The Capture of Captain John E. Michener

       

Whitemarsh Island Assault by Captains George H. Hooker and Robert P. Hughes
February 22, 1864     Map Courtesy of Craig Swain

         The last seven paragraphs of this entry is a lengthy quote from the 1867 book entitled "Prison Life" about the capture of Captain John E. Michener on Whitemarsh Island near Savannah, Georgia in 1864. Michener had spent the first 2 1/2 years of the war as a lieutenant in Company D of the 85th Pennsylvania. In early 1864, he was promoted to be captain of Company K. The Whitemarsh Expedition marked his first field command with his new company.

       I earlier have written about Michener's captivity in an article for Military Images magazine entitled, "Following the Torn and Bloodstained Colors: John Michener's Civil War Odyssey." This article features letters from Michener and his family as well as newspaper accounts of his captivity, courtesy of descendant Margaret Thompson.

         I have also written extensively about the Whitemarsh Island Expedition in my soon to be published Volume II history of the 85th Pennsylvania entitled, "Such Hard and Severe Service: The 85th Pennsylvania in the Civil War, 1864-1865" from by Monongahela Books.

       This author of "Prison Life," T.J. Simpson, offers further details about Michener's role the expedition and the early days of his time as a prisoner of war. Future posts will give additional details about Michener's time in captivity.

         The one-day expedition from Hilton Head to Whitemarsh Island, led by Colonel Joshua B. Howell of the 85th Pennsylvania, was intended to capture around 300 [Simpson said it was 500] contraband workers who were building defenses for the Confederacy. One report, which was accurate, said that some Confederate troops had been sent from Savannah to Florida, leaving Savannah under-defended. This action by the Confederates was meant to deal with Union General Truman's Seymour's Florida campaign that began with landing at Jacksonville and ended with a lopsided Confederate victory at Olustee.

Slaves Building Confederate Earthworks
Mississippi Dept of Archives and History

     The Whitemarsh Expedition was led by Colonel Joshua B. Howell of the 85th Pennsylvania. Accompanying the Howell regiment were elements of the 4th New Hampshire and 67th Ohio.

     The expedition landed successfully on February 22. Confederate pickets on the beachhead quickly fled with Michener and 20 men from his company (K) in hot pursuit. Michener was  under the command of Captain George Hooker, who was tasked with capturing a bridge between Whitemarsh and Oatland Islands and thus prevent the Confederates from sending re-enforcements.

       Michener and his men made it across the bridge but were confronted with an earthwork with a small two-gun battery.

Captain George H. Hooker
85th PA

Guiding the Union mission were several escaped slaves from the area who knew the terrain. But the fugitives did not know of the battery that had been built since their escape.

       Hooker's men halted their attempt to capture the Oatland Bridge. But as Simpson described, Michener and his sergeant from Company K, James C. Bailey, were trapped trying to re-cross the bridge. Near the interior of the island, another member of the 85th Pennsylvania, Private Eli F. ("Frank") Shallenberger of Company C, became separated from his Hughes' team and was also captured. Everyone in the expedition except for these three unfortunate captives were able to safely return to their boats and return to Hilton Head Island.

        This account below, in Michener's words as told to author Simpson,  is somewhat critical of Captain Hooker for not sending expected re-enforcements in a timely manner to help Michener's men escape from the other side of the bridge.

         "On the 21^st of February, 1864, while the Florida campaign [Olustee] was in progress, General Joshua B. Howell, commanding the district [that consisted of] Hilton Head, St. Helena’s Island and Fort Pulaski, embarked from Hilton Head Island, with the Eighty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers and Fourth New Hampshire, for a small island about four miles distant from Savannah, Georgia known as White-Marsh Island. Upon this island some five hundred negroes were actively engaged in throwing up breastworks under the protection and supervision of about two hundred rebel troops. This island is about three miles wide and is connected with the main land by a wooden bridge. To destroy the [Oatland] bridge, so as to prevent succor from Savannah; attack and scatter or capture the rebel troops guarding the negroes; destroy the works and bring off these negroes to Hilton Head, were the objects of this expedition.

"Prison Life"
T.J. Simpson  1867

           "The destruction of the bridge, the first and most important object to be accomplished, was assigned to companies B, D, E, H, I and K of the Eighty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers under the direction of Captain George H. Hooker, acting assistant adjutant general to General Howell. The transports arriving a short distance above Fort Pulaski, dropped anchor and launched the small boats for the above-mentioned detachment. These boats were designed to carry from twenty to thirty men, each but having been lying up in the hot sun for months at Hilton Head, they were wholly unfit for the service. Many of them filled with water as soon as launched, and sunk immediately, while the others were only kept afloat by constant bailing.

           "This detachment was to proceed some three miles up a small sluggish creek and get in the rear of the enemy before the transports landed the remained of the troops at the front approaches to the island. It was long after midnight when the order 'cast off' was given and the tide coming in greatly assisted the strong but muffled paddles and caused the awkward and leaky boats to shoot through the water with astonishing rapidity.

           "The night was calm – the 'wind slept soundly'—while the twinkling stars in the hazy sky relieved the midnight darkness. The moon at length peered above the horizon and shone with a mellow light as she travelled from cloud to cloud. The snake-like stream, stirred by the many muffled oars, sparkled on its winding way, lending a soft attraction to the gloomy marsh. Far along its grassy borders the tall, green seaweed formed beautiful arches, through which the silent moonbeams crept as if to smile upon those daring men as they noiselessly glided along in their frail boats…

             "Arriving at the island, a dash was made for the shore, which was quickly gained without the loss of a man. The rebel picket only fired a single volley and then fled like frightened deer. Captain Hooker directed Captain Michener to deploy his company (K) as skirmishers – pursued the retreating pickets with all possible haste and gain the bridge before the alarm could spread among the enemy.

