Confederate hospitals in Memphis

   Hospitals in the United States were few and far between in the 1860s. Most large cities would have some type of public hospital. These facilities, however, were usually for the poor, or for visitors. For locals, healthcare entailed calling a doctor who then visited the sick in their homes. However, between the riverboat men who might be carrying infectious diseases and locals combatting the “recurring maladies native to the lower Mississippi and its lowland,” residents early on saw a need for some type of medical care. As early as 1829, the state made “a half hearted effort to run a hospital exclusively for travelers.” The Memphis Hospital was the first hospital established in the state of Tennessee. The hospital was a three-story brick building, containing eight rooms and able to handle 200 patients.[1]

   Memphis was also home to the Botanico-Medical College and the Memphis Medical College, both established in 1846. And, in 1860, the Memphis Charity Hospital opened, occupying one of the old buildings at the then-defunct U.S. Navy Yard.[2] 

Irving Bloch Hospital, and later, prison.

   With Tennessee leaving the Union in 1861, several new hospitals sprang up. The Confederate government took over the Memphis (or State) Hospital and civilian patients were transferred elsewhere. Doctor James Keller was reported as in charge, with the Sisters of Charity, St. Agnes, as nurses.[3] Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, and studied at the University of Louisville. He was practicing medicine in Memphis prior to the war. Women in Memphis organized the Southern Mothers’ Society and set up a hospital in a building at the intersection of Second and Union Streets. In July 1861, they were advertising for a hospital steward and a “competent, healthy, negro man to wait upon the rooms.”[4] This hospital moved to the “Irving Block, a large commercial building on Second at Court.” The larger structure had 400 beds and a Dr. George W. Curry was reported in charge.[5] The Edgewood Hospital Association converted Edgewood Chapel into a facility that could handle 50 sick and women soldiers. Following the battle of Belmont, Missouri, in November 1861, wounded soldiers were shipped via steamer to Memphis, and leaders of the city established a hospital in the new Overton Hotel, as well as opening private homes.[6]   

   Concerning the care of the Confederate wounded from Belmont, a committee resolved that “The people of Memphis are determined to leave nothing undone that is in their power to show their appreciation of the services of the gallant men who have taken up arms in the cause of the South.” As the Overton Hotel was fitted up as a hospital, Drs. Keller and Fenner were placed in charge, with R. Brewster as pharmacist. C.S. Penner was also listed as a surgeon at Overton Hospital.[7]   

   By the end of 1861, Memphis’s confederate hospital system had 1,000 beds. The hospital at Overton, along with the Southern Mothers’ Hospital or Irving Block Hospital were combined into an official Confederate hospital system with Dr. Claude H. Mastin as Supervisor of Hospitals. Mastin, born in Huntsville, Alabama, had studied at the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylvania, the Royal College of Surgeons, and the University of Edinburgh. He was practicing medicine in Mobile, Alabama, at the start of the war. He was in Memphis as early as November 1861.[8]

   Following the battle of Shiloh in April 1862, at least 1,200 wounded men were sent via train from Corinth to Memphis. This does not include wounded men placed in private homes. The cry of abuse soon surfaced in Memphis hospitals and General Beauregard sent Dr. David W. Yandell, Medical Director for the Western Department of Kentucky, to inspect the Confederate hospitals in the city. Yandell appointed a new chief surgeon, new contract doctors, and nurses. There were now three official Confederate hospitals: Overton, SMS Irving, and the State Army hospital. When Beauregard ordered the evacuation of Memphis in May 1862, the sick and convalescent soldiers were sent back to their regiments, while the wounded were sent to Grenada, Mississippi. Fifty soldiers too sick or wounded to be moved were left behind, and Dr. G.W. Curry returned to the Irving Hospital to look after these men. When the Federals took over the city, SMS Irving Hospital was converted into a prison.[9]

   Federal forces garrisoning the city assumed use of the other structures and greatly enlarged them, or appropriated other buildings and established new hospitals in the city. Although it was short lived, the Confederate Hospital at Memphis contributed to the overall Confederate war effort and to the lives of individual soldiers. 

