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Their story begins in Charleston harbor, in May 1864. Forts Sumter and Moultrie have successfully defended the city since 1861. Though Sumter has been reduced to rubble, it still stands defiantly.
The Union assigns a new commander to the Dept. of the South. Headquartered at Port Royal on Hilton Head Island, Maj.Gen. John G. Foster is determined to take Fort Sumter.
The Confederate commander in Charleston, Maj. Gen. Sam Jones, is perturbed at the Union shelling of civilian areas, where hospitals have been located. He is notified that 600 Union soldiers will be sent to Charleston from Andersonville to relieve overcrowding there. Jones confined the men at Roper Hospital.
Roper was located in the threatened area. The conditions, food and spaciousness appealed to the prisoners. But Foster claimed it violated the laws of war by locating the men "under fire". Foster threatened retaliation, even though Jones assured him the men would be removed as soon as a stockade could be completed at Columbia.
Foster saw an advantage to proceeding with the retaliation, and requested 600 Confederate officers be sent to Charleston. The 600 would be placed here on Morris Island between Union batteries at Forts Gregg and Wagner. Directly in the line of fire from Sumter and Moultrie, their presence would serve as a protection to Union defenses.
Meanwhile at Fort Delaware Prison, the 1500 men confined in the officer's barracks heard of a special list, they thought for exchange. The names were called on August 13. To be on this list was a coveted position and some like Captain Jackson Kirkman of Alabama, exchanged places with one of the chosen.
The 600 were a diverse set. Most were junior officers, promoted for battlefield conduct. They represented 14 states, and 36 of the men were either foreign born, or born in the North. 60 men were from Georgia.
On August 20, the 600 left Fort Delaware on the steamer "Crescent City." Bunks had been built around the boiler in the hold compartment. It was crowded and hot. After reaching Fort Monroe and not being exchanged, some men became suspicious. "There's trouble ahead for us," noted Col. Abram Fulkerson of the 63rd Tenn. "There'll be no exchange of these six hundred men". Gunboats escorted the Crescent down the Atlantic coast, as the conditions in the hold became unbearable. Col. Fulkerson would emerge as a leader whom the men trusted and looked to for guidance. Another was Col. Van Manning of the 3rd Arkansas.
When the ship ran aground 40 miles north of Charleston at Cape Romaine on the night of August 24, Manning and Fulkerson hastily planned to seize the ship. They had secured the surrender of the Federal commander on board, but the plan failed when the gunboat convoy surrounded the vessel. Two men did escape.
On Sept. 7, the officers were landed on the Beach at Morris Island. They were placed in a log stockade with no protection from shelling. A-tents were assigned 4 men per tent. It was crowded in the 1 1/2 acre compound, in an environment of sand, gnats and heat.
The rules were stringent under the commander of the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry. Col. Edward N. Hallowell was ruthless in his treatment. The prisoners were supposed to receive the same rations as the Union prisoners in Charleston but this was not the case. Union Lt. Louis Fortescue, one of those confined at Roper Hospital, wrote in his diary, "Rations are rather good at present. They consist of about 3/4 to 1 lb. fresh meat, 2/3 qt. cornmeal, very little salt, 1/2 pt. flour and 1 qt. rice and beans mixed per day."
Captain Junius Hempstead of the 25th Virginia recorded the Morris Island diet. "Drew for the day 2 hard-tacks and a pint of rice for supper. We are half-starved."
The poor rations were a physical abuse, and the mental stress and immediate danger of being under constant shelling led many to doubt whether they would come out of the ordeal alive. Three men died of conditions related to insufficient diet and poor sanitation. So great was the hunger of some, that they ate the roots of grass growing in the compound.
Captain Henry C. Dickinson of the 2nd Va. Cav. wrote," Moultrie opened with two heavy mortars. The shells were spherical in case, and after the shell exploded the small balls exploded like pop-crackers, only they were flying in every direction. We were much endangered, the small balls whizzing over us and in some cases going as far as Wagner. Finally a huge shell exploded over us and the large pieces came buzzing through camp and buried themselves in our midst. One piece struck in my street, another in the next below us, another near the gate, while one hit just behind our tent, so near our heads as to cause us involuntarily to raise up our bodies to avoid it."