LOC

"After penetrating the dense timber and undergrowth for nearly a mile, Captain Michener came to a cleared field only a few hundred yards from the bridge. To his astonishment he discovered what appeared to be an earthwork but a few rods distant from the opposite end of the bridge. Halting for a moment, he sent his orderly sergeant back to confer with Captain Hooker and request him to come up. In a few moments this gallant officer arrived in company with Captain [Rolla] Phillips of Company D. they however doubted the fact of the enemy having a fortification there and agreed with the negro-guide (who had only escaped from the rebels a few weeks before) that it was only ‘earth-houses occupied by the colored folks,’ and Captain Hooker ordered Captain Michener to advance upon the bridge. Captain Michener still insisted that it was a battery and having only twenty men of his company with him asked for more men, stating that if he found it to be an earthwork when he arrived at the bridge, he would try and take it. Captain Hooker said it was not necessary, that he would support him.  ‘Yes’ responded Captain Phillips. ‘Michener, we will be at your heels.’ Captain Michener advanced at double-quick and on arriving at the bridge, discovered that his suspicions were correct and that the enemy had a small earthwork with one gun in position and the panic-stricken rebels trying to get up a second one. Believing to retreat would expose him to a close and galling fire and seeing but few rebels in the fort, he resolved to charge it. With a shout the gallant captain and his brave boys dashed towards the bridge, which was soon gained when the rebels opened upon them with one volley of grape, but the gun being too much depressed, the shot fell short and did no other damage other than to splinter a portion of  the bridge, a fragment of which struck Captain Michener, felling him to the ground. Quickly springing to hie feet, he dashed across the bridge with only ten men, the rest stopping short of the bride and seeking shelter from the shower of musketry concentrated upon them. With this immortal ten, Captain Michener pushed fearlessly up to within fifty yards of the earthwork; but finding no support coming up, as had been promised, he at once saw the folly of hurling those few devoted followers against the fort. Seeing a small embankment near the ditch to the left, he quickly deployed his men behind it and lying flat upon the ground, opened a brisk fire upon the enemy, killing one man and two horses. Here this little Spartan band fought bravely for more than an hour, waiting for reinforcements and not permitting a rebel to raise his head above the parapet. What an hour was that! Lying almost under the very shadow of the fort, with two guns and two hundred muskets concentrated upon them, how desperately they fought and how anxiously they looked for the promised supports. A half hour passes, the enemy is still held at bay, and now they listen for the shouts of their comrades rushing to the rescue. They load and fire again, rebels fall from the parapet; another half hour passes; the bloody strife continues, but no supports have arrived; the moment is big with danger; to advance is death, to retreat is almost hopeless, to remain longer in than position was certain destruction. Oh! That relief would come. They read each other’s thoughts in their anxious countenances; death is preferable to surrender, and a soldier’s glory is to fall, if fall he must, with his face to that foe.

Lt. Norman B. Ream
Dickey's History of the 85th PA

       "Lieutenant [Norman B.] Ream of Company H, a brave and gallant officer, had been ordered by Captain Hooker to hasten with his men to the aid of Captain Michener while he was thus being overpowered by the enemy. He had proceeded but a short distance, however, when he fell, severely wounded.  His comrades at once endeavored to carry him back to the boats, but were so hotly pursued by the rebels that the brave lieutenant requested them to lay him down and make their escape, saying it was better for him to fall into the hands of the enemy than for them all to be captured. They persistently refused, however, and finally succeeded in reaching the boats in safety with their noble but suffering leader.

         "At length, despairing of aid and knowing the hopelessness of their condition, they resolved to attempt escape at least by crawling through the marsh to the stream and swimming to the bridge. They gain the bridge; the heroic spirit that had sustained them through the last dreadful hour now yields to excitement. Captain Michener entreats them to be calm and courageous, that they would either escape or die together. He orders them to cross over, one at a time, so as not to

Captain John E. Michener
Courtesy of Ron Coddington

draw the enemy’s fire and resolves himself to bring up the rear. The first crosses, safely, and then the second and the third, but the rebels have discovered the skillful maneuver; they make a flank movement and gain the abutment of the bridge just in time to intercept the captain and his last man, Corporal [James C.] Bailey. The captain might have escaped with the first that crossed the bride if he had consulted his own safety alone, but acting the part of a true soldier and unselfish commander, he determined to see his comrades safely over before fleeing himself from danger, and thus, on the 22^nd day of February, 1864, fell into the hands of the enemy.”

NEXT: The early days of captivity for Michener, Bailey and Shallenberger.

Michener, Bailey and Shallenberger in Captivity

        

Union Prisoners
    Tucker-Vaughn Papers

 

           Primary source materials regarding Captain John E. Michener of the 85th Pennsylvania have been abundant in the research of his regiment. Michener's Civil War letters and those of his family, provided by descendent Margaret Thompson, have offered a rich source of material. Michener also penned a few letters home that were published in local newspapers that proved to be excellent primary source material.

Harper's Weekly          February, 1862

    Michener was an effective, even admired officer who spent seven months in captivity in 1864. He was captured on Whitemarsh Island near Savannah on February 22, 1864 along with two other members of his regiment -- Sergeant James Bailey of Company K and Private Eli F. "Frank" Shallenberger of Company C.

       Although much is known about Michener's later captivity and release, little has been written about the early days and weeks of his imprisonment with Bailey and Shallenberger. A few Southern newspapers provided some details of their capture on Whitemarsh Island. Included in these stories are descriptions of their immediate capture; but much of these narrations were gloating about them falling into Confederate hands while the Union mission to Whitemarsh Island, Georgia ended in failure and quickly returned to Hilton Head, South Carolina. Union versions, meanwhile were just as one-sided; they ignored the failure of the mission on Whitemarsh to capture African American workers while emphasizing the capture of a dozen Confederate pickets.

      "Prison Life," the 1867 work by T.J. Simpson that is partially about Michener's time in captivity, is rich in details about these early days of imprisonment of Michener and his two comrades. Michener, through Simpson, related the story of  their interrogations, their time in Savannah, and then their transfer to various prisoner-of-war camps. Simpson made Michener a hero for misleading his captors about the strength of the invading Union force on Whitemarsh.