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[1] Stewart, History of Medicine in Memphis, 13, 84, 87.

[2] Stewart, History of Medicine in Memphis, 88.

[3] Memphis Daily Appeal, June 15, 1861.

[4] Memphis Daily Appeal, July 17, 1861.

[5] Memphis Daily Appeal, August 9, 1861.

[6] LaPointe, “Military Hospitals in Memphis”, 326-27; Memphis Daily Appeal, November 9, 1861.

[7] Memphis Daily Appeal, November 9, 1861, November 10, 1861, November 17, 1861.

[8] Claude H. Mastin, CMSR, Roll0165, M331, RG109, NA.

[9] LaPointe, “Military Hospitals in Memphis”, 332.

Transferring prisoners across the South.

   According to the Library of Congress’s Civil War Desk Reference, there were 211,411 Federal soldiers taken prisoner during the war. Of those, 16,668 were not incarcerated. They were paroled without going to a prisoner of war camp. That leaves 194,743 who did time in one of numerous prisons across the South. Considering the prisoners of war camps were spread out across the South, how did the Confederate government move these prisoners from camp to camp?[1]

   After a Federal soldier was captured, he was taken to a secure location to the rear of the battlefield and corralled together with other prisoners. Charles Mattocks of the 17^th Maine Infantry was captured on May 5, 1864, during the battle of the Wilderness. Mattocks wrote in his journal that he was sent to the rear “and delivered to the Provost Guard.” That evening, the group, composed of 10 officers and 150 men, was moved a mile and a half further back. The next morning, the prisoners were started on foot to Orange Court House. Their escorts were “Lee’s Body Guard,” the 39^th Battalion Virginia Cavalry. Mattocks considered his escorts “very nice chaps. They showed us every favor possible and even allowed us to ride their horses when we were tired.” It was on the morning of May 7 that Mattocks writes of being searched by the Provost. On May 8, Mattocks and his companions were loaded on the railroad and shipped to Lynchburg, Virginia. Mattocks mentions almost escaping “owing to the smallness of the guard,” but the attempt was foiled. He was eventually moved via Danville, through the Carolinians, and then to Macon, Georgia. Mattocks says little of his guard while on his journey.[2]

   It appears that different regiments were utilized to escort prisoners to holding areas. The 16^th Alabama Infantry was detailed to escort prisoners to the rear during the battle of Shiloh in April 1862.  A member of the 9^th Alabama Infantry reported that his regiment escorted a large number of Federal prisoners to the provost marshal following the battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. Also following Chancellorsville, the 52^nd North Carolina, late in arriving at the battlefield, was sent back to Richmond guarding 2,000 Federal prisoners. Following Gettysburg, Picket’s depleted division became a large provost escorting prisoners toward Maryland and Virginia, much to the chagrin of the Virginians.[3]

Train Of Prisoners Approaches Savannah River, Drawing is a drawing by Quint Lox.

   The 39^th Battalion Virginia Cavalry was frequently used to transport Federal prisoners from the battlefield to a railhead. At Fredericksburg, Company A assigned to guard the prisoners actually boarded the train, continuing into Richmond. At Chancellorsville, Company D was reported escorting 650 prisoners to Guinea Station on the night of May 3. Following the battle of Spotsylvania Court House, the battalion moved with about 400 Federal prisoners in front of them, and corralled prisoners following the battle of Cold Harbor. It is possible that the duty continued through the siege of Petersburg, but the mundane assignment seldom appeared in their letters or diaries. The 39^th Battalion Virginia Cavalry was not the only force to escort prisoners. Capt. Edward A.H. McDonald, 11^th Virginia Cavalry, recalled escorting prisoners from the battle of Cedar Run, Virginia, in August 1862, to the rail station at Orange Court House.[4]