The Union prisoners had been removed from Charleston on Oct. 8, but Foster continued to hold the 600 until October 23. He suggested exchanging the men, but Union Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton had forbidden any exchanges. Instead the men were sent to Fort Pulaski near Savannah, Georgia accompanied by the 157th New York Vol. Inf. as guards.
When the officers arrived, Col. Philip P. Brown of the 157th promised good treatment. He reinstated full rations and located the prisoners in casemates on the southside of the fort, which was the section bombarded in 1862.
For two Savannahians in the group, it was a bittersweet experience. Lt. Sanford Branch, 8th Georgia, had been with the Oglethorpe Light Infantry when the Fort was first occupied in January 1861. Capt. Harris Harrison of the 7th Ga. Cav. owned a plantation at Monteith, north of Savannah. For both men, the proximity to home was a source of frustration.
On Nov. 19, Col. Brown sent 197 of the men to Hilton Head to relieve some of the overcrowding. These men suffered the winter in drafty wooden barracks, with no blankets or heat. Many suffered frostbite and walked the floor at night to keep circulation going. Capt. Tom Perkins of Tennessee would escape ten times, but was recaptured each time.
Though the oath of allegiance to the United States was offered as an incentive for better treatment, the officers saw it as a dishonorable way out of their plight. Col. Van Manning continued as a steadfast example to the men, helping them maintain a passive resistance by enduring Union mistreatment without taking the oath of allegiance.
On Jan. 1st, daily rations for the officers at Hilton Head and at Fort Pulaski were reduced to 10 oz. of stale cornmeal and sour onion pickles, in retaliation for the reported rations given to Federal POWs at Salisbury, NC. This ration would continue for forty-five days.
2Lt. David Gordon, 4th S.C. Cav., wrote: “January 25th. ... I have been without meat for 22 days and feel like I could eat cat, dog or anything-it is telling a fearful tale among my fellow prisoners - Scurvy and other chronic diseases are prevailing to an alarming extent - It is murder of the most terrible kind and I don't think it has any parallel.
Capt. Henry Handerson, 9th La. Inf, wrote: "Col. Brown's little daughter, who with her mother shared his quarters, was the happy possessor of a beautiful white cat, which gaily decked out with a blue ribbon, was wont to sun herself upon the parade-ground, and occasionally even wandered into the casemates of the unfortunate Confederate prisoners, where she was warmly received and freely petted. Suddenly poor pussy disappeared, and no inquiries sufficed to determine the cause of her absence. About this time I was invited by some of my comrades to join them in a "swell" dinner, with the intimation that a piece of good-luck had enabled them to prepare quite a feast for the occasion. Hungry and curious, at the appointed time I joined my friends, and we sat down to an impromptu table, loaded with corn-bread, pickles, and the piece de resistance, an appetizing looking roast, which I took for a rabbit. To my horror, however, as the host was proceeding to carve the mysterious dish, some practical joker in the party whispered in audible tones "mee-ow" and the secret was out! The disappearance of Col. Brown's white cat was fully explained. Hungry as I was, I could not persuade myself to taste of poor pussy."
The winter of 1864-65 was one of the severest on record. Blankets were confiscated. Scurvy plagued the prisoners. Most lost up to 60 lbs. of their normal weight. The dungeon like casemates blocked the winter sun, adding to the despair. Sickness became rampant, with only 25 officers were able to walk.
Captain Henry Handerson, 1st La. Inf. was a medical student who appealed to Col. Brown to alleviate the suffering. He suggested separating the sickest who suffered with dysentery from the well men to prevent the spread of disease. Brown refused.
Col. John Mulford, the Union exchange agent, and Confederate agent Col. Robert Ould, convinced the Union to reinstate the cartel for 10,000 prisoners. But the 600 were not included. They would pass the winter in harsh confinement.
