Olde Colony Civil War Round Table, Part 5

Go back to the home page, click below.
Olde Colony Civil War Round Table

Would anyone want to help this Confederate Navy Sailor to go home?

Continue on Lieutenant Edward J. Johnston, CSN

On Lieutenant Edward J. Johnston, CSN

Subject: Re: TIME LINE
Date: Tue, Mar 5, 2002, 10:02 PM
I meet with Col. Otto on Monday, March 11 to discuss in general terms the arrangements for the disinterment of Lt. Johnston's remains and removal of the gravestone. Based on your timeline, he may have received the required documentation from Ben by next Monday and he can tell me if all is in order and any specific requirements to be followed and what sort of ceremony might be appropriate at that time. (The Massachusetts Commissioner of Veterans Services -- a CMH recipient during the Vietnam War and a US Navy Captain -- acting on behalf of the Governor and/or the Dept. of Defense, will make an official statement turning over/releasing the POW from his imprisonment in the Commonwealth to either or both Ben and/or a representative of the Confederacy.) Also I have referred the Commander of the New England Chapter of the SCV to John Adams. He contacted me and indicated that the New England SCV wish to participate in whatever ceremonies might be held at Fort Devens. I will pass on to all of you whatever Col. Otto has to say about the subject. I assume that you folks will determine the content of the disinterment ceremony (e.g., Who should participate? Should a chaplain be present to say a blessing over the remains? Will a Confederate honor guard place a National Flag on his casket and carry his remains to the hearse? Will there be a military salute or a bugle call? etc.) Our Department has already had indications that there will be State and perhaps National press coverage with TV and newspaper reporters and cameramen present so a ceremony of some sort has to be planned. I'll do what I can to help you at this end with whatever arrangements you want to make. Bob Hall

Subj: Re: Edward J. Johnston, CSN
Date: 3/10/2002 9:02:50 PM Eastern Standard Time
To: Gordonkwok@aol.com, Greetings and thank you for sending this information. This is a very nice gesture for your group to do and is much appreciated. I too feel he would be properly buried next to his wife in Fernindina. I have a copy of Johnston's wife's pension appl. here in file. I am a member of several Naval SCV camps, one of which is the Stephen R. Mallory Camp in Pensacola, Florida which includes membership in the Florida Division. Time permitting, I would like to attend the reburial ceremony in my CSN Captains uniform. Will put a link to your page under Johnston's grave image. Please keep me informed. Thanks again. Regards,
John E. Ellis, Founder, Confederate States Navy Research Center, Mobile, Alabama.
Confederate States Navy Research Center / Ft. Warren

Subj: Update on Lt. Johnston
Date: 3/12/2002 6:03:45 PM Eastern Standard Time
Ben Korbly: This is an update for you, but I've also addressed it to a few others who might have a need to know. You are certainly free to forward it to others who you feel should be alerted also. Yesterday, after visiting and photographing Lt. Johnston's grave (which had the first flag of the Confederacy flying over it) I met with Col. Otto and others of his staff. They were extremely receptive to your wishes and stressed their desire to assist in transferring your great-grandfather's remains with the utmost dignity and respect. I indicated to them that you wished to have the transfer made in the early autumn and they suggested that the move should be completed prior to October 15. So any date you want to set for late September or early October is acceptable to the Army. Col. Otto indicated there would be no red tape or delays on his part in approving your written request along with the affidavits to move Lt. Johnston on receiving them from you. (I don't think you need be concerned about locating every last possible descendent, either.)
It was requested that the undertaker who is coming up from Georgia speak by telephone with Debbi Charboneau about the arrangements that have to be made. She is the Army's Installation Services Officer who oversees the cemetery and has been designated by the Colonel as the point of contact at Fort Devens. She has a toll-free number the undertaker can use if he wants to call: 1-888-871-5638 x3074/3899, or someone (John Adams? Dana Chapman?) should contact Debbi and give her the name and phone number of the undertaker so she can contact him. The specific arrangement is that the disinterment of the remains has to be done the day before the scheduled "disinterment ceremony." The Army's designated "gravedigger" is a civilian contractor for the Army and there will be a charge for his services estimated at between $500 and $1,000 that the SCV will have to pay. (I was told he accepts credit cards.) Here's what he has to do: 1.) The day before the disinterment ceremony, the gravestone which weighs about 1,000 lbs. has to be lifted from atop the grave along with the 4 granite pillars on which it sits and wrapped in quilts or padded or boxed and placed in a truck (provided, I assume, by the FL or GA SCV) to be transported back to FL. 2). Once the stone has been removed, the "gravedigger" plumbs the ground using push rods to locate the casket or box containing your Great-grandfather's remains. (There is some speculation that he may have been buried in a metal box). 3.) Once located, the metal box or the remains are placed in a new box or casket provided by the undertaker. The new box is then carefully arranged in the open grave for removal the following day. This is felt to be much more dignified and respectful rather than having a crowd gathered around while all of that heavy work takes place. 4.) After the hearse leaves, the gravedigger is responsible for closing the now empty grave.
Ben, I retire from the Department of Veterans Services this Friday, March 15 but I will continue working for the Department on this project until next fall when Lieutenant Johnston is returned home to his wife and family. Bob Hall

