Gratiot Street Military Prison, St. Louis, Missouri
1864, located at intersection of Eight and Gratiot Streets, was originally the McDowell Medical College before the war. This prison
held Confederate POWs, civilian political prisoners, and Union deserters.
The prison is gone now, nothing remains. It's original location is occupied
by the headquarters of Ralston Purina.
The background Midi tune,
"Rebel in the woods",
is from a song received in the prison mail, that was written by a
Confederate in North Missouri, to a POW friend confined in a St. Louis
prison. Please see the lyrics.
Execution
of Innocent Confederate POWs
It was at this prison where seven Confederate soldiers were picked at
random, and condemed to be be executed in retaliation for the killing
of a seven Yankee soldiers (near Union, Missouri) by Confederate Guerillas,
under Col. Timothy Reeves who were seeking revenge for earlier killings.
Gen. William Rosecrans in October of 1864 ordered seven Confederate prisoners
from Gratiot Street Prison to be shot in retribution. The names selected
were:
Major Enoch O. Wolf (Marmaduke's Mo Cavalry, age
47)
Pvt. Harvey H. Blackburn (A Florissant area
resident served in Co A Coleman's Arkansas Cavalry, age 22)
Pvt. Charles W. Minnekin (Co A Crabtree's Arkansas
Cavalry, 21)
Pvt. John A. Nichols (Co. G 2nd Mo Cavalry, 21)
According to a fellow prisoner, after these men were told that they
were to be shot the next day, "Never, so long as I live, will I be able
to forget or cease to hear the cries and pleadings...after the death warrant
had been read." Because it was found that Major Wolf was a Mason, a local
Masonic Lodge pressured prison authorities to delay his execution until
it was eventually dropped entirely. The other men were not so lucky. On
Oct. 29, 1864 they were taken to Fort No. 4 located in an area near present
day, "Lafayette Square" (block surrounded by Jefferson, Missouri, Ann,
and Shenandoah Streets). After each man was tied to a post, and the death
sentence read, one prisoner was allowed to make one last address.
Charles Minnekin, before a crowd of 3000, declared:
"Soldiers, and all of you who hear me, take warning from me. I have
been a Confederate soldier four years and have served my country faithfully.
I am now to be shot for what other men have done, that I had no hand in,
and know nothing about. I never was a guerilla, and I am sorry to be shot
for what I had nothing to do with, and what I am not guilty of. When
I took a prisoner I always treated him kindly and never harmed a man after
he surrendered. I hope God will take me to His bosom when I am dead. Oh
Lord, be with me."
At 3:00 PM the firing squad consisting of members of the 10th Kansas
and 41st Missouri Infantry USA opened fire killing all six men. Their
graves can now be found at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St.
Louis.
Maj. Abasalom Grimes, Confederate
Mail Carrier and Gratiot Street Prison Inmate
Maj. Abasalom Grimes
A Friend of Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), Grimes was a former riverboat
pilot from Hannibal, Missouri. After serving in the pro-southern State Militia with Twain, Grimes followed
Gen. Price into Confederate Service. Grimes carried the mail for the Missouri troops serving in Mississippi
back to their loved ones in St. Louis. Using a secret network female carriers,
he was able to collect and destribute mail from all across Missouri and
even Kentucky. Grimes having a $2000 bounty on his head as well as a death
sentence, was on more than one occasion captured behind enemy lines. Furthermore,
he displayed an amazing ability to escape from Yankee prisons. Earlier
he escaped from a Federal prison in Springfield, Mo and another in Cairo,
Illinois. He served twice at Gratiot Street, on the first occasion he successfully
escaped, but on his second confinement he was shot in the attempt.
His execution was delayed while he recovered, in the meantime, unionist
friends were able to obtain a pardon from Lincoln. For some unknown reason,
Grimes was sent to a Jefferson City, Missouri prison. Here, even with Lincoln's
pardon sitting on the warden's desk, prison authorities knowingly withheld
his release, so they could inflict him with further suffering. After receiving
161 lashes, Grimes was able to send a message, by way of a paroled prisoner,
to his St. Louis friend, Capt. Hudson L. Downs, informing him of
his abusive treatment. Capt. Downs being in charge of Federal Steamboat
Transportation in St. Louis, was able to get an immediate release for Maj.
Grimes.
In 1872, Grimes and family moved to St. Louis, where he was the pilot of
the excursion boat, the Colorado. Later he piloted the Chas.
P. Chouteau, Helena, and the Charles Morgan (1883) which was
"the largest steamer in service at St. Louis".
Grimes in 1910-1911 narrated his story, "Abasalom Grimes: Confederate
Mail Runner" which was recorded by his daughter, Mrs. Charlotte G. Mitchell,
concerning the events that took place during the war. He writes, " In the
year 1878 I took my wife and three children (our eldest son had died) and
with a party of friends visited the old Gratiot Street prison. It was like
the abandoned ruins of old castles which writers of fiction describe. Bats
and pigeons were aroused by our intrusion and flew about the deserted,
silent rooms. Most of the flooring had been torn up and carried away; the
outer walls, especially those that separated the prison from the
Christian Brothers' Colloge, showed where they had been cut in thirty or
more places by prisoners who had tried to escape. A great many had succeeded,
œor when they were once inside the College they were shown the street door
and no questions were asked them.