Out of desperation, a tunnel was started by Lt. John Ogden Murray and several others, in an attempt to reach the commissary stores. With only an oyster knife and stove poker as floor tools, they worked six weeks, below the casemate floor, cutting through the masonry foundation of the fort. Standing in freezing water, waist deep, they tunneled beneath nine casemates, cutting through 42 walls. When they reached the commissary storeroom, six men decided to escape out the window, but were recaptured at the wharf.
Charleston capitulated in January 1865. Prisoner exchange was reinstated and the 600 left Ft.Pulaski and Hilton Head on March 4th for City Point, Va. However, their hopes would be dashed. Col. Abram Fulkerson witnessed a medical examination of the prisoners by Union surgeons. He believed that the emaciated condition of the Confederate officers convinced the surgeons that it would be an embarrassment to Union authorities if they were seen. Instead, the men were sent back to Fort Delaware.
While Captain Leon Jastremski of the 10th Louisiana was fortunate enough to escape, two officers died on board ship.
What was left of the 600 arrived back at Fort Delaware on March 12th and marched back through the sallyport they had left almost seven months earlier, still prisoners of war.
Statistically 44 had died, 7 had escaped and returned to their commands, 116 had received special exchanges.
Today Morris Island is much like it was in 1864, except for the changes caused by beach erosion. Fort Pulaski remains unchanged, the prison casemates exactly like they were when the 600 were there.
Lt. William Epps of the 4th SC Cav. was the last survivor of that band. In 1930 he was interviewed by a reporter in Charleston, and asked about his feelings toward the United States. This was his reply: "Every drop of my blood is pure American, and today if America needed me, I should gladly give the few remaining years of my life to her service. The American flag is my flag. My fore-fathers followed it to the end of their lives. My heart still thrills to see its beautiful folds unfurl, but with that thrill comes an unspeakable sadness; for it was the Stars and Stripes that floated over Morris Island, Pulaski, and Fort Delaware."
PUBLIC TOURS - INTERPRETIVE PROGRAM.
FEDERAL GARRISON
Public will see fully garrisoned fort. One company on guard duty, with sentries posted, for 24-hr shift. Off-duty company has periods of drill and instruction, and periods of free-time (baseball, etc).
CONFEDERATE PRISONERS
Public will see the prison with officers performing daily POW activities.
During public hours (10am-5pm), a highly organized interpretive program will be guiding visitors through the fort. The program will consist of a number of scripted vignettes stationed throughout the fort, showing some key episodes of the Immortal Six-Hundred. Visitors will be collected and briefed on the IM600 history before their tour, and debriefed after. The groups will be lead by experienced docents in period dress. The vignettes are all using "fourth wall" interpretive techniques, where the visitors observe the happenings in a room as if the fourth wall has disappeared. The visitors see the participants; participants DO NOT see the visitors. The docent sets the stage, the visitors see the vignette, the docent leads the group to the next station. Think of this technique as the one used by Dickens in "The Christmas Carol"; Spirits lead Ebenezer to observe phases of his life, but Ebenezer could only communicate with the Spirit.
While the groups walk between vignettes, they will see the fort garrisoned with soldiers performing all aspects of daily activities. The last vignette is the prison, where the group is led into and through the prison casemates. They will see the prisoners at close hand, seeing the whole spectrum of prison activities. As far as ALL participants are concerned, participants do not see, or interact with, the visitors. That is the docent’s job. The visitors will be told this before they enter the fort.
In between group tours, visitors have free range of the fort. If they have a question, they will be directed to the nearest costumed interpreter (one of the Ladies). After the fort closes to the public, all post activities will continue.
Program Stops - Vignettes
1. Introduction - Sally Port
2. Temptation of Capt.Hempstead, VA Inft, to take the oath of allegiance by visiting Gov.Stone, of Iowa - Officer's Quarters
3. Mess Hall activities
4. Mrs.Brown's intercession on behalf of Lt.Murray, 10th VA Cav, to have a letter posted. - Cmdg. Officers Qtrs.
5. Reprimand of Col.Brown by Maj.Gen.Foster, for not enforcing retaliation policies - Casemate # 40.
6. Confederate prison - Casemates #18-20.
7. Debriefing/Questions - Parade Ground/Casemate #15.
Vignettes:
Introduction
Lt. Joslyn, turns group over to Docent, who enters the Fort, traveling in a clock-wise direction.
