Lt. (Although Shoulder/Cuff Braids Indicate Captain) Greenwall

[TerryB]

Holy Moley! It appears (if I'm reading this right) that he wasn't any sort of a bounty hunter per se - he was going after officers who looks to me, were fraudulently ordering supplies?? - war profiteer officers? - that would make him special indeed. Sort of like Office of Special Investigation (OSI) - If that is the case, he may have had some very powerful enemies. Its interesting how little things really change - he is definitely an odd duck - in a very bizarre uniform!

I read his orders to mean that people who were violating the conscription laws, especially when it came to hiring substitutes, were his area of responsibility east of the Mississippi. So he's out of his territory if he goes to Texas, and I can't think of anything related to conscription that would authorize him to travel to New York. Very suspicious indeed, especially since the enrolling officers in the Texas counties mentioned were treating him as if he were avoiding conscription himself. So maybe this guy really was good at switching sides whenever it was convenient, as alleged by Belle Boyd.

 

[zumbawithcindy]

And a pair of brothers who owned a theatre....in Texas--and ticked off Belle Boyd! What did I say? You can't make this stuff up. History is so cool!

Isn't it though?? - I love this stuff!!! Iv'e been researching linkages between the soldiers during the war, and the folk who went westward to strike it rich, or become pistoliers, and the "bad guys" - history talks about "manifest destiny" and that sort of thing, but it would seem to me that Jesse James (missouri)was not the only "desperado" who enjoyed raising hell after the war - I would think there were lots of them - with what we now call PTSD

 

[TerryB]

And another;

View attachment 18901

Greenwall's service records have a voucher showing he was paid $30 each for these two men, both named in the voucher.

Richmond Daily Dispatch, June 25, 1863. Didn't take a Sherlock Holmes to catch these guys.

Murder of a woman.
--A woman named Rosalie Legrand, living in Columbia, S. C., was murdered on Saturday night, and robbed of four gold watches and $5,000 in Confederate money, by W. T. Sanders and Frank B. Thomas. She was killed with chloroform, and the bottle was recognized by a druggist as having been sold to one of the murderers the day before. Sunders is about 24 years old, six feet high, dark hair, out short, hazel eyes, and sallow complexion. He was a member of the 15th Virginia cavalry, and had been employed in some capacity on Gen. A. P. Hill's staff. --Thomas is about 5 feet8 inches high, has a bad countenance, and a rough, blotchy skin. Both were [sic] jewelry. The chief of police of Columbia offers $500 reward for their capture.

 

[TerryB]

Greenwall sure don't look like he's in his late twenties. Makes me wonder if the ID is correct.

 

[TerryB]

Could this photo have been taken in the late 1870s?

 

[Nathanb1]

Isn't it though?? - I love this stuff!!! Iv'e been researching linkages between the soldiers during the war, and the folk who went westward to strike it rich, or become pistoliers, and the "bad guys" - history talks about "manifest destiny" and that sort of thing, but it would seem to me that Jesse James (missouri)was not the only "desperado" who enjoyed raising hell after the war - I would think there were lots of them - with what we now call PTSD

Clay Allison being the poster boy for that.

 

[TerryB]

The mystery deepens. Morris had two brothers, his business parters in the theater. Phillip was captured near New Orleans in 1862 and exchanged, but his records are none too clear on exactly when. Henry was a 2nd Lieut., but he only has one record card. So, is this Lt. Greenwall of the Louisiana Cavalry, Morris or Henry?? Note the date of Oct 20, 1864. Morris was in New York applying for a passport in Oct 1864. Coincidence?

 

[TerryB]

The 1864 passport app.

 

[TerryB]

I also came across a sample of one of the brothers' signature. I couldn't tell it apart from Morris'. I can't believe they had identical handwriting.

 

[TerryB]

Compare Phillip W. Greenwall's signature to that of Morris on the passport app.