My old marks were still visible on the walls, and I had the pleasant
task of answering the many questions asked by my children concerning my
sojourn in that once thriving hostelry. I pulled out and brought
away with me a large spike which had been driven into the casing of my
window to hang a lantern on so that the guard 'night see what was transpiring
in my room. I searched the ground where I had buried my ball and
chain in October, 1862, but failed to find it. I wanted to keep it
as a souvenir of that escape. However, I have the rivets from the
shackle and the handcuffs. I also have the scars left by the two
bullets that hit me when I tried to escape on June 18, 1864, and
the marks of Warden Miller's villainy on my back."
Grimes'
First Escape from Gratiot Street Prison
"I was escorted to the Gratiot Street prison by the detectives who
had arrested me. The McDowell Medical College, now the Gratiot Street prison,
was a large building with two rooms on each side of a hallway on the lower
floor. The part in which I was confined was the old McDowell dwelling and
this was connected with the college portion by a passage at the second
story. One of the rear rooms on the first floor was used as a dining-room
for the prison officers. The front room adjoining this was used as an office.
There were two large vacant rooms on the north side of the hall. I was
kept in the office for a few days and had access to the dining-room, where
the guards and officers could see me all the time. A large porch extended
across the entire length of the house in front and from this there were
eight steps that led to the pavement.
The handcuffs I wore were similar to the ones I wore in the Cairo prison;
the only difference was a tap, or nut, secured on one end of the bolt which
went through the top of the clevis-like portion that was around my wrist.
The handcuffs were placed on me with my hands and arms behind my back.
One day Captain Bishop, keeper of the prison, and the military captain,
Allen, together with two of the sergeants and clerks of the prison were
seated at the table enjoying their dinner. There was one vacant place.
Captain Bishop jokingly said, "Ab, have some dinner with us" "Thank you,
Captain Bishop," I replied. I at once "skinned the cat" backward through
my arms and the handcuffs and walking over to an iron mantel in the room,
I hammered the iron tap on the handcuffs against the mantel. This soon
loosened the tap, which I easily unscrewed, pulled out the bolt, laid the
handcuffs on the mantel, and sat down to the table. They all laughed and
Captain Bishop said, "That is pretty good, you have earned your dinner."
When we had finished dinner I replaced the handcuffs and tap.
Next day I was provided with a pair of cuffs of a different type. A thirty-two
pound cannon ball and chain was placed on my ankle, and I was transferred
to the rear parlor on the north side of the hall in solitary confinement.
In this room there was a large grated window that overlooked the back yard.
There was one door that led into the hall; this was fastened with a padlock,
the key to which was kept in the office. One guard stood outside this door
and another outside the grated window, on the porch, where he could look
into my room. They had nothing to do but guard me. I had no furniture of
any kind except a large, high-backed rocking chair, an empty soap box,
a tin washpan, a cotton-top mattress and two quilts, with the floor as
a bedstead. At night a lantern was hung on a large spike driven into the
outer edge of the window casing. A folding door, which was barred and nailed
shut, led from my room into the front parlor. In the parlor were two ladies,
Mrs. Sappington and Mrs. Zeigler, who were imprisoned for aiding Confederate
soldiers.
On September 10, escorted by four guards and wearing my handcuffs and the
ball and chain, I was taken out of the prison for trial. My shackle chain
was just long enough to permit me to carry the big cannon ball in my arms,
and I attracted much attention as I passed along the streets. I was escorted
to General John B. Grey's headquarters on the corner of Fourth and Washington
avenues, the same room where Sam Clemens [alias Mark Twain], Sam Bowen,
and myself had slipped away from General Grey at the beginning of the war.
When I was taken into his office he rose and shook hands with me and laughed
about the trick I had played on him. I had to force a smile, as I was too
much concerned over the outcome of my impending trial to be in a mood to
laugh. The charges made against me were that I was a Confederate mail-carrier
and a spy. General Grey was president of the court-martial.
Provost Marshal McConnell was present with the letters that had been captured
by the boy in a skiff, so the evidence was indisputable. I plead guilty
to the charge of mail-carrying but not to that of spy. I was convicted
on both charges, notwithstanding, and sentenced "to be shot to death on
the first Friday in the month of December, 1862, in the center of the parade
ground in Benton Barracks near St. Louis, or at such other time and place
as the commanding general may direct." I was escorted back to my parlor
prison room in a very sorrowful frame of mind. I concluded the only way
I could evade that sentence was to escape from the prison and make my way
back to General Price's army in Dixie. I began to plan that trip ere the
time of my execution should arrive.
I have mentioned that Mrs. Sappington and Mrs. Zeigler were prisoners in
the front parlor. I could easily converse with them through the closed
folding door. They were both friends of mine and had aided me in my work
of mail collection. My meals were brought to me from the table of the prison
officers by an old negro woman named Maria. She would bring the key from
the office and the guard stationed outside my door would unlock the door
for her. She then placed the tray holding my meal upon the soap box and
when I had finished eating she would return the key to the office after
the guard had locked the door. At my request the guard at my door would
get the key and escort me to the toilet, a small shed in the yard.