Subj: APPROXIMATE DATES FOR DISINTERMENT & REBURIAL OF LT. JOHNSTON
Date: 4/9/2002 10:23:51 PM Eastern Daylight Time
As Lt. Johnston died on October 14, 1863, a disinterment date of October 14, 2002 (Columbus Day Holiday) seems appropriate. The Southern folk have told me the undertaker from GA should arrive around October 12 and, as the actual disinterment actually takes place in private the day before the ceremony, depending on when he arrives and the remains are disinterred, the following day is when the ceremony will take place. (In other words, folks don't have to stand around waiting for the grave to be opened and the remains located. That will all take place the day before.) The date of the ceremony should be firmed up by late spring or early summer. Burial in Fernandina, FL is scheduled for either October 26 or October 28 and I've been asked to be one of the escorts on the CSS Bell carrying the remains from Jacksonville to Fernandina. Hope Joe Geden can make it as well. Also, the New England Chapter of the SCV will be actively involved in the ceremony at Fort Devens. Bob Hall

Subj: Fwd: RE: Photo - Confederate Prisoners at Fort Warren.
Date: 5/2/2002 7:27:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Terry Foenander
To: Gordonkwok@aol.com
Dear Gordon, The Florida State Archives seems uncomfortable about accepting the reasons why that photo could not include an image of Edward Johnston, and are not willing to change their caption. Their reply to me (together with my original message to them) is included below.
Seeing no other course of action, I have sent the message to Ed Milligan, Dave Sullivan and John Ellis, in the hope that they may assist me further in this matter.
If we are still unable to convince the Florida State Archives to change their caption, then there will be a confusion in the identities of the personnel in that image, as the copy held at the USAMHI includes the identities as shown in the PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY. I hope this can be resolved soon, so as not to confuse others who may view the image as shown at the Florida State Archives.
Surely there must be some record somewhere of the exact date that the photo was taken (I am convinced it was taken in early 1864), which will either prove or disprove that the officer in the shawl is Johnston. I am sure that the photographer was from Boston, and went to Fort Warren to record the photos on a particular winter day. He must have kept records or a diary, and perhaps they still exist in the local archives. I wonder if the Boston Archives have a copy of this image. Regards, Terry.