   It would be a common thought that the task of moving prisoners would fall under the duties of the Army Provost. However, Kenneth Radley tells us in his book on the subject that “Escorts for prisoners as they filtered back along the chain were only infrequently provided by the provost because of their severely limited strength; that duty had to be performed by whatever other troops were available.”[5]

   It is unclear if escort companies listed in the Army of Tennessee performed the same duty as those in the Army of Northern Virginia. It seemed that every division, corps, and army commander was listed as having such a company. For example, for the battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, two companies are listed as escort for Braxton Bragg: Dreux’s Company Louisiana Cavalry and Holloway’s Company Alabama Cavalry (Crocheron Light Dragoons), both under the command of Capt. Guy Dreux. After Bragg’s departure, Joseph E. Johnston retained both companies as escorts.

   Whole regiments were used to move prisoners. LeGrand J. Wilson, 42^nd Mississippi, recalled being sent to guard prisoners on Belle Island, Richmond. The men found the duty “very disagreeable.” Finally, the prisoners were paroled and sent out to be exchanged. The 42^nd Mississippi detailed 300 soldiers to escort the 5,000 prisoners to Varina Landing. The Confederates had to walk in front of the Federals, keeping a slow pace due to the heat. Even with those safeguards, several Confederates and Federals fell out, with several of the Federals dying.[6]

   At times, prisoners were moved through the interior of the Confederacy to other prisons. Railroads were utilized for these transfers. It was easier to secure the prisoners within box cars, thus reducing the amount of guards needed for each trip. Captain Benjamin F. Grigg, Company F, 56^th North Carolina, was reported absent on detail “guarding prisoners” in January-February 1864. According to family, Grigg was in charge of a fifty-man detail escorting prisoners from Richmond to Andersonville. The 5^th Georgia Reserves, or at least part of the regiment, escorted prisoners into Savannah. In December 1864, the 58^th North Carolina moved 1,200 prisoners from Columbia, Tennessee, to Corinth, Mississippi. The trip was arduous, with the regiment (numbering about 311 men) moving their 1,200 prisoners partially on foot and partially via rail.[7]  

   There were undoubtedly many regiments, or portions of regiments, detailed to move Federal prisoners across the South during the war years. Some of these men might have welcomed the diversion, a chance to escape the boredom of winter camp or just to see a different part of the country. Others probably found the duty laborious and were happy to be free of their charges. One thing is for certain: this is a portion of the war that needs to be explored more.

This article is a part of a 2021 series exploring the fringes of military prisons in the South. You can check out the other articles below:

Federal Prisoner of War Camps in the South

Federal Prisoners and Southern Ministers and Chaplains 

The Types of Prisoners at Salisbury Prison

  

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[1] Civil War Desk Reference, 583.

[2] Mattocks, “Unspoiled Heart”: The Journal of Charles Mattocks of the 17^th Maine, 138-152.

[3] Barrett, Yankee Rebel, 102; OR, Vol. 10, 1:597; 15:969; Jordan, NC Troops,12:399.

[4] Hardy, Lee’s Body Guard, 23, 34, 60, 64; Rolph, My Brother’s Keeper, 94.

[5] Radley, Rebel Watchdog, 164-65.)

[6] Wilson, The Confederate Soldier, 93-94.

[7] Munson, North Carolina Civil War Obituaries, 158n.133; Speer, Portals to Hell, 268;  Hardy, The Fifty-eighth North Carolina Troops, 146-47.

McClung’s Tennessee Battery

 Many times, people ask where I get ideas. And to be honest, many of my ideas are connected. That first book on the 37^th North Carolina led to my books on the battle of Hanover Court House, Watauga County and the Civil War, Charlotte and the Civil War, the book on the Branch-Lane brigade, Feeding the Army of Northern Virginia, and in an indirect way, my history of the 58^th North Carolina Troops.