Tempation of Hempstead
Gov. Stone – Charlie Lemons
Lt.Hempstead – TBD
All the prisoners knew the one way out of their plight was to take the oath of allegiance. Among the Six Hundred existed an unspoken stubbornness to suffer rather than surrender principles and duty.
On 29 Dec 1864, a steamer docked at the Fort Pulaski wharf, and disembarked its important visitors` one of whom was the Honorable William M. Stone, newly elected Governor of Iowa. He was accompanied by a correspondent of the Dubuque Daily Times. Stone and his entourage had taken time from his eastern journey to review Iowa troops at Hilton Head, and pay a visit to Lt. Junius Hempstead, prisoner of war. The visit was a special request from a fellow Iowan, concerned about the former governor’s son. The journalist reported his mission to readers in Dubuque as follows:
After eight days’ visiting among the Iowa troops in Gen. Sherman’s grand army, I left Savannah, this morning at 4 o’clock. . . The immense Fort which Gilmore so splendidly reduced is in full view, being not more than a mile distant, I should guess. On going up quite a party of us staid over night at the Fort. Governor Stone was along, and having been so requested asked to see Lt.Hempstead of the Rebel Army, now a prisoner of war.. . He is as many of your readers know a son of Ex-Governor Hempstead of your city, where he received “a bringing up” which must have been somehow vicious, or he would not be in his present predicament. He was comfortably clothed and in good health. He talked an hour or so with the governor and other gentlemen who had been in the Army, and was very communicative about Rebel affairs. He has refused to take the oath of allegiance to the United States. He is quite young. . . but seems to have good sense enough. The Company blamed rather his education, than himself for the fact of his having taken up arms against his country, therefore ruining himself in the estimation of all right thinking men.
Capt. Henry Dickinson:
Governor Stone of Iowa arrives. Sent for Lt.Hempstead, 25th VA, son of ex-governor of Iowa, and begged him to take the oath. Brown added his persuasions. Hempstead nobly refused.
Upon his return to the casemate prison, Junius Hempstead received a rousing applause.
The strict vow not to take the oath under any circumstances remained a cohesive factor, and each loyal officer found strength in his companions’ support. During their whole imprisonment as the Six-Hundred, only 17 men took the oath before the end of the war.
Mess Hall
Mrs. Lewis, chief cook
Intercession of Mrs.Brown
Mrs.Brown – Tammy Cleaveland
Col.Brown – John Cleaveland
Capt.Murray – TBD
Capt. J.Ogden Murray, 11th VA Cav.:
One day, in a fit of desperation, I wrote Colonel Brown a note, asking him to grant me an interview. To my surprise, on the following day he granted it. A sergeant conducted me to his office quarters. The Colonel received me politely. I told him I had an uncle in St.Louis who would gladly aid me with money if I were allowed to communicate with him. His reply was, “Sir, I, personally, would be glad to grant your request; but I am sorry indeed I can not, under my orders, do so. I am powerless.” For a few moments he left the office. The lady who had been present during the interview was Colonel Brown’s wife. Turning to me she said, “Write your draft on your uncle; you shall have the money.” This kind, noble lady gave me, as I left the office, a paper containing two large slices of bread, butter, and ham. I took them to my sick comrade, Billy Funk.
Reprimand of Col.Brown
Col. Brown – John Cleaveland
Maj. Burger, Adjt.Gen – Chuck Warnick
Colonel Brown had been largely responsible for the exchanges of 31 men on December 14, 1864. In the Charleston Daily Courier a letter appeared, addressed to Colonel Brown. It was merely a small notice to convey appreciation for humane treatment and civilized behavior, signed by six officers who had experienced such. Colonel Brown was of course at Fort Pulaski, and knew nothing of the letter, until a few days later when he received a reprimand from Major General Foster’s headquarters on Hilton Head Island. The scathing letter informed Brown that he had been notified of the correct treatment of the prisoners repeatedly and they were not to be exchanged or given full rations.
Confederate prison
Docent slowly leads the group through the prison, allowing the visitors to observe the activities of the prisoners.
