Father Peter Whelan "The Angel of Andersonville"

donna

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This Saturday, March 1st my United Daughters of the Confederacy will have our March meeting. I am in charge of the program. Since St. Patrick's Day is March 17th, thought I do an Irish theme. My program is "Irish Confederates, the Civil War's Forgotten Soldiers". One person I am talking about is Father Peter Whelan. Even though not technically a soldier, he served well as a Chaplain for the Confederacy. But besides ministering to Confederate soldiers he was a saint for Union soldiers at Andersonville.

Peter Whelan was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1802. He received his education there. Soon he received his calling to the priesthood by God. Whelan came to America and was ordained in Charleston, S.C. on November 30, 1830.


He served for 19 years as pastor of the Church of the Purification of the Most Pure Heart of Mary in Locust Grove, Georgia. By 1854, he was called to the diocese of Savannah where he would be stationed for the rest of his life.

When the War broke out, he left his post as rector of an orphanage and became a military chaplain for the Confederacy. He first became Chaplain for the Montgomery Guards, an Irish Company, established in Savannah for the First Georgia Volunteer Regiment.

He would minister to Confederate troops during the capture of Fort Pulaski and later he volunteered to remain with them when they were imprisoned in New York at the Union Prison Camp on Governor's Island. One must remember that Father Whelan was in his sixties at the outbreak of the war.

Later during the war he would go to Georgia. It was there he served captured Union soldiers at Andersonville prison. Whelan was the only chaplain from any denomination who served these men. He spent each day, from sun up to sundown, hearing confessions, baptizing , giving the Last Rites. and seeing that the dead were given Christian burial.


In diaries of men who survived Andersonville, whether Catholic or not, they mentioned Father Whelan. He became known as the "Angel of Andersonville". A Sergeant, John Vaughter wrote in his memoirs, "of all the ministers in Georgia accessible to Andersonville, only one could hear the sentence, 'I was sick and in prison and you visited me,' and that one is a Catholic." Another soldier wrote "without a doubt he was the means of saving hundreds of lives". Another wrote, "All creeds, color and nationalities were alike to him...He was indeed the Good Samaritan".

Father Whelan never left the men of Andersonville and he served them there until the armistice. One time he did leave the prison to get bread for the men. He needed money for this. He borrowed $16,ooo from Henry Horne, a devout Catholic in Macon. This was the equivalent of $400 in gold. With this money he purchased ten thousand pounds of wheat flour that he had baked into bread and distributed at the prison hospital of Andersonville. The prisoner's referred to it as "Whelan's Bread". This bread was enough to provide the men with rations for several months.

After the war he returned to Savannah. He was quite ill as he had contracted a lung ailment at Andersonville. Even though ill, in 1866 he wrote Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, asking that the government repay his loan to Henry Horne for the bread. Stanton said no, asking for sworn vouchers and bills of purchase. The priest informed Stanton that the "good God" had provided this bread and that he would find another way to pay this debt. During this time his lung condition got worse and the doctors wanted him to go to New York to escape the humid air. His friends raised the money, but instead of going he used the money to repay Mr. Horne.

Father Whelan died on Feb. 6, 1871. His funeral procession in Savannah was the longest ever seen in the city. Eighty-six carriages and buggies escorted the body to the cemetery. People from all over the city turned out. There were former soldiers as well as impressive members from the old garrison .

This priest was truly a saint and served God and his fellow man for his entire life. He was a priest of heroic generosity.

From: http://en.wikipedia/Peter_Whelan_(priest)
 
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Wish me luck as I give my program today, March 1st. I am also including Captain Thomas "Tom" Quirk, chief of scouts for John Hunt Morgan. He also was born in Ireland.

I am giving a general overview of the Irish born soldiers in the Confederacy and a special mention of a General, a Chaplain and a regular soldier. Quirk began as private and advanced to captain.
 
This Saturday, March 1st my United Daughters of the Confederacy will have our March meeting. I am in charge of the program. Since St. Patrick's Day is March 17th, thought I do an Irish theme. My program is "Irish Confederates, the Civil War's Forgotten Soldiers". One person I am talking about is Father Peter Whelan. Even though not technically a soldier, he served well as a Chaplain for the Confederacy. But besides ministering to Confederate soldiers he was a saint for Union soldiers at Andersonville.