One day as I stepped into this shed, the guard remained outside. I found
a man named J. G. Chapman in the shed, hidden behind the door, unknown
to my guard. I requested him to procure some tools by which I might make
my escape: ile was to hide them in the shed beneath the seat, where they
would not be discovered. When I left the building Chapman again stepped
behind the door and the guard was unaware of his presence. That evening
Chapman passed my window and raised his hand, which was the signal agreed
upon. After dark I requested the guard to escort me to the yard. I found
a large butcher-knife which Chapman had procured from the kitchen and a
bar of iron about three feet long, an inch wide, and half an inch thick,
which had been used as a poker for the kitchen stove. The knife and poker
I slipped inside my underwear and the guardescorted me to my room.
The ladies in the front room were permitted to receive visitors. A number
of my friends called on them in order to communicate with me, as we could
easily converse through the doors. At the bottom of the doors, in the center,
was a small hole where a bolt that had fastened the doors to the floor
had been broken off. The rats had eularged the hole and through it my friends
passed me small articles. Among those who thus visited me was Mrs. Deborah
H. Wilson. She gave me, through the hole in the door, a spring-backed,
single-blade knife, or dirk, which was very valuable to me, as I will now
explain.
It had been my custom to lie on my mattress in a corner of the room for
hours at a time rocking my chair with my fo9t. The chair had a high back
and I placed a newspaper or my coat over it. The chair stood in such a
position that the guard at my window could not see me as I lay on the mattress
rocking the chair, but as lie saw the chair in constant motion he was sure
I was close by. I slipped the mattress out from the wall a bit and with
the knife I split the tongue in the flooring and with the aid of three
places where the planks "butted" together I had no difficulty in removing
three pieces of flooring, each four inches wide and three feet long. These
planks I could then take up and replace at will. By inserting three small
pieces of wood in the cuts at the ends of theplanks it was almost impossible
to discover that the floor had been tampered with.
In the meantime I met Chapman in the yard again as before and made known
to him my plans to escape. Between the building I occupied and the medical
college part of the prison was an entrance or alley, about four feet wide,
leading out to Eighth Street. Over this alley was a second floor passageway
connecting the two buildings. At the end of the afley next to Eighth Street
was a board fence composed of four large planks set on end so that they
reached from the second-floor passage to the sidewalk, thus closing the
opening from the yard to Eighth Street. The four planks were of poplar,
two inches thick. They were fastened together by a scantling four inches
square nailed crosswise of the planks. In this alley was kept the prison
woodpile, which was heaped up almost to the floor of the overhead passage.
Chapman was among the prisoners who had access to the yard in the daytime.
I instructed him to plimb over the woodpile to the front entrance where
the plank partition was and pile the wood behind him so that it would not
obstruct my entrance into the alley when I had cut a hole in the foundation
wall under the room in which I was imprisoned. When the roll was called
in Chapman's room daily someone would answer "present" for him.
When a11 was in readiness I tied a long string to the rocking chair and
passed it through the hole in the door to Mrs. Sappington. She pulled the
string, thus rocking the chair as I had been accustomed to do with my foot,
giving the guard the impression that I was lying on the mattress. Mrs.
Zeigler danced and sang and made all the noise she could in order to drown
any noise I might make under the house while cutting on the wall. When
I went through the floor to the space under the house I found there was
no excavation, the ground being about one foot from the joist at the rear
of the house and sloping to four feet below the floor at the front, or
Eighth Street side. The wall was eighteen inches thick, built of large
stones mortared together. I undertook to dig under the foundation but found
it impracticable, so I sat on the ground with my feet in the hole I had
dug and set to work on the wall where the stone and brick joined, using
my butcher-knife and bar of iron.
I succeeded shortly in removing a large stone, which I drew under the house.
Unfortunately, Chapman had not succeeded in removing the wood from the
spot where I removed the stone from the foundation, so I decided to wait
until next day to finish the work. I crawled back to my room, replaced
the planks in the floor, and went to sleep. Previous to the above incidents
I had eitracted two nails from the wall of my room and scraped them on
the stone wall until they fitted the locks of my handcuffs and I could
removethe cuffs at will.Next morning I held another consultation with Chapman
and he worked on the woodpile again so that he could get to the plank partition
at the end of the alley next to the street and endeavor to uncover the
hole I had made in the wall. Then he slipped, undiscovered, back to his
room on the second floor of the prison.
Next night about ten o'clock I went to work again. The ladies rocked the
chair as before. They provided me with a candle to use under the house
and in the alley. I pulled about half a cord of wood through the hole and
placed it under the house. When I had removed the wood I crawled out through
the hole and found Chapman in the alley waiting for me. With the knife
Mrs. Wilson had given me I cut a place across one of the broad poplar boards
about four feet above tile ground and three and a half feet above the scantling
that held the boards together. With this leverage I easily bent the plank
down, which afforded us an opening to the street. Chapman had obtained
for me a ease knife which I hacked with the butcher-knife until I made
a hacksaw of it. With this I sawed off the two rivets which fastened the
shackle and thirty-two pound cannon ball to my ankle. I placed the rivets
in my pocket and still have them as souvenirs. I left the shackle and the
ball and chain in the hole I had dug under the foundation, covering them
with a little earth.