      Michener spent part of his imprisonment in Charleston, South Carolina. Shallenberger and Bailey meanwhile were both shipped to the infamous Andersonville prison in Georgia. They both technically survived. However, Bailey lived long enough only to be a part of a prison transfer. He died from malnutrition aboard a hospital ship on his way back to the North. Shallenberger was also greatly diminished by his time at Andersonville. But Shallenberger was released at the end of the war, recovered, and went home to Brownsville, PA where he became a prominent contractor and builder.. 

         "Soon after the capture of Captain Michener, a rebel brigade under the command of General [Raleigh] Colston arrived at the fort having been hurried forward with all possible haste. Halting his brigade for a moment, he sent his aid to interrogate Captain Michener. as to the strength of the Yankee forces on the island. The union forces under General [sic, Colonel Joshua B.] Howell, composing the entire expedition to the island, only numbered between five and six hundred; but the chivalrous rebel general somehow received the impression from Captain Michener that they exceeded five thousand in number, and thus was detained with his entire brigade until his scouts returned and reported that the small number of Yankees who had infested the island were embarking in their boats and then it was too late to pursue them. Had the rebels known our strength in time and thrown but one regiment over the bridge, and followed our hastily retreating forces, the whole command might have easily been captured; as it was, however, their escape was entirely due to the detention of the rebels by Captain Michener's answers to their interrogatories. But this ruse of Captain Michener's to save his friends from capture came near costing him his life, for the rage and chagrin of the rebels when they found how they had bee duped by that Yankee officer know no bounds. A reported of a Savannah paper who was present insisted they should hang Captain Michener from the nearest tree. While they were debating what disposition to make of him, another Union prisoner, [Eli] Frank Shellenberger, was brought in and their righteous indignation settle down into a holy calm. These three prisoners being guarded together, Captain Michener availed himself of the opportunity to post the other two so that their reports to the rebels might agree.

         "As the evening approached, the prisoners were marched to Savannah and were then on their first visit to the \city, generously furnished by the Southern chivalry with apartments in the jail. All along the road to Savannah they were treated by the soldiers and citizens to a continued series of compliments and encomiums, some of which it is true were of the rougher sort and none of which it is true were often falling from the ruddy but pouted lips of the lily-fingered beauties of the South, were a s palatable as would have been a little roast beef or boiled ham. But an inward consciousness of the glory they had achieved in that one hour's struggle and triumph caused them to receive the compliments, thus gratuitously bestowed  with a smile and to march to that prison with a prouder step than to a slaveholder's banquet or a rebel throne.

Left to Right: Andersonville, Macon and Savannah    LOC

           "At nine o'clock that evening, after their introduction to a somewhat narrow apartment in the city jail, the prisoners were invited to indulge in the luxury of a limited meal on corn mush, a favorite kind of provision with generous rebels to satisfy the appetites of hungry Yankees. Although the captain and his fellow prisoners had for the last 24 hours substituted rapid marches and hard fighting for the more agreeable pastime of eating, yet either because the invitation was rather cool, or the corn mush not sufficiently inviting, they respectfully declined the proffered kindness. During the night they were favored with the presence of a rebel sentinel, whole interest in these newcomers was such as to drive slumber from his eyelids and cause him to pace the room during the long an silent hours, with undeviating footsteps, much to the annoyance of the prisoners, who failing to appreciate his society, declined to admit him into their councils and hence conducted their interviews in a whisper.

       At six o'clock next morning this prisoners, with tired limbs and empty stomachs, issued from the jail in all the 'pomp of glorious war,' and falling into line, marched with measured step, not to the martial notes of fife and drum, but to the coarser music of taunts and sneers and mingled should of the chivalrous inhabitants of Savannah, who seemed anxious to give them a parting salute from the well filled magazine of their pent-up wrath, as the Yankees took their seats in an old ragged car, and bid them a final adieu. As the train moved off, the prisoners felt that, although not 'homeward bound,' they were bound for the seat of Southern chivalry and that they would be favored with a change of base at least in the great city of Charleston. 

Charleston Jail      LOC

          "Two days had now passed without anything to satisfy the cravings of hunger, and Captain Michener began to realized that there was something more than poetry in the fortunes of war. In his first lessons the romantic was mixed with the real, but now the real began to predominate, greatly to his annoyance. The trip to Charleston was performed without any violation of the rules of fasting which had been so rigidly observed and it was not an unwelcome thought that this pious operation would terminate with the journey. They reached the city as evening began to cast its lengthening shadows and although strangers in the place found no difficulty in procuring lodgings as previous arrangements had been made for their reception The equanimity of the city authorities was not seriously disturbed however with any extensive preparations for an ovation to the prisoners, on their arrival but a small procession, composed of a select few of the prominent officials headed by the provost marshal of the city quietly conducted them to their private apartment in the jail. And now, retired from the obtrusive gaze of the vulgar herd, a change of plate, well filled with the choicest provisions adapted to the appetite of an epicure, would not have been objectionable. But the virtue of abstemiousness had been so long and rigidly practised that it was feared the too liberal indulgence of the appetite might superinduce dyspepsia; therefore corn mush prepared in the latest style with a little hot water and no salt, was again sparingly furnished the prisoners. This the dictates of modesty and exhausted nature would not permit them as on a former occasion to decline; hence their first night in the city of Charleston was rendered memorable by a banquet on cold much in jail.

Savannah Jail     LOC

        "...On arriving at Macon, Georgia, Captain Michener and his two fellow prisoners who were captured with him on White Marsh Island, Corporal Bailey and Frank Shellenberger, were called to experience the pangs of separation, the captain being retained at Camp Oglethorpe, while they were sent on to Andersonville, that much-dreaded and fatal prison. As the train moved slowly off and the parting words fell from their lips, they but too plainly saw in each other's countenances the conviction that it was a last adieu as the sequel proved in the case of poor Bailey. Having reached Andersonville, he lingered amid pestilence and famine for six months and when the news of his exchange came, the last feeble energies of his nature rallied and enabled him to reach Charleston harbor on his way to his beloved home and family when in sight of his country's flag, with the flag-of-truce boat ready to receive him, he died, the victim of starvation in a land of strangers, leaving a wife and little ones to mourn his said and untimely end. His companion, Frank Shellenberger, scarcely less enfeebled and emaciated from the effects of starvation, finally succeeded in reaching his home, the mere wreck and skeleton of his former self -- a living witness of the barbarous treatment and unparalleled sufferings at Andersonville."