Peter Whelan was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1802. He received his education there. Soon he received his calling to the priesthood by God. Whelan came to America and was ordained in Charleston, S.C. on November 30, 1830.


He served for 19 years as pastor of the Church of the Purification of the Most Pure Heart of Mary in Locust Grove, Georgia. By 1854, he was called to the diocese of Savannah where he would be stationed for the rest of his life.

When the War broke out, he left his post as rector of an orphanage and became a military chaplain for the Confederacy. He first became Chaplain for the Montgomery Guards, an Irish Company, established in Savannah for the First Georgia Volunteer Regiment.

He would minister to Confederate troops during the capture of Fort Pulaski and later he volunteered to remain with them when they were imprisoned in New York at the Union Prison Camp on Governor's Island. One must remember that Father Whelan was in his sixties at the outbreak of the war.

Later during the war he would go to Georgia. It was there he served captured Union soldiers at Andersonville prison. Whelan was the only chaplain from any denomination who served these men. He spent each day, from sun up to sundown, hearing confessions, baptizing , giving the Last Rites. and seeing that the dead were given Christian burial.


In diaries of men who survived Andersonville, whether Catholic or not, they mentioned Father Whelan. He became known as the "Angel of Andersonville". A Sergeant, John Vaughter wrote in his memoirs, "of all the ministers in Georgia accessible to Andersonville, only one could hear the sentence, 'I was sick and in prison and you visited me,' and that one is a Catholic." Another soldier wrote "without a doubt he was the means of saving hundreds of lives". Another wrote, "All creeds, color and nationalities were alike to him...He was indeed the Good Samaritan".

Father Whelan never left the men of Andersonville and he served them there until the armistice. One time he did leave the prison to get bread for the men. He needed money for this. He borrowed $16,ooo from Henry Horne, a devout Catholic in Macon. This was the equivalent of $400 in gold. With this money he purchased ten thousand pounds of wheat flour that he had baked into bread and distributed at the prison hospital of Andersonville. The prisoner's referred to it as "Whelan's Bread". This bread was enough to provide the men with rations for several months.

After the war he returned to Savannah. He was quite ill as he had contracted a lung ailment at Andersonville. Even though ill, in 1866 he wrote Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, asking that the government repay his loan to Henry Horne for the bread. Stanton said no, asking for sworn vouchers and bills of purchase. The priest informed Stanton that the "good God" had provided this bread and that he would find another way to pay this debt. During this time his lung condition got worse and the doctors wanted him to go to New York to escape the humid air. His friends raised the money, but instead of going he used the money to repay Mr. Horne.

Father Whelan died on Feb. 6, 1871. His funeral procession in Savannah was the longest ever seen in the city. Eighty-six carriages and buggies escorted the body to the cemetery. People from all over the city turned out. There were former soldiers as well as impressive members from the old garrison .

This priest was truly a saint and served God and his fellow man for his entire life. He was a priest of heroic generosity.

From: http://en.wikipedia/Peter_Whelan_(priest)

I never knew of Fr. Peter Whelan until very recently -- because I never knew of Andersonville until recently. But every single thing I've read about Andersonville so far has mentioned Fr. Whelan. What a remarkable, brave, heroic man. He truly poured himself out for others, holding nothing back. The peak population at Andersonville at one time was 33,000 prisoners -- 33,000 men, and only one chaplain. A couple of other priests were sent at different times to help him -- but neither of them lasted more than a couple weeks. And apparently there was not a single Protestant chaplain. The stench alone was enough to make anyone sick and send them fleeing.

I have not heard of a cause for Fr. Whelan's canonization being taken up yet, but he sure does sound like a likely candidate to me. Saints are people of "heroic virtue" -- and I think Fr. Peter Whelan epitomizes that! I read somewhere that perhaps one reason he's not more celebrated is that since he ministered to soldiers on both sides, both sides are less than enthusiastic about him -- southerners don't like that he ministered to Union troops; northerners don't like that he believed in the Southern cause.

But I suspect another reason that he's not better known is that the prison camps -- on both sides -- are not better known. How we Americans treated each other in those places is deeply disturbing to think about, and thinking about Fr. Whelan forces us to remember something in our history that we'd really rather not face.
 