Mrs. Sappington and Mrs. Zeigler had provided me with thread, needle, and
some yellow envelopes, which were much used in that day. I had an extra
red flannel shirt, the lower part of which I tore into strips and sewed
them together, forming a long sash. The shirt cuffs I sewed to the shoulders
of my coat, together with the envelopes, thus making a pair of artillery
lieutenant's epaulets, or shoulder straps. In this way I was disgulsed
as a Federal officer of the day. When we finished cutting the planks it
was about eleven at night. The moon was shining bright. Across the street
was a long row of three-story brick houses, called Johnson's Barracks,
which were occupied by a regiment of Federal soldiers who did guard duty
around the prisons and storehouses in St. Louis. It was the custom to sound
a call at twelve o 'clock at night, when the twenty men who guardedthe
prison would assemble in the middle of Eighth Street.
After the roll was called they marched to the north part of Gratiot Prison,
which was a large four-story building, about one hundred and fifty feet
long and ninety feet wide. The top storv was used as a hospital, the second
and third stories for quarters forprisoners, and the lower story as a cook-room.
The number of Confederate prisoners in the entire building varied from
three hundred to one thousand. When the twenty guards passed into the door
from Eighth Street the two men in front took their stations on either side
of the door, the relieved guards from the door walked behind the relief
guards and followed on around the prison, until all the guards were replaced
by relief. As the twenty guards going off duty left the prison they passed
across the big porch where the two guards stood, one on each side of the
head of the steps, and walked down the eight wooden steps leading to the
sidewalk. As they turned south on Eighth Street to go around to Gratiot
Street, Chapman and I left our secluded corner in the alley, which was
shaded by a projection of the building, and walked north on Eighth Street,
passing within three feet of the two guards who stood at either side of
the north entrance to the prison.
My disguise as a lieutenant and our bold movements prevented any suspicion.
They evidently supposed that we were some of the relieved guards and paid
no attention to us. We went on north around the Christian Brothers Academy
and then turned west on Ninth Street, and south on Chouteau Avenue, and
east on the south side of Choutean Avenue. We had proceeded about a block
when we passed a house that was all lighted up, with an entertainment or
party evidently in progress. A man was standing at the front gate and as
we passed I recognized him as Father Ryan, who in after years became Archbishop
of Philadelphia. We were great friends, and he was much interested in my
welfare throughout the war. He was overjoyed to see me, knowing that I
had been condeinned to death and was to be executed in a short time. He
requested me to wait at the gate a moment while he brought his sister out
of the house and introduced her to me. I have forgotten who lived in the
house, but a wedding was being celebrated and he had performed the ceremony.
Just before my escape from Gratiot Street prison there was an epidemic
of smalpox in the prison and in the city of St. Louis. Many of the Confederate
prisoners were stricken with it. The Federal soldiers who acted as home
guards were a regiment of old men known as "Gray Beards." One day several
of the prison officers went up town together, leaving only the guards in
charge of the main entrance. There was a prisoner upstairs who had a large
boil on the side of his nose. The other boys in his room put him on a cot
and with some red ink and dough made pimples on his face, so that he was
a repulsive sight. Colonel Robert McDonald, a prominent lawyer of St. Louis,
who was one of the prisoners, wore a black silk hat and a long coat, and
had a gold-headed cane.
A plan was laid by the prisoners to permit several to escape. McDonald
started down the steps and one of the boys called out: "Oh, doctor! Wait
a moment! What are you going to do about that man in our room who has the
smallpox? We will all be certain to takeit if you leave him here!" McDonald
replied, "I will go right now and get a conveyance and take him down to
the quarantine hospital." The guards thought he was a doctor and permitted
him to pass out of the prison. lie returned shortly with a baggage wagon
and went upstairs. In a few minutes down went four men carrying the cot
with the smallpox victim thereon. lie was covered to his neck with a sheet,
and his face presented a frightful appearance. The two guards moved as
far away from the head of the stairs as they could. Colonel McDonald went
down in front and the patient was placed in the baggage wagon.
The four who carried him climbed into the wagon and with the doctor they
drove off. When Captain Bishop and Sergeant Streeter returned they inquired
of the guards if any of the officers from headquarters had been there during
their absence. The guards told them no one had been there except the doctor
and that he had taken that sick man to the quarantine. Captain Bishop was
amazed at this statement and an investigation was made. The result was
the old Gray Beards were relieved from duty and an Illinois regiment was
substituted in their place.
The day before I escaped from Gratiot I had notified Mrs. Pickering through
Mrs. Vail that I would be at her house on October 2 about midnight and
she was to leave the door unlocked. When Chapman and I arrived at Mrs.
Pickering's we found quite a party of Young people. They had grown tired
of waiting for us and were asleep on the floor. When we walked in we received
a most hearty welcome. Mrs. Pickering's home was on the corner of Christy
Avenue(now called Lucas Avenue) and Nineteenth Street.