 

[TerryB]

Things are a little clearer now. One thing about Fold3 is that you have to Browse the records of a soldier's unit or you will miss some of them, due I suppose to the way they are loaded if you pull him up as an individual soldier. At any rate, Morris resigned his commission as 2nd Lt of the 10th Louisiana Inf Jan/Feb 1862. He was still carried on their rolls as late as March 28, 1865 "In the trenches in front of Petersburg," but showing the date of his resignation. He was listed as born in Germany, a merchant by occupation, residence New Orleans. Most of his signatures on pay vouchers match, except for one, which might have been filled out by someone else.

As for the Louisiana Zouaves, he may have been conscripted into them in Virginia in 1864, on March 31. A return for Sept 1864 shows that he had been AWOL since June 29, 1864. His rank was given a private. No further record, other than his vouchers for his detective work in 1863. All of those are filed with his Zouave records.

If he was in the Zouaves from March 31 to June 29, 1864, why did the conscription officers in Texas think he might have been there in April 1864? There is no record of his having a furlough, and the letter re his whereabouts states his employment for the Bureau of Conscription ended on Jan 25, 1864. The poster who suggested that he may have made some powerful enemies may be onto something.

One very odd thing is that Morris Greenwall booked passage on the steamer Marion for New Orleans in September 1862. New Orleans was in Union hands, so I'm befuddled. [edit] Since his brother Phil was sent to New orleans after being captured about this time, it's possible Morris decided to book passage there to look in on him. One bio says Phil was wounded at Yorktown.
The Marion was a steamer that sailed regularly between New York and New Orleans, also stopping at Havana, and other island ports. She was even seized by South Carolina forces during the Star of the West incident in Jan 1861. Since she could not be converted into a warship, the ship, which usually carried the mail, was returned to her owners after 24 hours of captivity. How Morris Greenwall was able to travel to New York from New Orleans and back during wartime when he was a Confederate officer can only be guessed at. He was only 23 when the war broke out, but it's possible he had learned a lot about how ships were boarded and off-loaded. He may have known how to pass himself off as a loyal US citizen, which he certainly did in Oct 1864 when he applied for a passport. He would only need that if he was planning to make landfall outside the US, possibly in Cuba or the Westies.

 

[TerryB]

And getting back to his post-war career in the theater, here's an article re the hope expressed by the critic that nudity and sensationalism are on the way out, while Shakespeare is making a comeback. Here! Here!

 

[TerryB]

The uniform looks exactly like museum examples that have been hanging on clothing display forms (not sure what they call those) for years. Given that Greenwall looks to be in his early 40s, I'm guessing he stopped by Brady's Gallery in New New York while on tour in the 187os and Brady asked him to pose. He may well have been laying low in Mexico at war's end.

 

[TerryB]

One mystery solved. Lt (later Capt) R.W. Greenwell was captured near Baton Rouge in Nov 1863, confined to a hospital for some months, then shipped to New York. He arrived at Fort Lafayette on Oct 20, 1864. That means this is the Lt. Greenwall [sic], name misspelled, who is mentioned in the clipping. Greenwell wasn't released until the end of the war.

Lt. R.W. Greenwell was 43 years old in 1865. I'm about convinced that the photo in the OP is really of Greenwell, given that Morris Greenwall was 27 at the end of the war.

This would explain why there is no oath or parole for Morris, showing how he ended the war. I believe he was either in Texas or Mexico when the war ended.

This will also explain why the uniform is of a captain, whereas, R.W. Greenwell was referred to as Lt. Greenwell of the Louisiana Cavalry. Greenwell's records indicate a promotion to captain, but it may have been simply a brevet rank.

 

[TerryB]

That will be done when I re-do the image.

The B&W version at the LOC site makes it look like his cuff facings were a different color, possibly yellow. Since I now believe this is a photo of Lt (later Capt) R.W. Greenwell of the Louisiana Cavalry, not Morris Greenwall, that makes sense. R.W. Greenwell was 43 at the end of the war, while Morris Greenwall was only 27. It won't be the first time LOC misidentified a picture.

 

[TerryB]

From the Handbook of Texas Online, on page 63 of this link, are pictures of brothers Henry and Phil, taken in their later years. There may be a resemblance to the man in our OP photo or not. But I've already convinced myself that this isn't Morris.