Debriefing/Questions
Lt. Joslyn and Docent
The Union assigns a new commander to the Dept. of the South. Headquartered at Port Royal on Hilton Head Island, Maj.Gen. John G. Foster is determined to take Fort Sumter.
The Confederate commander in Charleston, Maj. Gen. Sam Jones, is perturbed at the Union shelling of civilian areas, where hospitals have been located. He is notified that 600 Union soldiers will be sent to Charleston from Andersonville to relieve overcrowding there. Jones confined the men at Roper Hospital.
Roper was located in the threatened area. The conditions, food and spaciousness appealed to the prisoners. But Foster claimed it violated the laws of war by locating the men "under fire". Foster threatened retaliation, even though Jones assured him the men would be removed as soon as a stockade could be completed at Columbia.
Foster saw an advantage to proceeding with the retaliation, and requested 600 Confederate officers be sent to Charleston. The 600 would be placed here on Morris Island between Union batteries at Forts Gregg and Wagner. Directly in the line of fire from Sumter and Moultrie, their presence would serve as a protection to Union defenses.
Meanwhile at Fort Delaware Prison, the 1500 men confined in the officer's barracks heard of a special list, they thought for exchange. The names were called on August 13. To be on this list was a coveted position and some like Captain Jackson Kirkman of Alabama, exchanged places with one of the chosen.
The 600 were a diverse set. Most were junior officers, promoted for battlefield conduct. They represented 14 states, and 36 of the men were either foreign born, or born in the North. 60 men were from Georgia.
On August 20, the 600 left Fort Delaware on the steamer "Crescent City." Bunks had been built around the boiler in the hold compartment. It was crowded and hot. After reaching Fort Monroe and not being exchanged, some men became suspicious. "There's trouble ahead for us," noted Col. Abram Fulkerson of the 63rd Tenn. "There'll be no exchange of these six hundred men". Gunboats escorted the Crescent down the Atlantic coast, as the conditions in the hold became unbearable. Col. Fulkerson would emerge as a leader whom the men trusted and looked to for guidance. Another was Col. Van Manning of the 3rd Arkansas.
When the ship ran aground 40 miles north of Charleston at Cape Romaine on the night of August 24, Manning and Fulkerson hastily planned to seize the ship. They had secured the surrender of the Federal commander on board, but the plan failed when the gunboat convoy surrounded the vessel. Two men did escape.
On Sept. 7, the officers were landed on the Beach at Morris Island. They were placed in a log stockade with no protection from shelling. A-tents were assigned 4 men per tent. It was crowded in the 1 1/2 acre compound, in an environment of sand, gnats and heat.
The rules were stringent under the commander of the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry. Col. Edward N. Hallowell was ruthless in his treatment. The prisoners were supposed to receive the same rations as the Union prisoners in Charleston but this was not the case. Union Lt. Louis Fortescue, one of those confined at Roper Hospital, wrote in his diary, "Rations are rather good at present. They consist of about 3/4 to 1 lb. fresh meat, 2/3 qt. cornmeal, very little salt, 1/2 pt. flour and 1 qt. rice and beans mixed per day."
Captain Junius Hempstead of the 25th Virginia recorded the Morris Island diet. "Drew for the day 2 hard-tacks and a pint of rice for supper. We are half-starved."
The poor rations were a physical abuse, and the mental stress and immediate danger of being under constant shelling led many to doubt whether they would come out of the ordeal alive. Three men died of conditions related to insufficient diet and poor sanitation. So great was the hunger of some, that they ate the roots of grass growing in the compound.
Captain Henry C. Dickinson of the 2nd Va. Cav. wrote," Moultrie opened with two heavy mortars. The shells were spherical in case, and after the shell exploded the small balls exploded like pop-crackers, only they were flying in every direction. We were much endangered, the small balls whizzing over us and in some cases going as far as Wagner. Finally a huge shell exploded over us and the large pieces came buzzing through camp and buried themselves in our midst. One piece struck in my street, another in the next below us, another near the gate, while one hit just behind our tent, so near our heads as to cause us involuntarily to raise up our bodies to avoid it."
