Adversity - Week 38 (Sept. 17-23) - Spending the Civil War in Federal Prison

My great great grandfather was captured by the Union forces early in the Civil War. It's kind of perverse since he'd been born in Newport, Rhode Island, born a Yankee, however, he married and raised a family in Florida (before it became a state), and worked as a master of ships/schooners and then a steamer out of Charleston SC. He also had a home there. He had captained ships carrying slaves to New Orleans as well. You might wonder how close he came to breaking the law...

I have documents and other records that show he was imprisoned in Fort Warren, in Boston Harbor, MA, a Federal prison. 

 

He was captured when the ship he was captain/master of, the Ella Warley, was going between Charleston SC and Cuba as a blockade runner.  It had been owned by businessmen in Charleston, (under the name Isabell) and given over to the Confederacy at the beginning of the war. After the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter on April 12-13, 1861, the Isabel (renamed the Ella Warley) was used to evacuate Colonel Robert Anderson and his Union troops from the fort and convey them to Union warships off the coast of Charleston,

The blockade by the Union Navy was trying to keep all commerce from entering or leaving Charleston, and all confederate ports. Swasey captained the Ella Warley from Jan. 1862 until his capture on April 25, 1862. And he was definitely caught with his finger in the pie, as the cargo was various guns and munitions to be taken to the Confederacy.

Yesterday I found yet another document which indicated when he was imprisoned at Fort Warren, which is on an island in Boston Harbor.

I had to make the screen shots in two pieces. Here the second prisoner recorded was Capt. Alex G. Swasey from the (Sidesteamer) Str."Ella" which wasn't anyplace or during any battle. However the date right above for prisoner number 1 Major Reid Saunders, Staff of Charleston had been captured on Jan. 5 1863. We may assume Swasey, being number 2, was interred at Fort Warren after that, with still a missing part of his capture in April 1862 to that date. There is more information available somewhere in Folio 338, according to notes in the margin. (Something to chase another day!)

This blurry side of the form has remarks. In the original handwriting, he was a prisoner "By order of Navy dept." The next remark in a different handwriting states "Released on Oath, June 20, 1865."

I have copies of the 56 Prisoner of War accounting documents from the Civil War with Captain A.G. Swasey listed...with amounts of money spent throughout his stay (but somewhat confusing expenses.)  First entry I have found is Nov 11, 1863. If he had been imprisoned elsewhere, or simply the earlier prison records were lost, is not known. These accounting records start off calling him Captain Swasey, But by the next year he's just A. G. Swasey.  The last entry I've discovered in March 18, 1865. The Civil War officially ended on April 9, 1865. And the newest remark gives me his release date from the prison, June 20, 1965.

I wonder what that truce was like for the prisoners of war in Fort Warren. They had no income to speak of, unless someone had sent it to them. The Union Army was not inclined to be very hospitable, having performed their duties. That prison held mainly officers and sea captains, as I've seen by looking through the account books. The prisoners turned over many thousands of dollars of Confederate money, which of course was worthless. Those that had had gold for their welfare, usually had used it up by the end of their term as prisoners.

Captain Alexander G. Swasey somehow made it back to Charleston SC after his release. That city must have also been suffering from the end of the war.

22 Savage St. The home of Alexander G. Swasey. Perhaps it was inhabited by other people by the time he was released from prison. Did anyone even know he'd been captured within months of the beginning of the war? This is a modern photograph taken of the house.

His wife, Anna (Fanny) and 4 daughters had been living in St. Augustine FL in 1850 (by the census report.) But they also had ties in Charleston, where Anna's father and brother had lived until they both died in 1852. It isn't known where they were after the war, or even during it. The youngest son, Alexander John Swasey had been born in Charleston SC in 1853 (to become my great grandfather). So the Swasey family had moved to Charleston sometime after the 1850 census when they had lived with their mother, Anna, as head of household in St. Augustine.

Whenever Captain Swasey made it back to Charleston, he died in another house, at 1 Limehouse St,  on March 26, 1866. My cousin John Rogers, went to Charleston several years ago to try to find his grave. 

This is what John said about his search for the grave:

"A.G. Swasey is definitely recorded as being buried in Magnolia Cemetery.  Curiously, in the record, his place of birth is listed as Charleston.  However, the bad news is that there's no marker for him.  In fact, he's buried in Lot 332 (one of the oldest lots) in what is the Mahony Family plot.  I had a long talk with the women who work at the cemetery.  They said it was extremely common for people buried there who died right around the Civil War to have no markers.  Many people were just buried in graves of friends who did own plots, and sometimes attending physicians even buried the dead in their own plots.  A.G. Swasey's attending physician was not a Mahony, so the women there conjectured that Swasey was likely friends with someone in the Mahony family.  From documents they gave me, the only likely (male) candidate would be John Mahony, Jr (1830-1869), who would be considerably younger than Swasey.  The only other possibility is that there was a clerical error, and that he's buried elsewhere.  But the original document says "332" clear as day, so if he is buried elsewhere and there's a marker, it would be impossible to know without checking all 30,000+.  His cause of death is given as Phthisis" (tuberculosis.)

I discovered an Official records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1861-1865, where there's an A.G. Swasey with some kind of classification "II, 4"  as well as Alexander Swazey with "II, 8" following his name. And I just discovered these refer to Vol. II sections 4 and 8, where his name was listed.  That's how I found the new record of his internment at Fort Warren (above.)

Sharing with 52 Ancestors 52 Weeks, at Generations Cafe' on Facebook.

And Sepia Saturday! Finding another piece of documentation is always worth sharing.