From: "Morris, Joan"
To: 'Terry Foenander'
CC: "'BGraetz@main.dos.state.fl.us'"
Subject: RE: Photo - Confederate Prisoners at Fort Warren.
Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 11:56:29 -0400

Dear Ms. Morris, Thank you for your prompt reply to my query about the image of the CONFEDERATE PRISONERS AT FORT WARREN. I do believe that on investigation you will find that the caption shown at your web site of that photo is incorrect, in stating that the officer with the shawl is Edward Johnston, for a couple of reasons. One reason, as I stated in my message yesterday, is that the PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR, volume 7, pages 133 and 135, indicate that that particular officer is in fact R.D. Crittenden. The United States Army Military History Institute, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, holds the glass negative of that view, and their copy includes the identities exactly as shown in the PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY. A message from the Photo Historian at the USAMHI which I received this morning indicates that the identities on their copy were in fact obtained directly from that volume. If you go to the following web site:
http://www.geocities.com/coh41/FtWarren.html
you will find a CDV image of R.D. Crittenden, and you will note that the resemblance to the officer wearing the shawl in your photo is uncanny, so I am certain it is the same person. Do you have the identities of the other officers shown in the photo, and if so, does it include CSN officer Richard H. Gayle? The image in volume 7 of the PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY identifies the officer standing at right, (next to the Union soldier with a rifle) and with his hands in his pockets and smoking a pipe, as Gayle. My books show that Edward Johnston died at Fort Warren in October, 1863, and also that Richard H. Gayle was captured and incarcerated at Fort Warren in November, 1863, so both officers could not be shown in the same photo. I do believe, that if the identity of Johnston was provided by the UDC, that it was incorrect. I have seen a message sent to another web site, relating to Edward Johnston, stating that the photo shows the only known image of Edward Johnston. Unfortunately the writer of that message went by the Archives identification of Johnston in that image, and was unaware that the officer in the shawl has been identified elsewhere as R.D. Crittenden. I do hope you will be able to clarify this soon, as I wish to advise several persons of the error of identity in your copy of the image. Regards, Terry.
P.S. Edward Johnston's remains will be exhumed from Fort Warren in October 2002, and returned to his home state of Florida, where he will be re-interred beside his wife.

Dear Mr. Foenander: I'm sorry but we cannot give you a definitive answer for the identification of Edward Johnston in the photograph on our web site. Bruce Graetz, a historian for the Museum of Florida History and knowledgeable Civil War researcher, brought up the photo for me to see this morning. The print was made, I would guess, in the 1900s or earlier. It is mounted on heavy gray board and framed. On the backing is written in pencil Mrs. Bond (We do not know the reason). On an attached index card is the identification of Edward Johnston as the man marked with an X in the photo. As I previously stated, the photo is on loan from the local UDC chapter. I am uncomfortable accepting the identification in Miller's Photographic History of the Civil War, not knowing where or how that identification was determined. I looked at v.7 and could find no source listed for the individual photos. And, I am not comforted by the fact that the U.S. Army Military History Institute, as owners of the original glass negative, took the identification from the Photographic History not the other way around. As to the resemblance of the Crittden CDV to the man in the shawl, I would say that while it is possible that they are one and the same, trying to make a positive identification at this late date is inconclusive. In my opinion, he bears nearly as much resemblance to the bearded man further to the right. I have advised our web site personnel to add a note to photo n046627 stating that the identification has been questioned, but unless we can obtain additional information as to where the identification in Miller's Photographic History was found I do not feel qualified to change our information. Sincerely,
Joan Morris, Florida Photographic Collection, Florida State Archives

Subj: Re: Photo - Confederate Prisoners at Fort Warren.
Date: 5/2/2002 9:36:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Gordonkwok
To: Terry Foenander
Dear Terry, I have exchanged emails with John Ellis. He said he might go to Fernandina in Confederate Navy Uniform on that day.

Confederate Vice-President Alexander Stephen paid tribute to Edward J. Johnston

Our Olde Colony in-house Ft Warren expert, Jack Zeletsky, knew of your Ft. Warren site. He told me he found some document that Alexander Stephen had paid tribute to Edward Johnston when Stephen was jailed in Ft . Warren at the end of the War. He also found record stating that the Confederate prisoners chipped in their money, $45 to buy a coffin for Johnston. He is still looking for the record on the cost of his tombstone.

