The Lady in Black of Fort Warren

John Hartwell

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The Lady in Black is one of the popular legends surrounding the islands in Boston Harbor. She was Mrs. Andrew Lanier of Georgia, whose Confederate husband was imprisoned in Fort Warren on George's Island in 1861-2. The story of her heroic journey into the heart of Yankeeland, to engineer her husband's escape ... her capture, and eventual execution by hanging is still told today. And still today, we are told, her ghost can be seen on dark nights, walking the walls and corridors of the old fort.
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[/URL]The story of The Lady in Black

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George's Island and Fort Warren
 
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The Lady in Black is one of the popular legends surrounding the islands in Boston Harbor. She was Mr. Andrew Lanier of Georgia, whose Confederate husband was imprisoned in Fort Warren on George's Island in 1861-2. The story of her heroic journey into the heart of Yankeeland, to engineer her husband's escape ... her capture, and eventual execution by hanging is still told today. And still today, we are told, her ghost can be seen on dark nights, walking the walls and corridors of the old fort.
lady_zpszycowjpx.jpg
']
lady_zpszycowjpx.jpg
[/URL]The story of The Lady in Black

ftwarren_zps3t0tjwvh.jpg
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ftwarren_zps3t0tjwvh.jpg
[/URL]
George's Island and Fort Warren
We take our students there every year in June for the end of the year field trip. Its worth a visit. We have a cookout. If the weather's good, its a beautiful day.

Mason and Slidell, of the "Trent Affair" were prisoners there. A large number of Confederate officers were imprisoned there as well. The citizens collected warm clothes and blankets for them as I recall, and the fort was relatively healthy. I'll check back in a few weeks.
 
The Lady in Black is one of the popular legends surrounding the islands in Boston Harbor. She was Mr. Andrew Lanier of Georgia, whose Confederate husband was imprisoned in Fort Warren on George's Island in 1861-2. The story of her heroic journey into the heart of Yankeeland, to engineer her husband's escape ... her capture, and eventual execution by hanging is still told today. And still today, we are told, her ghost can be seen on dark nights, walking the walls and corridors of the old fort.
lady_zpszycowjpx.jpg
']
lady_zpszycowjpx.jpg
[/URL]The story of The Lady in Black

ftwarren_zps3t0tjwvh.jpg
']
ftwarren_zps3t0tjwvh.jpg
[/URL]
George's Island and Fort Warren
Great story, John! And very nice photo, too!:thumbsup:
 
I was not aware of this story until now. They claim that the story by Rowe is his 1944 is "debunked," but the claim is that it's still based on a legend. None of the discussions about this provide any sources for the pre-1944 "legend," but I assume that it occasionally appeared in print. I'm assuming the earliest would be the account in the Gloucester Telegraph cited in this New York Times article from January 26, 1862. No 'Lady in Black" though - just the ghost of an "old woman... vindictively frisking about the ruins of an old building..."

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I know this is from a paranormal investigation group, but they did an historical investigation just looking for information, not ghosts ( they did that later ), wrote of it. Part of it is here, with link.


THE BLACK LADY OF FT. WARREN
REVEALED

WE AT WORCESTER PARANORMAL DECIDED STARTING IN 2010 TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER OR NOT THERE MIGHT BE SOME TRUTH TO THE CLAIMS OF HAUNTING AT FORT WARREN ON GEORGES ISLAND IN BOSTON HARBOR. EVEN THE TOUR GUIDES AT THE ISLAND TELL THE GHOST STORY OF THE BLACK LADY OF FORT WARREN WHEN CONDUCTING TOURS OF THE FORT, SO IT LEFT US CURIOUS, AND WE DECIDED TO SEE WHETHER WE COULD PROVE OR DEBUNK IT.

WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT ALL GREAT GHOST STORIES HAVE AN ELEMENT OF TRUTH TO THEM AND THE LEGEND OF THE BLACK LADY IS NO DIFFERENT.

THERE WAS A COLONEL JUSTIN DIMMICK(PICTURED BELOW). HE WAS THE COMMANDER OF FORT WARREN FROM 1861 TO 1863.
THERE WAS ALSO A SAMUEL LANIER. HE WAS A PRIVATE NOT A LIEUTENANT. HIS FAMILY WERE SLAVE OWNERS. HE WAS 18 YEARS OLD WHEN HE ENLISTED IN BEAUFORT COUNTY , NORTH CAROLINA ON 22ND APRIL, 1861. HE DIED AT FORT WARREN ON 25 JANUARY, 1862 OF TYPHOID AND WAS BURIED AMONG THE 13 KNOWN CONFEDERATE DEAD. THERE IS A HEADSTONE NEAR THE ENTRANCE TO THE FORT THAT CONTAINS THEIR NAMES.

BUT WAS THERE REALLY A SOUTHERN BELLE NAMED MELANIE LANIER WHO ATTEMPED TO FREE HIM FROM THE FORT?

NO.

WE HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO FIND ANY EVIDENCE THAT SHE REALLY EXISTED. WE RESEARCHED SOURCES SUCH AS NEWSPAPER ARTICLES FROM THE TIME PERIOD FROM "THE QUINCY PATRIOT", WHICH WHILE THERE ARE ARTICLES RELATED TO FORT WARREN, THEY MAKE NO MENTION OF THE CAPTURE AND HANGING OF A YOUNG WOMAN.
http://worcesterparanormal.com/THE_BLACK_LADY_REVEALED.html
 
The prisoners that escaped through the window alluded to in the article were actually not soldiers, but two CS Naval Officer, a Marine Lt, and a Civilian political prisoner

J.W. Alexander, executive officer, CSS Atlanta
C.W. Reed, Lieutenant, CSS Tacony
James Thruston, Lt, CS Marines, CSS Atlanta
Reed Sanders, Political Prisoner from Kentucky

http://civilwarsources.blogspot.com/2008/01/escape-from-fort-warren.html
 
So Mary Surratt wasn't the first woman hanged during the Civil War (or ever).
By no means. According to:http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/amfemhang.html, "The earliest recorded female hanging in America was that of Jane Champion in 1632 in Virginia for an unknown offense."
It has been claimed that 505 women were executed by hanging in the US before 1900. Of 306 verified cases, "211 women were put to death for murder, 7 for attempted murder and 2 for conspiracy to murder. 26 were hanged for witchcraft, 17 for arson, and the rest for various other crimes including concealing a birth and burglary in a dwelling house. One woman was hanged for adultery. Just nine more women were to die on the gallows in the 20th century, as states moved away from hanging and adopted the electric chair and the gas chamber."
The last US female hanging occurred on April 23, 1937, in Mississippi.
 
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