OleMissCub
Private
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2021
He was an out of uniform Confederate saboteur!
So in researching my ancestors I came across a rather shady character, my G3 Grandfather Jacob S. Dyer.
Here he is in the 1860 census working as a policeman in Memphis.
He then joins the 18th MS Cavalry. He serves for over a year and is wounded during one of Forrest's raids in Tennessee and seems to be a decent soldier. I'm continuing to go through his service records when suddenly this pops out:
"Sentenced to Alton Military Prison for the term of five years at hard labor"
So I'm thinking what in the world is this all about??
I do some snooping and this is what I find. An indictment:
Charge - Conspiring to destroy property belonging to the United States, in violation of the laws of war.
Specification 1st - In this, that the said Jacob S. Dyer, a citizens of the United States, and owing allegiance thereto, assuming the semblance of peaceful pursuits, and not having the appearance or character of a soldier, did conspire....to burn steamboats on the Mississippi River, said steamboats being laden with the property of the United States. This at or near Hernando, Miss., between the 1st of July and the 1st of October, 1863.
Specification 2nd - In this, that the said Jacob S. Dyer, a citizen of the United States, as aforesaid, and not belonging to any regular organized force at war with the United States, and not having the character or appearance of a soldier, did conspire...with the design of destroying or obstructing the navigation of the Mississippi River...attempt to burn steamboats plying on the Mississippi River, said steamboats being laden with the property of the United States. This at or near Hernando, Miss., between the 1st of July and the 1st of October, 1863.
Specification 3rd - In this, that the said Jacob S. Dyer, a citizen of the United States, as aforesaid, and not belonging to any regular organized force at war with the United States, and not having the character or appearance of a soldier, did attempt to burn, with a view to destroy, a certain building on Front Row, in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, known as "Exchange Building" with the design of destroying certain ammunition and munitions of war belonging to the United States. This at or near Hernando, Miss., between the 1st of July and the 1st of October, 1863.
So he was then found guilty by this military tribunal and sentenced to 5 years of hard labor. They sent him to Alton Military Prison and put him in the civilian prisoner wing.
At some point in 1864, General James Chalmers, in charge of one of Forrest's cavalry brigades, writes a letter to Alton Military Prison with a list of names of soldiers who he thinks he may have been captured during their October 1863 raiding in Tennessee and asking if Alton has any of these troopers of his. Jacob Dyer's name is on this list. He gets a response from the commandant of Alton, which in part reads:
"I presume your communication refers to Mr. J.S. Dyer, lately of Hernando, Miss., who is now being held, not as a prisoner of war, but as a criminal. It has not heretofore been known that Mr. Dyer was a Confederate soldier...you may rest assured, sir, that he will be immediately recognized and considered a prisoner of war, and treated with the kindness and forbearance which the government of the United States is proud always to extend to its honorable prisoners of war."
So they move Jacob over to the POW camp side of the prison and when the war ends he is released with everyone else.
I next find him in the 1870 census living with his son (my GG Grandfather) under an assumed name! "Jacob Dannell". I can only presume that he knew the Feds made a mistake in releasing him and that any minute they'd be coming around the corner to get him. This was during Reconstruction, we can't forget, so Federal troops were still occupying his home town.
In the 1880 census (now that Federal troops are gone) he's back to living under his real name.
So a few take aways:
1. Perhaps his age helped him convince his captors that he wasn't a Confederate soldier since he would have been nearly 40 at the time. I guess he did a good enough job convincing them that he was a civilian that he was was spared the hangman's noose.
2. This must have been something he tried to do on his own without the knowledge or consent of any Confederate authorities. Otherwise why would Chalmers blow his cover like that? It seems like he just disappeared during the campaign and Chalmers assumed he had been captured, thus being why he ended up on Chalmbers' "do you have any of the following men?" letter.
3. He shockingly escaped the noose a second time because you'd think that the Union officer in charge of the prison would have been like "OH really....he's a soldier is he? Thanks for the heads up. We now get to retry him as a spy."