Andersonville Prison     LOC

NEXT: Michener is held prisoner in Macon, Georgia.

Billy the Cook

 

LOC

      During the Civil War, Colonel Joshua Blackwood Howell had several personal assistants who attended to his needs in the field. Some were military personnel, like his aide, Lieutenant George A. Edson of the First Massachusetts Cavalry. Edson was with Howell in the summer of 1863 on Morris Island, near Charleston, South Carolina, when a Confederate shell scored a direct hit on the bombproof from which Howell was directing trench-digging operations. Howell was knocked unconscious and buried under a pile of rubble. Edson immediately pulled Howell out from under the debris and took him to a hospital, thus saving his life. 

       Another attendant known only as "Sam," an African-American who served as Howell's valet during the war. It is not known how Sam and Howell met; most likely, it was during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign in Virginia when the 85th regiment met many displaced former slaves. It was Sam who led a riderless horse during Howell's military funeral procession in September of 1864.

       The following description of Howell's funeral is from Luther S. Dickey's official 1915 history of the 85th Pennsylvania.

"On the 17th, the Regiment was temporarily relieved from duty at Fort Morton, and escorted the  remains of the Colonel from the brigade hospital to division headquarters.  The ambulance that served  as a hearse was immediately followed by 'Old Charley,' led by 'Sam,'  a faithful negro servant of the  deceased. 'Old Charley'  the horse was then aged about ten years, and had accompanied the Regiment  from Camp LaFayette, Uniontown, Penna., in November, 1861. He had been presented to Col.  Howell  while he was recruiting the Regiment by Jasper Thompson, Esq.,  of Uniontown, who had been a  staunch friend and admirer of the Colonel...'Old  Charley'  [was not the] horse  that  caused the  fatal mishap; [it was] a horse that had belonged to Capt. Loomis L. Langdon, 1st  U.S.  Artillery. On account  of some infirmity of  'Charley,'  the  Colonel considered him unsafe to ride at night, and therefore had replaced him by the horse responsible for his death, and  'Sam' is the authority for the statement that this horse had a bad reputation as being vicious and tricky among the members of Capt. Langdon's battery, information he  acquired after the fatal accident. However, Capt. Langdon's  description of the horse is perhaps the  most trustworthy; that 'it was exceedingly tender-mouthed.'  Capt. Langdon was a warm friend and admirer of Col. Howell, and according to his statement, had presented the horse to the Colonel some time previous to the fatal occurrence, the latter having expressed a liking for the animal."

Colonel Joshua B. Howell
From L.S.Dickey's 1915 History of the 85th Pennsylvania

     A third personal  attendant, the subject of this article, was William C. Chism. Chism was born around 1838 or 1839 and died in 1910 at the age of 70. The historical record of his life is quite sparse, but this article intends to explore what is known about Chism and speculate about the role he played in Howell's life.

     The only reference to Chism in Dickey's history of the 85th Pennsylvania is found on page 308. The date is February 23, 1864. The regiment has just returned to Hilton Head, South Carolina from Whitemarsh Island, near Savannah Georgia. This one-day amphibious operation was to conviscate around 300 African American slaves who were building defensive positions for the Confederates in the area around Savannah.

      The expedition, led by Howell and involving parts of several other regiments, started well enough. His two groups of assaulters swept through the island but were stopped by an unknown Confederate battery that had just been built on the other side of a bridge to Oatland Island. The 85th PA became pinned down and the Confederates maintained the bridge as a possible avenue for re-enforcements.

Whitemarsh Island
February 22, 1864     Map Courtesy of Craig Swain

    Howell's forces were forced to scurry back to their transports. No one in Howell's unit was killed, athough three men (Captain John E. Michener, Corporal James Bailey and Private Eli Shellenberger) were captured. 

    This reference to Chism in Dickey's regimental history picks up the story once the men returned to Hilton Head the next day. 

"The Regiment disembarked and arrived in camp at Hilton Head at 1 a.m.; the men were immediately  dismissed and were permitted to rest in camp the entire day; it was discovered that  the Colonel's cook, William Chism, known in camp as 'Billy  the Cook,'  was missing, left on Whitemarsh Island."

      The loss of Chism through probable capture or possible desertion is curious and leads to a series of questions to which the author could find no answers.

1. Since the expedition was intended to be a one- or two-day affair, was it really necessary for Howell to bring his personal cook along? Did Chism provide other personal services to Howell other than food preparation?

2. If Chism were captured that day, what was he doing off the transport Mayflower, Howell's flagship? There doesn't appear to be any reason for him to disembark or not stay close to the ship. Howell stayed either on the boat or close to the shore during the operation. Chism was not listed as having been with Michener and the others when they were captured, so if he were in fact taken prisoner, it had to have been in a separate incident.  

3. Did Chism desert to the enemy? This seems unlikely. Chism seems to have been a lifelong resident of the North with no known ties to the Confederacy. Even if he did desert, why would be abandon a somethat cushy job of cooking Howell's meals?

Captain John E. Michener

   It should also be mentioned that in 1867, the aforementioned Captain John E. Michener, one of the three soldiers from the 85th Pennsylvania captured on White Marsh Island, wrote a brief but detailed treatise (along with author T.J. Simpson) of his war experiences called "Prison Life." Michener wrote of his own capture along with Bailey and Shellenberger on Whitemarsh Island and their subsequent moves to prisoner-of-war camps. Michener made no mention of Chism.