It was a small frame house that stood away back in the yard, and there
was a hydrant Just inside the front gate. Knowing that the Federal authorities
were aware of the fact that Mrs. Vail and Mrs. Pickering were Sisters and
great friends of mine, I felt certain that her house would be the first
place that would be searched for me. I left just after daylight and went
to Mrs. Wood 's house on Fourteenth Street between Market and Walnut, While
Chapman remained at Mrs. Pickering's. About nine o'clock in the morning
he came to me with a needle and thread hanging to his coat, and scared
within an inch of death. His explanation was that his coat had been torn
on the woodpile at Gratiot and while one of the girls was mending it four
soldiers had entered thefront yard; he did not wait to ascertain their
business, but went over the back fence as fast as he could go. We afterwards
learned that the soldiers had entered the yard merely to obtain a drink
at the hydrant and knew nothing of Chapman Later in the morning I met Mrs.
Vail, who told me She had a permit to enter the prison and get my soiled
1inen that day. I told her to go on and not to hint that she knew I was
out and then to report to me how the prison 0fficers' pulses were beating.
When she reached the prison steps she met Sergeant Heutershirt, a German,
who was just going on duty. She told him she had a permit to get Mr. Grimes'
soiled linen for laundrying. He said, "Gif me your baskit." When he returned
some fifteen minutes later he threw the basket down- the steps and said,
"Dere is your baskit!" "Well, where are the clothes I" "Grimes is gone
and he took every damned rag mit 'im!" "Where is he gone?" "How in hell
do I know? He is gone-nobody didn't go mit 'im. If you want to know so
damned bad where he is gone you go down to the corner and you can find
out when you see all dem holes he cut in de house." By this time she was
very much amused, but restrained her laughter as she dared not anger the
man. She walked to the corner of the building and there stood a soldier
guarding the holes as unconcerned as if he did not know why he was there.
As she was leaving the spot Captain Hinter escorted her back to the prison
office. After a half-hour's grilling Captain Bishop said to her, "You know
very well where Grimes is." He told her to go away and stay away.
I was later told by the Boogher brothers that the morning following our
escape from Gratiot old Aunt Maria, the negro waitress, entered my room
with my breakfast, as was her custom, and found it vacant. She was very
much excited and dropped the tray of dishes and food upon the floor and
shouted to the guard to lock the door quick as Mr. Grimes had "done gone
up de chimney." She ran to the dining-room and office and announced my
departure in a loud voice, which caused a grand rush of officers and guards
to my room. When I left the room I managed to work the planks in the floor
into place and arranged the mattress so it would fall down over them when
I went under the house. The first thing they did was to jerk the mattress
aside, but as there was little light in the room the floor did not show
where it had been cut. Finally Sergeant Streeter stepped on the end of
one of the cut planks and he went down.
I remained in close hiding at Mrs. Wood's house for three days, but that
was no task, as Mrs. Wood was a refined Southern lady and had three charming
daughters who were good musicians and entertained me delightfully.
However, I did reluctantly bid them good-bye on the night of October 5.
With Mrs. Vail and Mrs. M. A. E. McLure as escorts Chapman and myself went
out into the suburbs to the home of Mrs. Rogers. It was on what is now
Benton Street near Twenty-First, where the old reservoir was in after years.
Mrs. Rogers owned quite a large tract of land there, set with fruit trees
and shrubbery. On our way we noticed two men following us and our knees
shook as we made that midnight journey. Mrs. McLure and Mrs. Vail left
us at Mrs. Rogers' home and went back to town alone. Such trips were no
novelty to these two undaunted Southern women and whenever they had an
opportunity to escort a Confederate prisoner to safety they feared nothing.
Mrs. Rogers had a lovely daughter, Miss Josie, who entertained us.
Mrs. Margaret A. E. McLure
Southern sympathizer, aided Confederate POWs.
She placed under house arrest and later banished from Missouri.
At the breakfast table Mrs. Rogers asked her gardener why he had been late
getting home the night before. He said he had been down at Bechner's Garden
drilling. "Drilling for what?" "I am going to join the state militia under
Frank P. Blair and we have to drill every night." Mrs. Rogers retained
her equilibrium. Chapman rolled his eyes toward the gardener and told the
most elaborate untruth he could summon by saying, "I think that is a fine
organization and I have been intending to join for some time." I had been
enjoying my breakfast, but that gardener's remark took away my appetite
and I soon excused myself and left the table. "is being associated with
the state militia was not conducive to my safety just then, so we bade
Mrs. Rogers and her accomplished daughter adieu. It is needless to say
that Mrs. Rogers granted her gardener all his time to drill.
We went back to the city and made preparations to go south on the steamer G.
W. Graham. My efficient distributors, the ladies, had placed a large
num ber of letters in care of Miss Amanda Bowen of Hannibal, a sister of
Captain Bart Bowen and Sam Bowen, the pilot. The Bowen brothers owned the Graham.
Miss Bowen had been banished from her home at Hannibal for giving assistance
to Confederates and was spending her time with her brothers on the steamer,
which made round trips from St. Louis to Memphis. Chapman was but little
known and he made the trip as a cabin passenger. I occupied my usual stateroom,
which extended over the entire lower deck and was not numbered.