[bad link deleted]

 

[TerryB]

Brief synopsis:

Morris Greenwall's family were German Jews who immigrated to New Orleans in 1837. Morris was born there in 1838. He had two brothers, Henry and Phillip W. All three enlisted in the Confederate army. Nothing is known of Henry's service except that he was a lieutenant in a local militia unit. Phillip was wounded in the leg, paroled to his home, and eventually was listed as a deserter.

Morris enlisted in the 10th La Inf as a 2nd Lt. The 10th served in Virginia. At the end of Jan 1862, he resigned his commission. We know nothing of him until his appointment in 1863 as a secret special detective for the Bureau of Conscription in Richmond. Sec of War Seddon wrote that Greenwall should have a higher authority to report to than the BoC if he was to be effective in his job, which covered the entire CSA east of the Mississippi.

The New York Times for Sept 4, 1862, lists Morris Greenwall among the passengers aboard the mail steamer Marion from New York to New Orleans. It could well be our man.

In June 1863, two CS deserters robbed a woman in Columbia (or Camden) SC, and the victim eventually died. Greenwall tracked them down to Montgomery, Ala, and brought them back to SC.

A story about some of the prisoners in Castle Thunder in 1863 mentions a "mysterious Englsih officer" who was imprisoned there for some trumped up offense. He was named Morris Greenwall, but could not prove that he was an English officer. He was eventually released, after which he disappeared. The strong possibility exists that Greenwall was a "plant" who was put in the prison to snitch on the inmates.

Greenwall's stint as a detective for the BoC ended Jan 25, 1864. On March 31, he either joined or was conscripted into the Louisiana Zouave Battn in Virginia. He went AWOL on June 29, 1864. Oddly enough, conscription officers in Texas, near Houston, had reason to believe he was in their area, possibly avoiding conscription. That was in April 1864.

In late October 1864, Greenwall was in New York City, where he applied for a passport. He claimed to be a loyal citizen and had someone vouch for this on the application. The signature matches exactly with other known examples, such as his pay vouchers for his detective work.

There is no record of Greenwall surrendering or taking the oath to the US at war's end. Belle Boyd accused him of laying low in Mexico and pretending to favor whichever side seemed to be winning at the time. Thus, Greenwall may well have ended the war in Mexico or Texas.

Meanwhile, Lt (promoted to captain) R.W. Greenwell was captured near Baton Rouge in late 1863, spent time in hospitals, then was shipped to New York, arriving there on Oct 20, 1864. Greenwell was 42 or 43 at the time, and is a far more likely candidate for the man in the OP photo by Matthew Brady.

The Greewall brothers started a brokerage firm in New Orleans after the war, and in 1867 were presented with an opportunity to buy a theater in Galveston. Once they moved there, they began booking notable actors, and ran afoul of Belle Boyd in 1868. She walked out of a performance and addressed the audience with her reasons for doing so. The different accounts of what happened only agree that she had a weapon, either a dagger or pistol, and threatened to use it on Morris. She was either fired or quit, or both.

Morris moved to Melbourne, Australia around 1880 and booked Lily Langtry to tour there. The process began in 1883, but in 1884, she reneged. The outraged Morris then booked passage for San Francisco, intending to sue Langtry for breach of contract. On the way, he had his lawyer draw up a statement blaming Langtry for his mental anguish, to be published in case of his death. Since he was suffering from TB, that was a real possibility, and in fact he did die in San Francisco in 1885. His burial location is at present unknown.

 

[TerryB]

Capt. Robert W. Greenwell's memorial page.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Greenwell&GSiman=1&GScid=68447&GRid=5988199&

 

[TerryB]

And another;

View attachment 18901

Greenwall's service records have a voucher showing he was paid $30 each for these two men, both named in the voucher.

Thaddeus W. Sanders was convicted of this murder in May 1864 and sentenced to hang on the first Friday in June 1864.

 

[TerryB]

I've showed the "Greenwall" pic to some people at work, and not all are convinced that he looks too old to be 27. I'm sticking by my guns, but do admit that the pics I found of his brothers, especially, Henry, do resemble this guy somewhat.