The Union prisoners had been removed from Charleston on Oct. 8, but Foster continued to hold the 600 until October 23. He suggested exchanging the men, but Union Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton had forbidden any exchanges. Instead the men were sent to Fort Pulaski near Savannah, Georgia accompanied by the 157th New York Vol. Inf. as guards.
When the officers arrived, Col. Philip P. Brown of the 157th promised good treatment. He reinstated full rations and located the prisoners in casemates on the southside of the fort, which was the section bombarded in 1862.
For two Savannahians in the group, it was a bittersweet experience. Lt. Sanford Branch, 8th Georgia, had been with the Oglethorpe Light Infantry when the Fort was first occupied in January 1861. Capt. Harris Harrison of the 7th Ga. Cav. owned a plantation at Monteith, north of Savannah. For both men, the proximity to home was a source of frustration.
On Nov. 19, Col. Brown sent 197 of the men to Hilton Head to relieve some of the overcrowding. These men suffered the winter in drafty wooden barracks, with no blankets or heat. Many suffered frostbite and walked the floor at night to keep circulation going. Capt. Tom Perkins of Tennessee would escape ten times, but was recaptured each time.
Though the oath of allegiance to the United States was offered as an incentive for better treatment, the officers saw it as a dishonorable way out of their plight. Col. Van Manning continued as a steadfast example to the men, helping them maintain a passive resistance by enduring Union mistreatment without taking the oath of allegiance.
On Jan. 1st, daily rations for the officers at Hilton Head and at Fort Pulaski were reduced to 10 oz. of stale cornmeal and sour onion pickles, in retaliation for the reported rations given to Federal POWs at Salisbury, NC. This ration would continue for forty-five days.
2Lt. David Gordon, 4th S.C. Cav., wrote: “January 25th. ... I have been without meat for 22 days and feel like I could eat cat, dog or anything-it is telling a fearful tale among my fellow prisoners - Scurvy and other chronic diseases are prevailing to an alarming extent - It is murder of the most terrible kind and I don't think it has any parallel.
Capt. Henry Handerson, 9th La. Inf, wrote: "Col. Brown's little daughter, who with her mother shared his quarters, was the happy possessor of a beautiful white cat, which gaily decked out with a blue ribbon, was wont to sun herself upon the parade-ground, and occasionally even wandered into the casemates of the unfortunate Confederate prisoners, where she was warmly received and freely petted. Suddenly poor pussy disappeared, and no inquiries sufficed to determine the cause of her absence. About this time I was invited by some of my comrades to join them in a "swell" dinner, with the intimation that a piece of good-luck had enabled them to prepare quite a feast for the occasion. Hungry and curious, at the appointed time I joined my friends, and we sat down to an impromptu table, loaded with corn-bread, pickles, and the piece de resistance, an appetizing looking roast, which I took for a rabbit. To my horror, however, as the host was proceeding to carve the mysterious dish, some practical joker in the party whispered in audible tones "mee-ow" and the secret was out! The disappearance of Col. Brown's white cat was fully explained. Hungry as I was, I could not persuade myself to taste of poor pussy."
The winter of 1864-65 was one of the severest on record. Blankets were confiscated. Scurvy plagued the prisoners. Most lost up to 60 lbs. of their normal weight. The dungeon like casemates blocked the winter sun, adding to the despair. Sickness became rampant, with only 25 officers were able to walk.
Captain Henry Handerson, 1st La. Inf. was a medical student who appealed to Col. Brown to alleviate the suffering. He suggested separating the sickest who suffered with dysentery from the well men to prevent the spread of disease. Brown refused.
Col. John Mulford, the Union exchange agent, and Confederate agent Col. Robert Ould, convinced the Union to reinstate the cartel for 10,000 prisoners. But the 600 were not included. They would pass the winter in harsh confinement.
Out of desperation, a tunnel was started by Lt. John Ogden Murray and several others, in an attempt to reach the commissary stores. With only an oyster knife and stove poker as floor tools, they worked six weeks, below the casemate floor, cutting through the masonry foundation of the fort. Standing in freezing water, waist deep, they tunneled beneath nine casemates, cutting through 42 walls. When they reached the commissary storeroom, six men decided to escape out the window, but were recaptured at the wharf.