      There is no other found government reference to Chism's life until the 1890 Veterans Schedule, a special census of Civil War soldiers. Chism, around 50 at the time, is listed as being a member of Company C of the 85th Pennsylvania. This came from Chism himself, who may have been passing himself off as a mustered-in soldier. But no other roster of regimental members has Chism listed as being a soldier of the regiment. Of course if Chism travelled with the regiment for two years and was captured during a military engagement, he probably felt he had the right to feel he was a legitimate member of the regiment.

    The 1890 Veteran's Schedule states that Chism joined the regiment in May of 1862. Although there is no record of Chism's enlistment, this could be true. Again, this was during the Peninsula Campaign as "Sam" had probably done. Chism, who was white, was therefore in Virginia for an unknown reason. Howell and Chism could also have first crossed paths in western Pennsylvania during training camp, or in Washington, D.C. where the regiment was stationed for four months.

         The Veteran Schedule has two other interesting notations. One is that although it is stated that Chism "mustered in" to the regiment in May of 1862, there is no muster-out date listed, only that Chism's regimental records are under the heading of "papers lost." This notation is not unheard of in the Veterans Schedule. Several other former soldiers in 1890 did not have documentation, usually due to memory issues or perhaps a fire that destroyed personal records in the 25 years since the war ended.

    In Chism's case, however, it may be that he had no documentation to start with, due to his apparent role as a non-military personal assistant. Although Chism was with Howell during many battles, he likely told the examiner that he lost his papers when such papers never actually existed.

    The second interesting notation in the Veterans Schedule regarding Chism is listed as a side note. This was usually written on the line on the form in which the examiner listed any Civil War maladies that came from the soldier's war service, such as an amputation, heart troubles, etc.

    For Chism, the doctor simply wrote, "nine months in prison."

   This claim again came from Chism. It would suggest, in a very tenuous way, that he indeed was captured on Whitemarsh Island in 1864. However, I could find no record of his release anywhere among Union POW records. This may mean that he had convinced the Confederates that he was not a soldier and became more of a political prisoner. He may also have been used for his specialty -- preparing meals -- for Confederate officers or privates the way captured Union doctors were put to use by southern armies when they were confined. 

       Here is an article that appeared in a Gloucester County, New Jersey newspaper in 1885 that has some interesting claims regarding Chism's relationship with Colonel Howell.

       The 85th Pennsylvania did indeed fight at Kinston, North Carolina in December of 1862. It was during a two-week foray called the Goldsboro Expedition that a Union strike force of 12,000 soldiers attempted to disrupt the Confederate supply chain into Virginia. But if Chism were captured on Whitemarsh Island and held for nine months, he would have been released around November of 1864. Colonel Howell died as the result of a fall from his horse two months earlier in September of 1864. This raises several more questions.

1. If Chism were accurate about he period of confinement, he was not with Howell when he died in September of 1864. How would he know, as the article stated, that the Colonel used the North Carolina law book as his pillow "until the time of his death."?

2. If Chism were in prison when Howell died, how would he have acquired the law book from among Howell's personal possessions, assuming they were sent back to his adopted home in Uniontown, PA to his family or to his boyhood home in New Jersey with his body for burial?

3. Would Colonel Howell have really used a law book to rest his head upon at night for over two years during the war? It seems a book would have made an exceptionally hard surface to try to sleep on. 

         In  reviewing census records, it was unusually difficult to otherwise track Chism's life. It does not appear that Chism ever married or had children. There were many William Chism's among the census records of the late 1800's, although most lived in the South. Chism was only found in the 1890 Veterans Schedule because of the reference to the 85th PA. 

          A decade later, according to the 1900 census, Chism may have been employed as a coachman for soap manufacturer Emma M. Thomson and her family in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This census, however, states that Chism and his parents were all born in Pennsylvania. The next year, he seems to appear as a gardener in a city directory for Atlantic City. 

        Chism does appear ten years later in the 1910 U.S. Census, This was also the year of his death. Chism at this time lived in Deptford, Gloucester County, New Jersey, which is only two miles from where Howell was raised in Woodbury. Howell also was buried in Woodbury. .

      In the 1910 census, it is stated both Chism and his parents were born in New Jersey. This connection could be a clue regarding Chism's employment by Howell during the war.

      [There is also a hint in the 1860 federal census that Howell and Chism may have met at the start of the war. This census, lists a 23-year old carpenter from Pittsburgh (who was born in Pennsylvania) named William Chism. At least one company of men trained in the Pittsburgh area before joining the 85th Pennsylvania at their base camp in Uniontown, Fayette County. This could be the connection between Chism and the 85th regiment.]

      Under occupation in the 1910 census, it is stated that that elderly Chism was a military veteran living on his own and was a "private pensioner." Could Chism have been granted a personal endowment by the Howell family for his loyal service during the Civil War? Did the Howell family employ Chism after the war, since he at least in his final years lived near the Howell family in New Jersey?

      The author was looking forward to answering some of these questions when he began this enquiry. But his investigation has only led to more questions. If Chism were a loyal servant who was captured by the Confederates while serving his mentor during the Civil War and was rewarded for it with a "personal pension" from the Howell family after the war, it would have been nice to find confirmation of such a relationship. 

     Here is a picture of Chism's headstone in the Almonesson United Methodist Church Cemetery in Gloucester County, New Jersey.

        

   

Captain Ross Rush Sanner

Captain Ross R. Sanner
Company H, 85th Pennsylvania Infantry
U.S. Army Education and Center

              Last week's post was about soldier and industrialist Norman Bruce Ream of Company H of the 85th Pennsylvania. That post mentions that Ream was saved from captivity and possibly death by his cousin, Lt. Ross R. Sanner. Ream was wounded during an assault upon Confederate forces on Whitemarsh Island, Georgia in 1864 and Sanner, also a member of Company H, assisted him back to the Union assault boats at the southwestern part of the island.