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This Saturday, March 1st my United Daughters of the Confederacy will have our March meeting. I am in charge of the program. Since St. Patrick's Day is March 17th, thought I do an Irish theme. My program is "Irish Confederates, the Civil War's Forgotten Soldiers". One person I am talking about is Father Peter Whelan. Even though not technically a soldier, he served well as a Chaplain for the Confederacy. But besides ministering to Confederate soldiers he was a saint for Union soldiers at Andersonville.

Peter Whelan was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1802. He received his education there. Soon he received his calling to the priesthood by God. Whelan came to America and was ordained in Charleston, S.C. on November 30, 1830.


He served for 19 years as pastor of the Church of the Purification of the Most Pure Heart of Mary in Locust Grove, Georgia. By 1854, he was called to the diocese of Savannah where he would be stationed for the rest of his life.

When the War broke out, he left his post as rector of an orphanage and became a military chaplain for the Confederacy. He first became Chaplain for the Montgomery Guards, an Irish Company, established in Savannah for the First Georgia Volunteer Regiment.

He would minister to Confederate troops during the capture of Fort Pulaski and later he volunteered to remain with them when they were imprisoned in New York at the Union Prison Camp on Governor's Island. One must remember that Father Whelan was in his sixties at the outbreak of the war.

Later during the war he would go to Georgia. It was there he served captured Union soldiers at Andersonville prison. Whelan was the only chaplain from any denomination who served these men. He spent each day, from sun up to sundown, hearing confessions, baptizing , giving the Last Rites. and seeing that the dead were given Christian burial.


In diaries of men who survived Andersonville, whether Catholic or not, they mentioned Father Whelan. He became known as the "Angel of Andersonville". A Sergeant, John Vaughter wrote in his memoirs, "of all the ministers in Georgia accessible to Andersonville, only one could hear the sentence, 'I was sick and in prison and you visited me,' and that one is a Catholic." Another soldier wrote "without a doubt he was the means of saving hundreds of lives". Another wrote, "All creeds, color and nationalities were alike to him...He was indeed the Good Samaritan".

Father Whelan never left the men of Andersonville and he served them there until the armistice. One time he did leave the prison to get bread for the men. He needed money for this. He borrowed $16,ooo from Henry Horne, a devout Catholic in Macon. This was the equivalent of $400 in gold. With this money he purchased ten thousand pounds of wheat flour that he had baked into bread and distributed at the prison hospital of Andersonville. The prisoner's referred to it as "Whelan's Bread". This bread was enough to provide the men with rations for several months.

After the war he returned to Savannah. He was quite ill as he had contracted a lung ailment at Andersonville. Even though ill, in 1866 he wrote Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, asking that the government repay his loan to Henry Horne for the bread. Stanton said no, asking for sworn vouchers and bills of purchase. The priest informed Stanton that the "good God" had provided this bread and that he would find another way to pay this debt. During this time his lung condition got worse and the doctors wanted him to go to New York to escape the humid air. His friends raised the money, but instead of going he used the money to repay Mr. Horne.

Father Whelan died on Feb. 6, 1871. His funeral procession in Savannah was the longest ever seen in the city. Eighty-six carriages and buggies escorted the body to the cemetery. People from all over the city turned out. There were former soldiers as well as impressive members from the old garrison .

This priest was truly a saint and served God and his fellow man for his entire life. He was a priest of heroic generosity.

From: http://en.wikipedia/Peter_Whelan_(priest)

donna,

You picked a good man and a wonderful topic.

I hope you will share him with us here.

Sincerely,
Unionblue
 
We should look him up- if there's a movement or investigation with Father Whelan going forward? There are specific criteria required in order to attain Sainthood- I forget how many miracles being attributed to that person's direct intervention.