Charleston capitulated in January 1865. Prisoner exchange was reinstated and the 600 left Ft.Pulaski and Hilton Head on March 4th for City Point, Va. However, their hopes would be dashed. Col. Abram Fulkerson witnessed a medical examination of the prisoners by Union surgeons. He believed that the emaciated condition of the Confederate officers convinced the surgeons that it would be an embarrassment to Union authorities if they were seen. Instead, the men were sent back to Fort Delaware.
While Captain Leon Jastremski of the 10th Louisiana was fortunate enough to escape, two officers died on board ship.
What was left of the 600 arrived back at Fort Delaware on March 12th and marched back through the sallyport they had left almost seven months earlier, still prisoners of war.
Statistically 44 had died, 7 had escaped and returned to their commands, 116 had received special exchanges.
Today Morris Island is much like it was in 1864, except for the changes caused by beach erosion. Fort Pulaski remains unchanged, the prison casemates exactly like they were when the 600 were there.
Lt. William Epps of the 4th SC Cav. was the last survivor of that band. In 1930 he was interviewed by a reporter in Charleston, and asked about his feelings toward the United States. This was his reply: "Every drop of my blood is pure American, and today if America needed me, I should gladly give the few remaining years of my life to her service. The American flag is my flag. My fore-fathers followed it to the end of their lives. My heart still thrills to see its beautiful folds unfurl, but with that thrill comes an unspeakable sadness; for it was the Stars and Stripes that floated over Morris Island, Pulaski, and Fort Delaware."
PUBLIC TOURS - INTERPRETIVE PROGRAM.
FEDERAL GARRISON
Public will see fully garrisoned fort. One company on guard duty, with sentries posted, for 24-hr shift. Off-duty company has periods of drill and instruction, and periods of free-time (baseball, etc).
CONFEDERATE PRISONERS
Public will see the prison with officers performing daily POW activities.
During public hours (10am-5pm), a highly organized interpretive program will be guiding visitors through the fort. The program will consist of a number of scripted vignettes stationed throughout the fort, showing some key episodes of the Immortal Six-Hundred. Visitors will be collected and briefed on the IM600 history before their tour, and debriefed after. The groups will be lead by experienced docents in period dress. The vignettes are all using "fourth wall" interpretive techniques, where the visitors observe the happenings in a room as if the fourth wall has disappeared. The visitors see the participants; participants DO NOT see the visitors. The docent sets the stage, the visitors see the vignette, the docent leads the group to the next station. Think of this technique as the one used by Dickens in "The Christmas Carol"; Spirits lead Ebenezer to observe phases of his life, but Ebenezer could only communicate with the Spirit.
While the groups walk between vignettes, they will see the fort garrisoned with soldiers performing all aspects of daily activities. The last vignette is the prison, where the group is led into and through the prison casemates. They will see the prisoners at close hand, seeing the whole spectrum of prison activities. As far as ALL participants are concerned, participants do not see, or interact with, the visitors. That is the docent’s job. The visitors will be told this before they enter the fort.
In between group tours, visitors have free range of the fort. If they have a question, they will be directed to the nearest costumed interpreter (one of the Ladies). After the fort closes to the public, all post activities will continue.
Program Stops - Vignettes
1. Introduction - Sally Port
2. Temptation of Capt.Hempstead, VA Inft, to take the oath of allegiance by visiting Gov.Stone, of Iowa - Officer's Quarters
3. Mess Hall activities
4. Mrs.Brown's intercession on behalf of Lt.Murray, 10th VA Cav, to have a letter posted. - Cmdg. Officers Qtrs.
5. Reprimand of Col.Brown by Maj.Gen.Foster, for not enforcing retaliation policies - Casemate # 40.
6. Confederate prison - Casemates #18-20.
7. Debriefing/Questions - Parade Ground/Casemate #15.
Vignettes:
Introduction
Lt. Joslyn, turns group over to Docent, who enters the Fort, traveling in a clock-wise direction.
