During another trip to the Library of Congress, I found myself looking through the papers of John Joseph Craven, the physician who tended to Jefferson Davis for about a year of his imprisonment in Fortress Monroe. It was a rather small collection, majority of the documents in it being letters sent from Craven to his wife in the late 1850s. There were, however, a few hidden gems that were just waiting for me to find.
The first three fragments worth mentioning came from Craven’s Fort Monroe Diary. The documents were torn pieces of paper that appeared to be ripped out of the diary. Nonetheless, they contained small pieces of interesting information. The first was dated the 24th, no month or year, and read as follows:
“I found this morning on entering Mr. Davis’s cell the ground had been removed, and for the first he was eating alone he was eating his breakfast. He expressed himself pleased with the change and remarked that he had passed a delightfull night without disturbance. He complained of his eyes and a throbbing pain off to the back of his head and neck and said he wished me to give it particular attention for he had the same [headache] last year at Richmond and it was followed by a very severe illness.”
The second, also dated the 24th, no month or year, reads as follows:
“Major General Miles came in … and announced to Mr. D. that we was to be allowed one hour each day in the open air and miscellaneous reading.”
The third, dated June 9, detailed a conversation between Davis and Craven about oysters (of all things!). This particular document was especially difficult to read; Craven’s handwriting was so sloppy that even the handy Cam Scanner could not make some of the words clearer to read.
Dr. John Joseph Craven, courtesy of the Library of Congress
Another rather interesting find I discovered, coupled with the Confederate one dollar bill that was featured in the previous post, was a letter from Clement Clay to Craven on April 7, 1866, with the header “In prison, Fort Monroe.” The letter reads as follows:
“My dear sir, this will in honor my friend, Dr. J.J. Craven of New Jersey, M.D., who was my physician during the first [few] months of my imprisonment here. He is a gentleman and I am indebted to him for many kindnesses and courtesies. I commend him to your favorable consideration.”
This especially stuck out to me. Clement Clay was a name that kept appearing in almost every secondary source on the Davis imprisonment and trial. More to come on Clay in the next blog!
The last intriguing piece I found in the Craven papers was a letter written to him from friends of Davis, dated 6 February 1866:
“Dear Sir, A report has reached us that you are about the exchange the position you now hold in the Fortress for another medical office in connection with the Freedman’s Bureau. As friends of Mr. Davis personally, feeling a deep solicitude for his welfare and comfort, and gratefully appreciating the kindness and attention extended to him by yourself whenever consistent with your official position and duty, we would respectfully solicit your good offices to secure for Mr D. from your successor (in the event of your removal a continuation of the courtesies he has received at your hands.) We are also extremely desirous of doing whatever may be permitted us to alleviate his condition …. We are ignorant of the nature and extent of the restrictions imposed on his case, and will be glad to be informed whether articles intended for his comfort or convenience will be permitted to reach him from his friends.”
Though a very small collection, I was extremely happy with what I found!
To wrap up my days at the Library of Congress, I began sifting through the William Oland Bourne papers. Bourne, through his publication The Soldier’s Friend, sought to aid disabled veterans by offering prizes to those who had lost their right arm during the war and learned to write with their left hands. I went through the first two folders of Series 1 and pinpointed two essays that were especially fascinating to me. The first was written by William Penn Sands, dated 15 August 1865:
“The sudden disbanding of our mighty army, has also tested the value of Republican Institutions. Many a patriotic heart was fearful, that the [paltering] of so many myriads of men, unused for years to the routine of citizen life, might result in turmoil and commotions, at home. But the intelligence of our Army has been equal to the emergency. And the quietude with which a million of veteran soliders, have laid aside their arms, and renewed the peaceful vocations of life, causes a new wonder …. This great work, together with the reconstruction of the disorganized states, will demand the most earnest, and devoted, attention of our legislators. The transition state through which we are passing, is fraught with many dangers, and we should see that the ship of State is manned only, with true and tried officers.”
The second essay was written by Ezra D. Hiltz, dated 26 August 1865:
“Let the people of the South learn from the “error of their way” and swear allegiance to the government and we will extend to them the “right hand of fellowship” and welcome them back beneath the folds of the old Flag. But I would not pardon rebels, especially the leaders, until they should first kneel in the dust of humiliation and show by their deeds that they sincerely repent. I fear our President is too lenient. Justice should be done to the perpetrators and leaders of the wicked rebellion. The tens of thousands of our brothers who were starved in Andersonville and other prison pens in the South cry from the ground for justice. Our work is not yet finished. We must build schoolhouses and educate the masses in the principle of eternal truth and liberty, and this will form a basis of our government as from as the everlasting hills. We must elect loyal men to fill places of trust: our public men – our rulers must be men who will work for the good of the whole country, and the interest of the people instead of working to gratify their own selfish ambitions. They must possess wisdom, honesty and decision. Then will the nation continue to prosper and be exalted for truly “righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”
I only scratched the surface with the soldier essays in the Bourne papers, and will continue to pour over them on my next research visit to the Library of Congress!
Jeff Davis, A Sour Apple Tree, and Treason: Fear in the Post-Civil War North 