"Into this man made Hell on Earth on June 16, 1864 came Father Peter Whelan. In May of 1864 Father William J. Hamilton, a mission priest in Georgia, had visited Andersonville and had been revolted by the conditions there. He urgently asked his Bishop, Augustin Verot, to assign a priest to the prison full time. The Bishop sent Father Whelan.
Father Whelan had been born in County Wexford in Ireland. On November 21, 1830 he was ordained a priest of the Benedictine Order in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1854 he was assigned to the diocese of Savannah, Georgia. Prior to the war he served as the director of the Savannah Catholic Boy’s Asylum. In September 1861 he was sent by his Bishop to be a chaplain for the First Georgia volunteers, a predominantly Catholic company, the Montgomery Guards, in the regiment having requested a Catholic chaplain. On April 10, 1862 Father Whelan and the rest of his regiment were captured when Union forces took Fort Pulaski , a fort on the Savannah River guarding the outskirts of Savannah.
Transported to Governor’s Island New York, Father Whelan entered captivity. As an officer he was placed in relative comfort in Fort Columbus Barracks. However he spent virtually none of his time there and spent all of his waking hours at damp and dark Castle William where the enlisted men were lodged in poor conditions. He appealed to the priest of Saint Peter’s on Barclay in Lower Manhattan for help. The priest responded with food and clothes for the Confederates and arranged for Father Whelan to be paroled. He could have gone home immediately, but he stayed with his men until August 1863 when all of them had been paroled and returned to the Confederacy.
Back in Georgia Chaplain Whelan was named Chaplain for all Confederate forces in Georgia, and then the Bishop told him to go to Andersonville.
Father Whelan was shocked and horrified by what he saw at Andersonville. From dawn to dusk he heard confessions, ministered to the sick, and gave comfort and the Final Sacrament to the many dying. The men he ministered to, those who survived, never forgot him. “By coming here he exposed himself to great danger of infection… His services were sought by all, for, in his kind and sympathizing looks, his meek but earnest appearance, the despairing prisoners read that all humanity had not forsaken mankind.” Pvt. Henry M. Davidson, 1st Ohio Light Artillery. Father Whelan was helped in his labors by other volunteer priests and Bishop Verot who visited Andersonville twice. Protestant Union soldiers noted wryly in their diaries that the ministers of their own denominations were put to shame by the Christian love and charity shown by Father Whelan and the other priests. Hearing of the work of Father Whelan Protestant ministers did eventually begin to come to Andersonville to assist the prisoners.
At some point at Andersonville Father Whelan contracted a lung infection, probably tuberculosis, which would eventually kill him in 1871. In spite of this he continued his long labors in the most appalling of conditions until October 1, 1864. By that time most of the Union prisoners had been transported to other camps due to Confederate fears of the camp being overrun by Sherman’s cavalry. His health broken, Father Whelan finally had to leave, but in one great last act of charity he borrowed $16,ooo Confederate, purchased 10,000 pounds of flour, had it baked into bread and distributed to the Union prisoners. The bread, called “Whelan Bread” by the prisoners, lasted several months and saved many lives.
At the trial of Major Wirz, Father Whelan was called as a witness for the defense and his testimony is here. His testimony gives a good overview of his work in Andersonville.
After the war Father Whelan returned to Savannah and his peace time duties as a priest. When he died in 1871 his funeral procession was the longest ever seen in Savannah, and news of his death caused mourning among his admirers, North and South. The marker to the memory of Father Whelan at Andersonville and the Father Peter Whelan Assembly of the Knights of Columbus in Albany, Georgia attest to the fact that he is not forgotten. In a time of bitter civil war Father Whelan ministered to both imprisoned friend and foe as his brothers in Christ. His memory deserves to be cherished by every American."
http://the-american-catholic.com/2009/04/21/priest-of-andersonville/

Sounds worthy to me. Every prisoner who lived as a result of Father Whelan's presence, I'm sorry- a miracle.
 
Oops! It now dawns on me that what I posted as a new thread last night I instead should have posted on this thread! Careless oversight on my part, and I apologize to Donna and everyone else. I got so carried away in my excitement at discovering an actual film about Fr. Whelan -- and a beautifully done one, at that -- that I forgot myself. So I'll repost the link here on this thread, where it belongs!

"Fighting the Good Fight: The Father Peter Whelan Story"

What a great film: beautiful cinematography and music; a great mix of historical photos and realistic re-enactments; and a flowing, powerful narrative momentum. I love the extra touches that beautifully evoke the faith dimension that is so crucial to understanding Fr. Whelan. In sum, it does justice to a magnificent man.

As yet, there is no DVD available -- but if you like it, you can share it with others via the sharing options at the bottom of the film's webpage.
 
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Thanks for adding information about film in this thread. It is a very moving film.

I am glad posts of men like Father Whelan, who many have never heard of, are added to the forum. A person like Father Whelan proves the love of God for mankind. It is because of people like him that there is mercy and goodwill in the world. We need more like him.
 
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