The Graham was usually late in getting away from port, so I made it convenient
to be late going aboard. Miss Bowen and Chapman carried my clothing and
I wore a suit of hobo attire. I met them at Frank Keaton's boat store on
the levee at Memphis. Miss Bowen turned the mall over to me and then returned
to the Graham. Mr. Keaton referred us to the Eagle Hotel, a private house
kept by the two Misses Rudisell, who entertained only Southerners."
Gratiot Street Prison is shown on the left next to Christian Brother Academy
After I
was sentenced to be hanged on July 10 [1864] I planned to escape ere that
day should arrive. It was now drawing near and I realized that
the time for me to act was at hand. I talked the situation over with my
roommates and many plans were advanced, but none satisfied me. I was sick
a few days and was placed in the hospital on the third floor of another
part of the building. While there I had an opportunity to familiarize myself
with the location of houses, fences, alleys, guards, etc., surrounding
and adjoining the prison yard. We were occasionally taken into the yard
for exercise for an hour while the floor of our room dried out after we
had scrubbed it.
Sergeant Mike Welsh had special charge of the prisoners in rooms number
1, 2, 3, and 4. He would escort us down to the lower prison yard, where
we were left in charge of three special guards. This yard ran the length
of the common prison building. It was about one hundred feet long and thirty
wide, and was enclosed on the west and north sides, next to the Christian
Brothers' College building, by a board fence about sixteen feet high. On
the east side of the yard was the building for common pnsoners, 100 by
80 feet, and 31/2 stories high, with a lower story that was half under
ground. This lower story was used as a cookhouse, laundry, etc. The third
story was a hospital, containing about one hundred and fifty iron cots.
On the side of this building next to the yard were at least thirty windows
that looked out into the yard. Old Mike would leave us in charge of the
threeguards and go to unlock one of the other rooms so the prisoners could
scrub it. These "lock-up" rooms were in the third story of the big six-cornered
stone building, a cross hall dividing the rooms.
From one to ten men were kept in each of these four rooms, and a guard
always patrolled the hall. The doors were all locked with large padlocks
and Mike carried the keys. A duplicate set of keys was kept in the office.
A long flight of outside steps led up to these rooms. At the foot of the
stairs was a hydrant and near by was a brick toilet-room, the same one
I have spoken of in connection with my first escape from Gratiot in October,
1862. Between the upper and the lower yard (where we were) there was a
narrow passageway about eighty feet long. A guard patrolled this passageway
to prevent prisoners from the upper quarters and the lower ones from mingling.
The recital of these minute particulars is tedious, but it is essential
to an understanding of later events.
When I had my plans laid, I gave my roommates instructions
regarding leaving the prison when we shoul attempt to escape, and warned
them of the danger from the guards' guns. The instructions were to pass
through the gate after it had been broken open, run directly west two blocks,
and then south to Chouteau Avenue. There was a guard stationed in the yard
of Mike's home adjoining the south end of the yard in which we were exercised.
Another guard was in the Christian Brothers' yard on the north end, and
two guards patrolled the alley on the west. From our yard not one of these
guards could be seen, but during my stay in the hospital I had noted minutely
their location and movements. There were now only five men in Room Number
3.
After I had fully instructed my roommates I placed my Bible on the table;
we laid our left hands upon it and with our right hands raised we took
a solemn oath that we would stand by each other to the death, and in the
effort to gain our liberty would kill anyone who tried to stop us in our
dash for freedom. With the exception of Schultz we were all under sentence
of death, and it was liberty or death to four of us. That was a solemn
moment for us as we five men stood with one hand on the Bible and the other
lifted toward heaven imploring the Almighty God for success pledging our
lives to meet the enemy and death face to face. We knew we were five unarmed
men against eight armed guards, and three of us wore irons, handcuffs,
and an ankle shackle with ball and chain. We then took five slips of paper
and wrote on three of them, "Catch guard." On the fourth was, "Break
gate open." On the fifth slip was, "Throw axe out of window." These slips
were placed in a cap and each man in turn drew out a slip and held it unseen
in his hand until the entire five were drawn and then each man read in
a distinct, solemn voice what duty was written on his slip. Mine read,
"Break gate open." Schultz had, "Throw axe out of window." Colciazer,
Douglas, and McElhenny each had, "Catch guard."
Mike took
us down into the yard while our room dried and as soon as he left us the
three men whose duty it was to catch the guards carelessly took up positions
near the three guards and walked back and forth. Those five or six hundred
Rebel prisoners who were at the prison windows stared at us as if we were
a lot of cannibals and the guards were so interested in watching them that
they did not suspect our men passing to and fro so near them. I sat down
near the low window that opened into the yard from the kitchen, where the
axe was kept. Schultz stepped quickly down the four steps into the kitchen
door, grabbed the axe, and threw it out of the window to my side.