I got some second hand information. The writer, Latrell Pappy Mickler, was related to Edward's wife, Virginia Pappy Johnston. She was researching the genealogy on Virginia's family tree. The little girl in the picture is Virginia Pappy Johnston's great granddaughter, Frances Rawls Bond, who married Charles Korbly. Their son, Ben Korbly, who is the closest living relative of Ed Johnston, is corresponding to Bob Hall. It is this Ben Korbly who gave permission to remove Edward's remains and ship back to Fernandina. I heard that it was Frances Rawls Bond Korbly who donated the pictures (1) Virginia Pappy Johnston and herself, Frances Rawls Bond (2) John Kent Johnston, son of Virginia Pappy Johnston and Edward J. Johnston, and grandfather of Frances Rawls Bond, to the Florida State Achieves.

Joan Morris, Florida Photographic Collection, Florida State Archives, wrote:
"On the backing is written in pencil Mrs. Bond (We do not know the reason)."

I will answer Ms. Morris's question: Edward J. Johnston and Virginia Papy Johnston had a son, John Kent Johnston, who married Frances Rawls. Their daughter, Letitia Rawls Johnston married Dr. Benjamin Johnson Bond in Leon County Florida, 15 Nov 1905. The "Mrs. Bond" is Letitia Rawls Johnston Bond, Edward Johnston's granddaughter. I presumed she donated the group picture with Ft. Warren as the background, and identified

"the x mark on the person on a shawl as Edward J. Johnston" came from this source.

I presumed that a granddaughter would know what her grandfather looked like, assuming that the fact would be re-assured by her parents (John Kent Johnston and Frances Rawls) and grandmother (Virginia Pappy Johnston).

Another theory: Letitia Rawls Johnston Bond might have made an error on the notation. So Terry, keep go on researching the truth based on your apprehension. Good luck. Regards, Gordon.

Subj: Edward Johnston at Fort Warren.
Date: 5/12/2002 6:30:14 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Terry Foenander
To: Gordon Kwok
Dear Folks, I am still in the process of trying to confirm the exact year that image (or both images of CS personnel at Fort Warren) was taken. I have contacted a number of people or sources in these attempts. At least two have sent replies, which are included below:

From Carroll J. Delery, May 7:

Dear Sir: The Photographer was J.W. Black, 123 Washington ST, Boston, From my memory I believe all the photos in the Preston album were taken by Black in 1864. I can remember none in 1863...I have two military photos from that album left. John Hipken Jr. taken March 7th, and Wm. W. Hahn taken March 12th. I do believe that there was in some instances weeks between the sessions. FYI I did have an officer identified as Crittendon in the album taken by Black in 1864. I gave permission to a fellow in Birmingham to publish the ablum on a website but I can't remember his name.Try looking up CSA Navy sites or Fort Warren.I am still trying to pin down the above CDV's I have as I feel Pipken was not in the CSA navy but served on a blockader. Hahn I believe is CSA. Hope this helps CJD

From the Massachusetts Historical Society, Friday 10 May:

Dear Terry, I am writing from the Massachusetts Historical Society with regards to your question about archival material on James Wallace Black (1825-1896). I checked all of our catalogs, and although we have some collections that include examples of Black’s photography, there are no listings for letters, diaries, or other manuscript material. Nor did I find anything on the national library catalog, OCLC. I did find reference to two published books related to Black. You may want to obtain these, to see if there are any helpful sources listed in the bibliography. Your local reference librarian can help you find the library closest to you that has these books, or perhaps obtain them for you through interlibrary loan. The publication information is below: Whipple and Black : commercial photographers in Boston / Sally Pierce et. al. Boston, Mass. : Boston Athenaeum : Distributed by Northeastern University Press The photographs of James Wallace Black : views of the ruins of the great fire in Boston, November, 1872, from the collection of the library of the Boston Athenaeum : catalogue and exhibition Williamstown, Mass. : Williams College Museum of Art, 1977 I hope this information is useful. Good luck with your research. Sincerely yours, Carrie Foley Assistant Reference Librarian Massachusetts Historical Society 1154 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02215