Whitemarsh Island (showing defenses) near Savannah, Georgia
LOC

        This week's post will focus on Sanner. Like Ream, Sanner taught school prior to the war as a teenager. Unlike Ream, Sanner continued his career as an educator following the war. In fact, his remarkable career as a principal and instructor spanned about 60 years. He began teaching as a teenager and  "Professor" Sanner was still teaching school at the age of 76.
    A news article five decades after the Civil War contrasted the postwar careers of the two cousins."[Ream] recovered from his wounds and became one of the greatest and richest money magnates of the United States, while Capt. Sanner elected to follow the humble though nonetheless honorable vocation of a pedagogue and in worldly goods and chattels is accounted a poor man in his old age, though rich in honor and respect shown him by the many pupils who have been under his guidance. The multi-millionaire, Norman B. Ream, remained his steadfast friends until his death, but did not remember him in his will...The writer (editor of the Republican) [William S. Livengood] had the privilege of being one of his primary pupils in 1868 and among the readers of the Republican are many who received their first instruction from this grand old pedagogue and who have ever since held him in grateful memory and high esteem." [Meyersdale Republican, February 17, 1916]
        Sanner enlisted into Company H as a 19-year old sergeant. On August 23, 1863, while stationed on Morris Island near Charleston, South Carolina, Sanner was shot in the neck by a Confederate sharpshooter. He recovered, rejoined his company and six months later saved Ream's life on Whitemarsh Island.

Sharpshooters near Fort Wagner on Morris Island, SC

         Four months after that, Sanner was wounded for the second time at Ware Bottom Church during the Bermuda Hundred Campaign and was sent to Chesapeake Hospital at Fortress Monroe. [Ream, his cousin, had also been wounded at Ware Bottom Church one day earlier]. Sanner returned to his regiment on the last day of July six weeks later, but was subsequently granted a medical discharge in September of 1864 after nearly three years of service.

Arrival of Wounded Soldiers at Fort Monroe
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper

        Sanner returned home to Somerset County but was plagued by paralysis in his arm and stiffness in his neck. He was nonetheless able to resume his teaching career, beginning in Grantsville, Maryland, just 17 miles from his birthplace.

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        Among the various places at which he taught school were the Maryland cities of Cumberland, Frostburg, Oakland, Grantsville, Selbysport and Friendsville, as well as the Pennsylvania towns of Uniontown, Somerset and Confluence. For four years he was an instructor at the soldiers' orphan school in Jumonville, PA. He was still teaching until three weeks prior to his death.
        Sanner died in  1918. At his funeral, Dr. Walter S. Mountain, a life-long friend and fellow veteran of Company H, delivered the eulogy. Mountain said, "Capt. R.R. Sanner and I were schoolboys together and in the same company during the Civil War, hence I know something of his bravery and how well he did his duty as a soldiers...Our first fight was at Williamsburg, Va, and the captain [Sanner] was not found in the rear. He showed the same bravery at Yorktown, Fair Oaks and Malvern Hill. The next battle was at Newbern, NC, [Goldsboro Expedition] where Capt. Jackson was hiding behind a bank along a stream for fear he might be shot, and for which he was dismissed from the service for cowardice, and Capt. Sanner showed his bravery by staying on the bank where he was exposed and won his captaincy...[On Morris island]..the captain exposed his head above the ramparts and a confederate caught him in the neck with a bullet, and he was sent to the hospital. He was offered his discharge, but he said, 'No I am going back to my company to help lick the enemy.' A Confederate [at Ware Bottom Church] caught him in the arm and maimed him till the job was completed." [Meyeresdale (PA) Republican, April 11, 1918]
        Sanner is buried at Confluence, Somerset County in the Methodist Cemetery.

Sanner, age 74
Meyersdale Republican, 2-17-16

The Last Man Killed

   

Frank Leslie's Illustrated

       In last week's post, I  wrote about James C. Davis, who was the last member of the regiment to be wounded in battle. Davis was hurt on April 2, 1865 at Fort Gregg near Petersburg, VA.
       Davis survived his wound and went on to a prominent career in education. He died in 1914 at the age of 63 and is buried in Kansas.
      The next question to answer is: Who was the last member of the 85th Pennsylvania to die in battle? The answer is not as cut-and-dried as one would imagine. My interpretation of the question is: Who was the last to die AS A RESULT of being wounded in battle. Based on this view, several men who were wounded at Second Deep Bottom could be that last victim. And what about those who WERE members of the 85th Pennsylvania but had transferred to another regiment to meet their permanent fate?
        Following the  2nd Battle of Deep Bottom in August of 1864. the 85th Pennsylvania was involved in the fighting at Darbytown Road, VA (October 13, 1864), Fort Gregg (April 2, 1865) and Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865) before the war finally ended.

New York Daily Herald
August 17, 1864

    In these final three engagements, several men from the 85th Pennsylvania were wounded but there were no fatalities.
     That means that the last engagement in which men from the regiment were killed was at 2nd Deep

2DP Reenactment  2014

Bottom. In that engagement 21 men were killed and another 73 were wounded.
      In this one-week operation near Richmond, most men died on the day of the most substantial part of the fight on August 18,1864.         

  

      The 85th Pennsylvania, as a member of Francis Pond's Brigade, stormed and captured a Confederate earthwork.
       Captain Lewis Watkins of Company E was severely wounded in the arm and  leg while helping to lead the charge at 2nd Deep Bottom. Watkins died six weeks later at Chesapeake Hospital at Fort Monroe (VA).
        Of the men who suffered fatal wounds, Sergeant Myers P. Titus of Company G lingered until November 2, 1864 before dying in a Hampton (VA) hospital. Corporal James Sturgis, also of Company G, hung on from his wound until he expired on November 6, 1864 in a hospital in Beverly, NJ.
        Next is Corporal James C. Bailey of Company C. Bailey was captured on Whitemarsh Island near Savannah, Georgia on February 22, 1864. The exact cause of his demise is unclear. Bailey was eventually released during a large-scale prisoner exchange but died on the voyage home on December 12, 1864. He may have been wounded on Whitemarsh Island. How much this contributed to his death is unknown. On the other hand, his death may have been due to harsh treatment at Andersonville and other Confederate prison camps. If he were wounded on Whitemarsh Island, was this a a contributory factor to his death?
        Next is Private David Baldwin of Company D. Baldwin  who died in Salisbury (NC) POW camp in North Carolina on December 19, 1864. Baldwin was listed as missing-in-action at 2nd Deep Bottom. Like Bailey, it is unknown if Baldwin were wounded, causing him to be captured. If he were wounded, it is also not known if this contributed to his death. He may have died of starvation or caught a disease in camp and expired.

