Confederates prisoners who escaped.

[Robert Gray]

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Confederates who escaped from Johnson's Island and Camp Douglas prisons. Photographed in Montreal.

​

Image: The Virginia Museum of History and Culture.
From the Collections of the Confederate Memorial Literary Society and the Virginia Historical Society.

 

[Tom Elmore]

Born April 12, 1839 at Draper, Rockingham County, North Carolina, John Reynolds Winston attended Trinity College (now Duke University) in Randolph, North Carolina from 1856-1859. He resided at Reidsville, Rockingham County when he enlisted as Captain of Company F, 45th North Carolina at Elm Grove on March 11, 1862. He stood 5' 9" tall. Promoted to major on February 9, 1863 and to lieutenant colonel on June 26, 1863, he fought at Gettysburg on July 1, but on the late forenoon or early afternoon of July 3, while his regiment was on Culp's Hill, he received a bad gunshot wound. Because he was admitted to the General Hospital in Frederick, Maryland on July 6, he was almost certainly captured in the wagon train of wounded by Federal cavalry near Monterrey Pass on the night of July 4/5. He was briefly in the post hospital at Fort McHenry by July 10, then sent to Johnson's Island, Ohio by September 28, 1863. He escaped on January 15, 1864, across the ice, to Canada, and returned to his regiment on February 29, 1864, which dates the image. He was wounded again at Spotsylvania Court House on May 15, 1864 and was appointed colonel four days later. Wounded in the head at Sayler's Creek on April 6, 1865, he surrendered three days later at Appomattox. He died on March 7, 1888 and was buried in the Red House Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Caswell County, North Carolina.

(http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=26713126; Southern Historical Society Papers, vol. 7, p. 94; Confederate Casualties at Gettysburg, by John W. Busey and Travis W. Busey, 2:1149; Compiled Service Records of J. R. Winston)

 

[Drew]

Berry Benson, 1st South Carolina Infantry, escaped first from Point Lookout Prison in Maryland, returned to his unit and was then re-captured and sent to Elmira Prison Camp in NY, from which he escaped again.

These are great stories, recorded in his book, "Confederate Scout-Sniper," actually written by his daughter-in-law, who sat beside his bed in his advanced age and recorded his verbal recollections of the War.

Well worth the read to anyone interested.

 

[Tom Elmore]

Thomas Herbert Davis, Company B, 1st Infantry, was a 25-year-old school teacher when he enlisted April 21, 1861 at Richmond. He was appointed 1st sergeant on May 23, elected 2nd lieutenant on October 12, 1861, and made captain on April 27, 1862. He was wounded at Seven Pines on May 31, 1862 and was severely wounded and captured while leading his company during the attack of Pickett's division against Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg on the afternoon of July 3, 1863. Arriving at Johnson's Island, Ohio on July 18 from Fort Delaware, he escaped on January 1, 1864. He rejoined his unit and in March 1864 received a new sword and belt along with a Colt navy pistol. He was captured at Sayler's Creek, Virginia on April 6, 1865, being returned to Johnson's Island, where he took the Oath of Allegiance on June 18, 1865, being described as 6' tall, with a fair complexion, dark hair and blue eyes. Moving to San Antonio, Texas after the war, he died from yellow fever (malaria) before 1891. (Confederate Casualties at Gettysburg, by Busey and Busey, 3:1444; Compiled Service Records of T. Herbert Davis)

 

[tomlamarcooughlin]

Col. Eugene Lamar escaped Ft. McHenry and was never heard from again (that I can find). He's been a great mystery.

 

[lupaglupa]

I've been reading a book about the Confederates in Montreal - a surprising amount of stuff going on there during the War

 

[drezac]

There was quite a bit of Confederate activity in Canada. In my research on the Ohio State House Cannon, there were 2 incidents regarding Confederates in Canada that were connected to the guns. The first one was a plan for Confederates in Canada to seize a ship and arms, sail to Johnson's Island and free the prisoners. Then they would disrupt shipping. It did not get very far, the U.S. gov. found out about the plans and telegrams show they were tracked the entire way, being intercepted by the U.S. navy before they reached Johnson's Island.

The other was a plan by Confederates in Canada to attack either Detroit or Cleveland, which led to a letter from General Hooker to the Governor of Ohio asking for an Ohio Artillery Battery for assistance in defending Cleveland. In this letter, Hooker even threatens to pursue them into Canada if they attack Cleveland.

 

[lupaglupa]

I will admit that I had no idea about any of this until my genealogy research led to a family of Nashville bankers who went to Montreal during the War to help the CSA with access to international funds. It's very interesting!

 

[TnFed]

Been to Johnson's Island. It gets mighty cold there right now.

 

[chubachus]

Col. Eugene Lamar escaped Ft. McHenry and was never heard from again (that I can find). He's been a great mystery.

View attachment 390640

Were any of the other men seen again either? Sounds like they might have all drowned.

 

[tomlamarcooughlin]

I did look up at least one of them and that fellow didn't drown.

 

[Robert Gray]

Berry Benson, 1st South Carolina Infantry, escaped first from Point Lookout Prison in Maryland, returned to his unit and was then re-captured and sent to Elmira Prison Camp in NY, from which he escaped again.

These are great stories, recorded in his book, "Confederate Scout-Sniper," actually written by his daughter-in-law, who sat beside his bed in his advanced age and recorded his verbal recollections of the War.

Well worth the read to anyone interested.

Berry Benson.