Anyways, just thought I'd share this whacky story!
So in researching my ancestors I came across a rather shady character, my G3 Grandfather Jacob S. Dyer.
Here he is in the 1860 census working as a policeman in Memphis.
He then joins the 18th MS Cavalry. He serves for over a year and is wounded during one of Forrest's raids in Tennessee and seems to be a decent soldier. I'm continuing to go through his service records when suddenly this pops out:
"Sentenced to Alton Military Prison for the term of five years at hard labor"
So I'm thinking what in the world is this all about??
I do some snooping and this is what I find. An indictment:
Charge - Conspiring to destroy property belonging to the United States, in violation of the laws of war.
Specification 1st - In this, that the said Jacob S. Dyer, a citizens of the United States, and owing allegiance thereto, assuming the semblance of peaceful pursuits, and not having the appearance or character of a soldier, did conspire....to burn steamboats on the Mississippi River, said steamboats being laden with the property of the United States. This at or near Hernando, Miss., between the 1st of July and the 1st of October, 1863.
Specification 2nd - In this, that the said Jacob S. Dyer, a citizen of the United States, as aforesaid, and not belonging to any regular organized force at war with the United States, and not having the character or appearance of a soldier, did conspire...with the design of destroying or obstructing the navigation of the Mississippi River...attempt to burn steamboats plying on the Mississippi River, said steamboats being laden with the property of the United States. This at or near Hernando, Miss., between the 1st of July and the 1st of October, 1863.
Specification 3rd - In this, that the said Jacob S. Dyer, a citizen of the United States, as aforesaid, and not belonging to any regular organized force at war with the United States, and not having the character or appearance of a soldier, did attempt to burn, with a view to destroy, a certain building on Front Row, in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, known as "Exchange Building" with the design of destroying certain ammunition and munitions of war belonging to the United States. This at or near Hernando, Miss., between the 1st of July and the 1st of October, 1863.
So he was then found guilty by this military tribunal and sentenced to 5 years of hard labor. They sent him to Alton Military Prison and put him in the civilian prisoner wing.
At some point in 1864, General James Chalmers, in charge of one of Forrest's cavalry brigades, writes a letter to Alton Military Prison with a list of names of soldiers who he thinks he may have been captured during their October 1863 raiding in Tennessee and asking if Alton has any of these troopers of his. Jacob Dyer's name is on this list. He gets a response from the commandant of Alton, which in part reads:
"I presume your communication refers to Mr. J.S. Dyer, lately of Hernando, Miss., who is now being held, not as a prisoner of war, but as a criminal. It has not heretofore been known that Mr. Dyer was a Confederate soldier...you may rest assured, sir, that he will be immediately recognized and considered a prisoner of war, and treated with the kindness and forbearance which the government of the United States is proud always to extend to its honorable prisoners of war."
So they move Jacob over to the POW camp side of the prison and when the war ends he is released with everyone else.
I next find him in the 1870 census living with his son (my GG Grandfather) under an assumed name! "Jacob Dannell". I can only presume that he knew the Feds made a mistake in releasing him and that any minute they'd be coming around the corner to get him. This was during Reconstruction, we can't forget, so Federal troops were still occupying his home town.
In the 1880 census (now that Federal troops are gone) he's back to living under his real name.
So a few take aways:
1. Perhaps his age helped him convince his captors that he wasn't a Confederate soldier since he would have been nearly 40 at the time. I guess he did a good enough job convincing them that he was a civilian that he was was spared the hangman's noose.
2. This must have been something he tried to do on his own without the knowledge or consent of any Confederate authorities. Otherwise why would Chalmers blow his cover like that? It seems like he just disappeared during the campaign and Chalmers assumed he had been captured, thus being why he ended up on Chalmbers' "do you have any of the following men?" letter.
3. He shockingly escaped the noose a second time because you'd think that the Union officer in charge of the prison would have been like "OH really....he's a soldier is he? Thanks for the heads up. We now get to retry him as a spy."
Anyways, just thought I'd share this whacky story!