Captain Richard Dawson
James Hadden, History of the Old Flag

 

      Captain Richard Dawson of Company I was wounded at the second (and successful) Union assault on Fort Fisher near Wilmington, North Carolina in January of 1865. Dawson was wounded in the arm, which was amputated, but he passed away a few weeks later from the wound on February 1, 1865.
    But Dawson was not a member of the 85th Pennsylvania at the time. Two months earlier, he had been promoted and was an aide to General Adelbert Ames when he was wounded during the storming of Fort Fisher.





 

Corporal Joseph W. Burson
Courtesy of Sharon Zbinovec

      Finally there is my choice for the last fatality in the regiment, Corporal Joseph W. Burson of Company D. Burson was wounded and captured at Second Deep Bottom in August. He was released from prison camp near the end of the war, but died on March 17, 1865, three weeks before the war ended. He died at home in Fredericktown, Washington County, just after being accompanied home by his father, Edward, from a hospital in Annapolis, Maryland.
    Therefore, although it is possible Burson's death was caused by his stay in prison camp, his wound does appear to be a contributing factor in his demise.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46342950/joseph-w_-burson

Walton Cemetery
Clarksville, GreeneCounty, PA

Prison Life of John E. Michener Overview

    

Captain John E. Michener
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs:
 Print Collection, The New York Public Library

             My most recent post was about an escape attempt by Captain John E. Michener of the 85th Pennsylvania in 1864. It was told partly by Michener himself but mostly through the words of the Union prisoners with whom he attempted to flee. The post explored a letter to a newspaper that Michener wrote fifteen years after the escape in which he disputed a southerner's version of the use of dogs to track down slaves and escaped Union prisoners. The story of the escape and apprehension of Michener and his comrades was largely based on a postwar memoir by Captain John A. Kellogg of Wisconsin. Kellogg was one of the five Union officers who attempted to escape with Michener from a train bound from Georgia to Charleston, SC. 

       Michener had an account of his own war experiences published just after the Civil War, but I could not find a copy to review for this post.   Thanks to George Thompson, the memoir has been found on microfilm at the New York Public Library. A copy has since been obtained and reviewed.

       Based on the title of the Michener narrative, "Prison Life," I assumed that Michener's story would mainly be a first-person about his experiences in 1864. This includes the period in which he was captured on Whitemarsh Island near Savannah, GA to his release as part of a prisoner of war exchange ten months later. In the time in between those two events, Michener spent time in several Confederate prisons and tried to escape at least twice. 

       Surprisingly, just the last third of the 40-page chapter covered Michener's time in captivity. Furthermore, the Michener account ends while he was still in prison in Macon, GA. The daring escape attempt from the train bound for Charleston that was covered in my last blog was completely ignored in this treatment. It also omitted the last few months of his imprisonment as well as how he obtained his freedom. Why the overall work was entitled "Prison Life" is therefore a bit of a mystery.

       However, what "Prison Life" does provide is a rich story of Michener's war experiences from 1861 to mid-1864. Although not written in the first person, the account certainly includes heretofore unknown details about Michener's service.

        My next several posts will explore "Prison Life." In those posts, I intend to review what is known about the events concerning Michener and his regiment, the 85th Pennsylvania, and how Michener's memoir has enhanced our knowledge of these events. I will begin with the current post which will be an overview of Michener's brief tract.

      Although at first disappointed at what was not written about in Michener's story, I now believe that these omissions are not that great of a loss. We have Captain John A. Kellogg's detailed review of the escape attempt and capture from the Charleston-bound train. We further know many of the details of Michener's time in a Charleston prison from a postwar letter that he wrote. The last few months of his time in prison was covered in several brief newspaper accounts from the period as well as the details of his exchange in the official records of the war. 

      The first two-thirds of "Prison Life" covers Michener's service in the war, from the Peninsula Campaign, to Suffolk, VA and finally to the fight at Whitemarsh where he and two others from the 85th Pennsylvania regiment were captured. Although we have several letters from Michener's family that give details of these events, "Prison Life" adds substantially to the story.

      "Prison Life" appears to be intended as an opening chapter of a larger work to be written by T. J. Simpson. The title promised illustrations of various battlefields and implied there are more chapters to follow. But for some reason, the story of Michener seems to be the only one that reached publication. Michener and Simpson probably met in Washington, DC immediately after the war. During this period, Michener worked for the postal service and was involved in the creation of an organization for former Union prisoners. 

         It is curious as to why Michener simply did not pen the chapter in the first-person. Michener is virtually the sole source of Simpson's story. From letters that Michener wrote to his family as well as letters he penned to a few newspapers during the war, it is apparent that Michener could have been quite effective if he had provided a first-person account. Perhaps Simpson had better connections to get Michener's story into print.

       Simpson seems to have used Michener's thoughts and words almost exclusively to write the chapter. One exception is a story from sutler James Clark (for whom Michener's brother Ezra worked) that is recounted. Furthermore, Simpson included some speech portions from other captured officers are used at the end of the piece. But otherwise, the remembrances seem to be from Michener alone. 

      Simpson writes in his introduction that, "...each one [story of a former Union prisoner] has some peculiarities connected with his history worthy of note, and many facts and incidents of an interesting and thrilling character which render the separate history of each one necessary to a correct and comprehensive view of the whole. The plan adopted, therefore, is to write the history of each one separately in a clear, concise and comprehensive manner."