The gentleman from Birmingham mentioned in the first letter by Mr. Delery is George Wright, whose web site includes the various CDVs taken at Fort Warren, and which shows R.D. Crittenden whose CDV compares to his image as the one wearing the shawl. I am almost certain that the error was made by the donor of the image (Mrs. Bond) to the Florida State Archives, as it would have been more than 40 years after the photo was taken that it was donated to the FSA. Letitia Bond would not have been alive to have seen Edward Johnston (as she married in 1905) when he was alive before 1863. The photos at Fort Warren were taken at the height of the war by a Boston photographer, and Edward Johnston's relatives would not have seen the image until sometime later, perhaps years or decades, so time often clouds memories. Perhaps the gentleman with the shawl bore a slight resemblance to Johnston, and they may have decided that that was him.

I will still stick to the identities provided in the PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY, as they include the identities of all the CS personnel, whereas the FSA photo only includes the single identity of Johnston as provided by Mrs. Bond. Besides the CDVs at George Wright's web site compare favorably to the identities provided in the PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY, so I see no reason to doubt that particular source.

Meantime, I will continue trying to obtain concrete proof that the images were taken in 1864, which would certainly preclude the possibility that Johnston was amongst that group. Regards, Terry.

Subj: Fort Warren Prisoners.
Date: 5/15/2002 5:44:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Terry Foenander
Gordon, Here is the scanned image that was sent me by Dave Sullivan, showing a collage of photos of Fort Warren prisoners. Note the two images of a gentleman in checkered gown, with the name "Johnston" (or Johnson) inscribed above the image. He looks nothing like the gentleman in the shawl we are currently discussing. All the evidence (other than that one image held by the Florida State Archives) seems to point to the fact that the gentleman in the shawl is indeed R.D. Crittenden. If you check out that other reference I sent you yesterday (IMAGE OF WAR, volume 4, page 414), you will see another CDV of Crittenden, which, once again, resembles the gentleman in the shawl. If we take the Florida State Archives image as being the correct identification, then all the identities as shown in the PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY image are wrong, including the identity of Richard H. Gayle, since he could not have been in the same photograph as Edward Johnston. I am sure that some of those officers shown in the image would have been alive at the time of the publication of the PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY, and would most certainly have objected to their names being placed against an image if they were not in the image. On the other hand Edward Johnston was not alive to confirm that it was his image in that picture, and his widow, even if she identified his picture twenty years after it was taken, would have had her memory dimmed by the passage of time. What I am trying to suggest is that some time after the end of the war, perhaps one year later, or perhaps twenty or more years later, Johnston's widow may have seen mention somewhere that there were photos taken of the CS Prisoners at Fort Warren, and on looking at the image, may have just decided that Crittenden looked like her husband, and on having a copy of the image made for her own keeping, kept passing on this incorrect information to members of her family, including her daughter, who eventually wrote the inscription on her copy, prior to donating it to the local historical society. I think I would be more inclined to believe the identification given in the PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY, as, at the time of its publication, many of the veterans would have still been alive, and I am sure one or more of them were responsible for supplying the identification to the compilers and authors of the PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY. Please continue sending your thoughts as well, as we can only resolve this matter through such discussions, and perhaps further research. Regards, Terry.

Disclaimer

Olde Colony Civil War Round Table and its members played a role in assisting Edward J. Johnston to go home (from Massachusetts to Florida). When friends who knew of Johnston, from the South and Nationwide sent in information on Johnston, we placed them in the internet to tell the story for the benefit of the readers. Olde Colony CWRT is not responsible on the 100% accuracy of the information. Let the reader be aware. Thank you.

Continue to Olde Colony Civil War Round Table, Part 6, click below.
Olde Colony Civil War Round Table, Part 6

Go back to Olde Colony Civil War Round Table, Part 4, click below.
Olde Colony Civil War Round Table, Part 4

Go back to the home page, click below.
Olde Colony Civil War Round Table

Compiled by Webmaster: Gordon Kwok
email address: gordonkwok@aol.com
March 6, 2002
Updated on March 12, 2002