I slowly and carelessly picked it up and started toward the woodpile that
was just inside the gate. When the guard who stood between the window and
the woodpile ordered me to put down the axe I said, "I only want
to split a little wood for exercise." He began to bring his gun down from
its upright position when Douglas seized him and pinioned his arms
while the other two men instantly pinioned the other two guards in the
same manner. I raised the axe to strike the guard and he dropped
his gun, whereupon Schultz immediate1y picked it up and ran to the assistance
of McElhenny and Colclazer. Douglas quickly jerked the revolver from his
guard's pocket and went to the assistance of the two men who were struggling
with the guards. When the latter saw that we had the advantage they dropped
their guns. Colclazer and MeElhenny got their revolvers and ran for
the gate. I did not delay a second, but gave a loud signal yell and
jumped to the gate and struck the big padlock that held a large iron bar
across the gate with the axe,
smashing the lock to fragments. I pulled the long iron bar from its
fastenings and with my right hand threw the gate open.
Just as I did this the two guards in the alley
ran up and fired blindly through the gate. One ball struck the shackle
on my leg and passed between the two lower bones of my right leg. The other
ball passed entirely through the 4 by 4 pine post at one side of the gate
and buried itself in my neck, knocking me downand out on the woodpile.
Colclazer disobeyed instructions and climbed over the fence into Mike's
yard and as he did so the guard stationed there shot him through the head,
killing him instantly. Schultz ran north instead of west and was shot through
the heart by some soldiers who were sitting on the ground playing cards
when he ran into them unexpectediy. McElhenny ran as directed, but by this
time the excitement was so high that the soldiers were shooting in every
direction at everything in sight, and his knee cap was shot off. Of our
party of five, only Colonel Douglas succeeded in escaping.
On the
day before we made our attempt to escape we threw a note from our window
across the hall into the window of Room Number 2, informing the inmates
of our plan. There were five men in the room, Lieutenant William H. Sebring,
John Carlin, Jasper Hill, Bob Louden, and Yates. Thus they were informed
of our purpose and when they heard the Rebel yell they were to rush down
into the lower yard and join in the fight. In order to do so they had to
pass the guard in the narrow passage between the two sections of the yard.
At the hour of the attack they were in the upper yard. Carlin was in the
lead and he was prepared for the guard. He struck him on the head with
a brick and the guard let him pass. When they reached me I was lying on
the woodpile, bleeding profusely from the wounds in my leg and neck. Lieutenant
Sebring bent over me to pick me up. I insisted that they must not stop
for me, but run for their lives. The gate was still wide open, the guards
who belonged there having deserted their posts for safer quarters after
they shot me. Hill, Sebring, Carlin, and Yates ran through the gate andmade
their escape. Two months after this John Carlin, who was a son of Governor
Carlin of Illinois, was shot and killed in that state by a sheriff who
was trying to capture him.
As I lay helpless on the woodpile some guards ran up and would have
shot me had not good old Mike** thrown himself across my body and shouted,
"I am in charge of this man and I order you to stand back and not to touch
or injure him!" Of course, Mike's authority was above that of the guards
and they stood back. Mike was a huge fellow and he gathered me up in his
arms and carried me to the hospital on the third floor, the tears streaming
down his face as he went. One of the prisoners walked alongside and carried
the thirty pound ball that was attached to my leg. The shackle and ball
were removed from my ankle when I was placed on the cot in the hospital.
I had worn them constantly (with the exception of a few days) from December
19 until June 18, and my leg had become very sore in consequence. Doctors
Youngblood and Dudley extracted the ball, which had passed between the
two bones in the calf of my leg and lodged next to the skin. The ball in
my neck popped out upon slight pressure. It had passed through the post
and was spent when it struck me. I still treasure the ball that went through
my leg. McElhenny was placed on a cot near mine in the hospital, while
the bodies of Schultz and Colciazer were taken to the dissecting room.
My wound did not seem inclined to heal, and although a silk handkerchief
was passed entirely through the leg at the time the ball was extracted,
five days later a piece of my trousers about five inches across came into
sight and was pulled out by my nurse, Mr. Preston Westerman."
[**Note: Sgt. Mike Welsh (or
Walsh), a Federal prison guard that befriended
Grimes. In this prison escape,
the POWs were to stay away from Mike's section of the prison, but as he
mentions this was not followed by Colclazer, who was shot to death as a
result.]
Was located at corner of present day Clark and Broadway. These streets
were originally named Myrtle and Fifth Streets. This prison was formerly
called, "Lynch's Slave Pen" where slaves were held prior to being sold.
It was located only two blocks from the courthouse (now "Old Courthouse").
Below the prison was the infamous dungeon which Major Abasalom Grimes describes
during his stay there:
"I was sent to the Myrtle Street prison, where I was placed in a dungeon
under the sidewalk. It was an excavation in the ground which had been lined
with boiler iron and this in turn with boards. There were two apartments
or cells in the box, each about eight feet square and seven feet high.
I was placed in the front cell next to the door. After the irons had been
placed on my wrists and ankle I heard someone walking around in the
rear cell, rattling a ball and chain. I asked Lonegan (the guard who put
me there) who was in the other cell. He said, "Hist! That is a steamboat
burner and they will hang him sure." After the guard had left me I called
out, "Hello in there, partner." He answered, "Hello "When I asked his name
he said, "Smith." That name was in such common use during the war as a
disguise that it excited my suspicion. I asked him how long he had been
in there, and he replied by asking me what day it was? I said it was Tuesday.
