats on the Mississippi River. The order was dated January 1, 1863.8 While Albert lamented the death of his son Edward, one of the sailors on the Lane, Ordinary Seaman Robert Buchanan, was welcomed on shore by his brother, a member of the attacking forces present that day.9 In one of the blockhouses on Kuhn’s Wharf, Ariel Ives Cummings, Regimental Surgeon of the 42nd Massachusetts, began the work of caring for the wounded of his regiment. Cummings had set up a hospital just before the battle had begun. One of his first patients, Private James O’Shaughnessy of Company D was taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds to both legs. While O’Shaughnessy was howling in pain, Surgeon Cummings amputated the lower portion of O’Shaughnessy’s right leg. 2 THE LAST PRISON Fourteen other soldiers of the 42nd Massachusetts were wounded in the fight, but only one, Private Francis L. Nott of Company G died of his wounds, some seventeen hours later.10 The casualties of the Confederate forces were more severe, being an attacking force in the dark of night upon a fixed position while subject to severe Naval artillery fire. A few bodies were found floating in the water in front of the wharf after the battle. The total number of Confederate casualties was reported to be 26 killed and 117 wounded men.11 After the surrender, the Union officers were ordered to surrender their swords, and were promised that they would get the swords back after the officers were paroled.