Tempation of Hempstead
Gov. Stone – Charlie Lemons
Lt.Hempstead – TBD
All the prisoners knew the one way out of their plight was to take the oath of allegiance. Among the Six Hundred existed an unspoken stubbornness to suffer rather than surrender principles and duty.
On 29 Dec 1864, a steamer docked at the Fort Pulaski wharf, and disembarked its important visitors` one of whom was the Honorable William M. Stone, newly elected Governor of Iowa. He was accompanied by a correspondent of the Dubuque Daily Times. Stone and his entourage had taken time from his eastern journey to review Iowa troops at Hilton Head, and pay a visit to Lt. Junius Hempstead, prisoner of war. The visit was a special request from a fellow Iowan, concerned about the former governor’s son. The journalist reported his mission to readers in Dubuque as follows:
After eight days’ visiting among the Iowa troops in Gen. Sherman’s grand army, I left Savannah, this morning at 4 o’clock. . . The immense Fort which Gilmore so splendidly reduced is in full view, being not more than a mile distant, I should guess. On going up quite a party of us staid over night at the Fort. Governor Stone was along, and having been so requested asked to see Lt.Hempstead of the Rebel Army, now a prisoner of war.. . He is as many of your readers know a son of Ex-Governor Hempstead of your city, where he received “a bringing up” which must have been somehow vicious, or he would not be in his present predicament. He was comfortably clothed and in good health. He talked an hour or so with the governor and other gentlemen who had been in the Army, and was very communicative about Rebel affairs. He has refused to take the oath of allegiance to the United States. He is quite young. . . but seems to have good sense enough. The Company blamed rather his education, than himself for the fact of his having taken up arms against his country, therefore ruining himself in the estimation of all right thinking men.
Capt. Henry Dickinson:
Governor Stone of Iowa arrives. Sent for Lt.Hempstead, 25th VA, son of ex-governor of Iowa, and begged him to take the oath. Brown added his persuasions. Hempstead nobly refused.
Upon his return to the casemate prison, Junius Hempstead received a rousing applause.
The strict vow not to take the oath under any circumstances remained a cohesive factor, and each loyal officer found strength in his companions’ support. During their whole imprisonment as the Six-Hundred, only 17 men took the oath before the end of the war.
Mess Hall
Mrs. Lewis, chief cook
Intercession of Mrs.Brown
Mrs.Brown – Tammy Cleaveland
Col.Brown – John Cleaveland
Capt.Murray – TBD
Capt. J.Ogden Murray, 11th VA Cav.:
One day, in a fit of desperation, I wrote Colonel Brown a note, asking him to grant me an interview. To my surprise, on the following day he granted it. A sergeant conducted me to his office quarters. The Colonel received me politely. I told him I had an uncle in St.Louis who would gladly aid me with money if I were allowed to communicate with him. His reply was, “Sir, I, personally, would be glad to grant your request; but I am sorry indeed I can not, under my orders, do so. I am powerless.” For a few moments he left the office. The lady who had been present during the interview was Colonel Brown’s wife. Turning to me she said, “Write your draft on your uncle; you shall have the money.” This kind, noble lady gave me, as I left the office, a paper containing two large slices of bread, butter, and ham. I took them to my sick comrade, Billy Funk.
Reprimand of Col.Brown
Col. Brown – John Cleaveland
Maj. Burger, Adjt.Gen – Chuck Warnick
Colonel Brown had been largely responsible for the exchanges of 31 men on December 14, 1864. In the Charleston Daily Courier a letter appeared, addressed to Colonel Brown. It was merely a small notice to convey appreciation for humane treatment and civilized behavior, signed by six officers who had experienced such. Colonel Brown was of course at Fort Pulaski, and knew nothing of the letter, until a few days later when he received a reprimand from Major General Foster’s headquarters on Hilton Head Island. The scathing letter informed Brown that he had been notified of the correct treatment of the prisoners repeatedly and they were not to be exchanged or given full rations.
Confederate prison
Docent slowly leads the group through the prison, allowing the visitors to observe the activities of the prisoners.
Debriefing/Questions
Lt. Joslyn and Docent