 But at other times, I come across little tidbits that make me just wonder what people or regiments or events get left out of the historical narrative. A few days ago, I acquired the two-volume Broadfoot reprint of Lindsley’s Military Annals of Tennessee. These two volumes provide brief glimpses of Confederate regiments from Tennessee. When finally tracking down McClung’s Battery, listed as Company A, First Tennessee Light Artillery, we simply get that Company A was under Capt. H. L. W. McClung. (870) A few pages over is a list of officers (877). But unlike other infantry and cavalry regiments and artillery batteries, there is no history of McClung’s command.

Crute, in his Units of the Confederate States Army, goes into a little more detail. The battery was organized in the fall of 1861 in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was involved in the battles of Fishing Creek and Shiloh, and then in the summer of 1862, was stationed at Vicksburg, then Port Hudson, then East Tennessee. In April 1864, it was sent with no guns to Saltville, Virginia (I’m not sure why they didn’t have guns). In August 1864, it was re-armed, only to lose its guns at the battle of Morristown, Tennessee, on October 28, 1864. The seventeen men who were left were transferred to Captain Lynch’s Battery and disbanded in April 1865. (317)

McClung's Battery, Shiloh (NPS)

The rangers at Shiloh NMP wrote a facebook post about the battery, and on another site on Barr’s Battery, the editors wrote a piece on McClung’s Battery. This is the most extensive piece written so far, about four pages. The battery was known as the Caswell Artillery. In December 1861, they were reported to have two-six pounders and two 12-pounder cannons. They were not really involved in the battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky, in January 1862, but were forced to abandon their cannon on the retreat. By the time of the battle of Shiloh, they were re-armed, and two pieces were in action on April 7^th. In May, the battery was attached to Statham’s brigade, Breckinridge’s corps. The battery was soon in Vicksburg, and in August, was ordered to Port Hudson. By this time, they apparently had rifled cannons. A month later, the command was in Holly Springs, Mississippi. 

By December 1862, the battery was in East Tennessee – David’s brigade, Heth’s Division. For the rest of the war, they bounced around between various posts – Loudon, Carter’s Depot, Zollicoffer. They were engaged at the battle of Carter’s Depot in September 1863, where they lost the carriages to their guns. In November, they were reported as having no cannons. They were sent to Saltville, Virginia, shortly thereafter. It does not appear that they were re-armed until August 1864, when it was reported they had four pieces of artillery. In an engagement at Morristown, Tennessee, in October 1864, most of the battery was captured. The seventeen who escaped were assigned to Lynch’s Battery. The battery was disbanded in April 1865 at Christiansburg, Virginia.

Several months ago, I was exploring Captain Hugh McClung’s service record. He was court martialed in 1863. Many courts martial records were lost at the end of the war, but parts of McClung’s survive. There were six charges against him – violating the 14^th, 36^th, 39^th (twice), 45^th articles of war, and  “Conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline.” Many of these charges concerned falsifying muster rolls, “misapplying an artillery horse,” drunkenness while on duty, and permitting his men to break into a train car. McClung pled not guilty. The court found him not guilt on most of the charges, but he was guilty of trading artillery horses at Corinth in May 1862;  “Habitually failing to restrain his men from trespassing and depredating private property”; and, “Habitually drawing and appropriating to his own use, rations belonging to his men…” The court found him guilty. His punishment was to “forfeit all pay due him from the Confederate States, and that he be dismissed from the service.” However, when Major General Simon B. Buckner reviewed the case, he disagreed, finding that the charges were “utterly unfounded… the offences of the accused were rather those of omission than commission.” Buckner recommended mercy. The general added that during the attack on Knoxville, McClung, there under arrest, “offered to serve in any capacity.” Buckner believed that “Such conduct was worthy of a good soldier, and merits leniency.” Buckner remitted the findings of the court and ordered McClung to report to his battery. McClung would go on to be captured at the battle of Morristown and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner at Johnson’s Island.

Can I say that this will be my next regimental history? No, I can’t. But I find the story intriguing and the credible information in the greater realms of Confederate histography lacking. Now you know how projects come to me.