He said, "I have been in here two weeks to-morrow." Chief Tallon had told
me the cell had just been completed and that no one had occupied it and
I knew at once that either he or Smith was lying. I decided that "Smith"
was a detective. We conversed quite a while about things in general and
then he asked me if I knew Bob Louden, which confirmed my suspicion that
be was seeking information about our activities.
After we had been in the dungeon two or three days Lonegan
came in and told Smith that he would have to go uptown for trial. He was
returned to his cell late in the afternoon. As Smith did not enjoy the
freezing and darkness of his cell this was a ruse to give him a vacation.
The weather was bitter cold and we bad no light except his candle. I was
not permitted the luxury of a light. I was taken into the officeonce a
day to warm up or I should have frozen to death. I was well fed and friends
brought me food
and clothing. Smith's
real name was John Murphy. He was a devout Catholic and on one of his outings
for "trial" he met Father Ryan, who told "Smith" I was a warm personal
friend of his and that he thought a great deal of me. When Smith returned
to the dungeon he told me of his meeting with Father Ryan and also that
he was a detective and had been detailed to the cell to extract information
from me. He said he now wanted me to understand that the authorities could
never learn anything through him that would incriminate me. I told him
that I knew he was a detective because of the disparity between his statement
and that of Captain Tallon regarding the age of the dungeon. He informed
me that he would be relieved from duty in a day or two and that I might
write any private letters I desired and he would promise to deliver them
safely for me.
The dungeon under the sidewalk in which I was confined was so cold
that I suffered intensely and after Smith's removal I was sent to Gratiot
Street prison and placed in room number 3 with several other Confederates,
among whom were Lieutenant William II. Sebring, Colonel John Carlin, Joe
Leddy, Sam Clifford, and Shed Davis. Someone told the prison keeper that
Colonel Carlin and myself had a plan to escape. Carlin was removed from
our room and we were both put in irons. I became very angry and threatened
dire things and the escape of our roomful of men. The irons were removed
from my ankle but the handcuffs were left on and I was taken back to the
dungeon in Myrtle Street. Part of the time I had no candle and the cell
was in absolute darkness and so cold I was taken to the office occasionally
to sit by the stove. Finally, I wrote to Colonel Broadhead, the provost
marshal, and asked that he remove me from the dungeon, as I was about to
freeze to death. On December 19 he ordered me sent back to Gratiot Street
prison, where I was again placed in Number 3."
The Background tune is the music to the following song, "Rebel
in the Woods", written by a anonymous Confederate Guerilla in North Missouri
to his friend condemned to die in a St. Louis prison. The song was found
from a St. Louis newspaper clipping dating back to around 1863. The
phrase "my jacket so blue" may appear that the writer was a Union soldier,
but this is not the case since in Missouri, rebels frequently wore the
clothes removed from their victims.
1st Verse:
The winter is gone and the spring has come once more.
The rebels rejoice that the winter is no more,
For now it is spring and the leaves are growing green,
And the rebels rejoice that they cannot be seen.
chorus:
Then home, soon home, home they will be;
Home, dearest home, in this our country,
Where the rose is in bud and the blossom's on the tree,
And the Lark is singing home to North Missouri.
We have taken up arms in defense of our farms,
And if the Federals trouble us we'll surely do them harm,
For we have declared that our land shall be free
But if they stay away how quiet we will be.
Chorus:
Then home, soon home, home they will be;
Home, dearest home, in this our country,
Where the rose is in bud and the blossom's on the tree,
And the Lark is singing home to North Missouri.
3rd Verse:
The rebels from their homes are compelled to go
And stay in the woods in the bushes thick and low,
For if they go home and there attempt to stay
The Federals will come and force them away.
Chorus:
Then home, soon home, home they will be;
Home, dearest home, in this our country,
Where the rose is in bud and the blossom's on the tree,
And the Lark is singing home to North Missouri.
4th Verse:
Away from their sweethearts they have to stay
And lay in the woods by night and by day,
For if by the Federals they should captured be
They will be carried to the penitentiary.
Chorus:
Then home, soon home, home they will be;
Home, dearest home, in this our country,
Where the rose is in bud and the blossom's on the tree,
And the Lark is singing home to North Missouri.
5th Verse:
Now my song is almost ended, and since it is so,
Back to the wars with all speed I must go.
With my gun in my hand and my jacket all so blueu Farewell, my dear friends, I must bid you adieu.
Chorus:
Then home, soon home, home they will be;
Home, dearest home, in this our country,
Where the rose is in bud and the blossom's on the tree,
And the Lark is singing home to North Missouri.
6th Verse:
When the war is over I will return to thee,
And we will get married if we can agree,
And when we are joined in wedlock's happy band,
Then we never more will take the parting hand.
Chorus:
Then home, soon home, home they will be;
Home, dearest home, in this our country,
Where the rose is in bud and the blossom's on the tree,
And the Lark is singing home to North Missouri.