      Simpson went overboard in exalting Michener's accomplishments. It would have enhanced the chapter if Simpson had quoted other soldiers about Michener's deeds. A reader could easily assume that Simpson attempted to portray Michener as a super soldier, or even worse that Michener himself overinflated his experiences. Having read numerous other accounts by and about Michener, I do not believe it was Michener's idea to inflate his accomplishments. 

      During the Peninsula Campaign in Virginia in 1862, many men in the Union army became sick with various ailments including typhoid fever and other potentially deadly diseases. Simpson exalted Michener for assigning his black servant, likely a former slave, to care for the sick in the 85th Pennsylvania. By modern standards, Should Michener's so-called sacrifice in this instance be the object of such praise? Michener, wrote Simpson, "threw the coffee-cup, haversack, etc. over his shoulder, prepared his own food, washed his own clothes and cheerfully accepted the 'situation.'"  

        There is little doubt that Michener was extremely patriotic and highly regarded as an officer by the men in his regiment. As "Prison Life" showed, he was constantly put in charge of special assignments, a testament to his professionalism and reliability.  Michener wrote several personal and public letters during the war denouncing antiwar sentiments and encouraging the citizenry to continue to fight to preserve the Union.

    In late 1863, Michener wrote a letter to the Reporter and Tribune, a pro-war Republican newspaper in Washington, PA. Michener stated, "How do the Copperheads feel under the rebuke administered to them by the Union men on the 13th?...I believe your Southern sympathizers to be wickedly drunk to every feeling of loyalty or attachment to the United States Government. Their open treason, manifested by their cringing sympathy for the rebels; the vindictive spite with which they assail every friend of the Federal Government, and their opposition to a war prosecuted for the salvation and perpetuation of the Union is clear evidence of their infamous purposes, and wicked treason."

        During his more than two years in the 85th Pennsylvania, Michener was often chosen to lead special assignments, such as in two incidents highlighted in Simpson's memoir; namely to shuttle prisoners and deserters aboard a schooner and being in charge of the barge that shuttled the 54th Massachusetts to Morris Island, SC for their historic charge against Fort Wagner. 

        Michener was also involved in leading men on special missions into battle, such as the assault on Battery Gregg on Morris Island and the attempt to capture a key bridge during the assault against Whitemarsh Island, GA where he was captured.

     In this event, he made sure that all of his men had the chance to escape back to their transports, and was only captured because he was the last man to attempt to re-cross the bridge back to safety.

    The best part of Michener's story is the account of his capture and the many privations suffered in prison. These evens as well as his time in the regiment prior to his capture will be explored in my next several posts in the order in which they occurred.

      

85th Pennsylvania Original Company Nicknames & Commissioned Officers

         

                                                     

    
                                                     COLOR KEY 

                                                     Killed in Action

                                                           Died from disease

                                                        Captured, later released

                                                      Resigned for health reasons

                                                     Completed 3-year enlistment

                                                  Transferred to a different regiment

[Company A] “Union Guards” (Washington County)

Captain Harvey J. Vankirk (medically discharged, 1862)

1^st Lieutenant William W. Kerr (captured at 2nd Deep Bottom, 1864)

2^nd Lieutenant John Rowley (medically discharged, 1862)

[Company B] “Ellsworth Cadets” (Washington County)

Captain Morgan W. Zollars (medically discharged, 1862)

1^st Lieutenant Robert P. Hughes (promoted to lieutenant colonel, 199th PA, 1864)

2^nd Lieutenant George H. Hooker (wounded twice in shoulder & foot; completed 3 yrs)

[Company C] “Redstone Blues” (Fayette County)

Captain John C. Wilkinson (medically discharged, 1863)

1^st Lieutenant Isaac R. Beazell (transferred to 168th PA)

2^nd Lieutenant Jefferson. G. Vangilder (transferred to 22nd Ringgold Cavalry)

[Company D] “Lafayette Guards” (Greene/Washington Counties)

Captain William H. Horn (medically discharged for shoulder wound, 1862)

1^st Lieutenant Rolla O. Phillips (promoted to captain, 1862: served 3 years)

2^nd Lieutenant John E. Michener (captured Whitemarsh Island, GA, 1864; exchanged)

[Company E] “Washington Guards” (Washington County)

Captain Henry A. Purviance (killed on Morris Island, 1863, from friendly fire)

1^st Lieutenant Lewis Watkins (died from wounds at 2nd Deep Bottom, 1864)

2^nd Lieutenant Richard W. Dawson (died from wounds at Fort Fisher, NC, 1865)

[Company F] “Tenmile Grays” (Greene County)

Captain John Morris (discharged after facial wound, 1862)

1^st Lieutenant Edward Campbell (promoted to colonel, 1864; completed 3 years)

2^nd Lieutenant John Remley (medically discharged, 1863)

[Company G] “Monongahela Guards” (Fayette/Greene Counties)

Captain Isaac M. Abraham (promoted to major, 1863; completed 3 years)

1^st Lieutenant John A. Gordon (transferred to Ambulance Corps, 1862)

2^nd Lieutenant John M. Crawford (medically discharged, 1864)

[Company H] “Independent Blues” (Somerset County)

 Captain James B. Tredwell (medically discharged for chronic diarrhea, 1862)

1^st Lieutenant James Hamilton (killed at Seven Pines, 1862)

2^nd Lieutenant Milton Black (died from typhoid fever, 1862)

[Company I] “Howell Fencibles” (Fayette County)

Captain John R. Weltner (medically discharged for lung disease, 1862)

1^st Lieutenant E. H. Oliphant (died from typhoid fever, 1862)

2^nd Lieutenant Houston Devan (died from typhoid fever, 1862)

[Company K] “Mountain Rifles” (Fayette County)

Captain Hagan Z. Ludington (resigned 1863, died 1865/disease contracted during war)

1^st Lieutenant Reason Smurr (medically discharged, 1862; later joined 77th PA)

2^nd Lieutenant Stephen K. Brown (medically discharged, 1862, due to typhoid fever)