This is interesting and something of which I had never heard. Thanks to a link from Jenny’s Draw the Sword Blog blogroll, I took a little Web-trip to the Cordori family site and found this interesting page about George J. Codori. If you are familiar with the Civil War, the Codori name should quickly ring a bell… the farm being on memory-worthy ground on the Gettysburg battlefield.
I had no idea that Confederates took some Gettysburg civilians (apparently seven men from the Gettysburg area… the other six being J. Crawford Gwinn, Alexander Harper, William Harper, Samuel Sitzer, George Patterson, George Arendt AND Emanuel Trostle) from their homes and put them in POW camps in the South (I’m not sure, however, that the word “hostages” can be applied to the situation, because there is no mention of anything like a ransom), but it seems the proof is in the story of George J. Codori. Be sure to read the page completely.
While not qualifying for my Southern Unionists Chronicles blog, clearly a “forgotten” atrocity against Northern civilians committed by Confederates. It certainly adds something to my “If the shoe was on the other foot” post.
Speaking of “forgotten,” I just added “Civil War ‘forgetfulness’” as a category.
Update #1 – From this site, it looks like Emanuel Trostle (with the middle initial of “G”) was born ca. 1839 and was a soldier. However, he can’t be found in the Soldiers & Sailors database. There is am “Emanual H. Trostle,” but the regiment (184th Pa. Inf.) in which this man served was not organized until May 1864.
Update #2 – Since the link that I found for Trostle raised some questions regarding the possibility that some of the seven men may have been soldiers, I checked the Soldiers and Sailors database again.
Conclusion… (well, not necessarily. I do want to know why they were taken by the Confederates and held in POW camps for 22 months) there is a “George Arendt” in the database roster, but he is in a 90 day regiment that was formed in 1861 (and mustered out by July 1861), and I’m not even sure this is the same man. Furthermore, database matches are also plentiful for the names “William Harper” (27 entries) and “George Patterson,” (24 entries) but there is no way for me to tell if any of these men are from among the seven civilians taken by the Confederates from Gettysburg.
Update #3 – This thing just continues to draw my interest. I realized that the link about Trostle states that he was held at Libby Prison, while the link about Codori shows he was held at Salisbury, N.C. (apparently being the next stop after some time in Libby). I found a website that focuses specifically on Salisbury as a POW camp, but not much there to help. I did find that a Maryland civilian (see Bean, E.H.… this may have been Edward H. Bean of Harford Co., Md. If so, he was in his mid-40s at the time of the war) was held and died there, but also noticed that the dates of death are all wrong (1902). I also found this link which mentions, among many other things, the “From the Prison Pen, Schuylkill County Soldiers and Civilians in Rebel Prisons” presentation made in September.
Update #4 - According to another obit for Emanuel G. Trostle, it appears the first obit I found was wrong…
Source, Gettysburg Times, September 26, 1914:
EMANUEL G. TROSTLE – Stricken with Heart trouble, form which he was a sufferer for some years, Emanuel G. Trostle, of Cashtown, one of the town’s oldest and best known citizens, died Tuesday morning, aged 75 years, 9 months and 14 days. He was found by his wife, who was awakened as her husband fell across the side of the bed. Mr. Trostle was in the habit of getting up during the night, when troubled with shortness of breath, and it was in a moment of this kind that he received the fatal attack. He was dead when Mrs. Trostle reached his side. Mr. Trostle was not a veteran of the Civil War, but was taken along with a number of other Adams County residents by the Confederates army. He was sent to Libby Prison and there served as nurse. Later he was put into Castle Thunder prison and remained there until his ultimate release, after a period of twenty-two months in both places. He conducted a shoemaker establishment in Cashtown for a number of years, prior to which he was engaged at farming. Surviving him are his wife, one son, Harry [McClellan] Trostle, of Highland township; and two daughters, Mrs. I. D. Mickley, of Cashtown, and Mrs. William Carbaugh, of Highland township. Funeral Thursday at 1 P. M. Services in the Cashtown Reformed church. Interment in Evergreen Cemetery, Gettysburg.
Emanuel George Trostle was born Dec. 1, 1838, in Gettysburg, a son of Henry Trostle and Jane Pitzer. He was baptized on Feb. 27, 1839 in St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Gettysburg. He was a shoemaker and farmer by trade. He died on Sept. 22, 1914 and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg on Sept. 24.
Update #5 – Continued in this post on 12/3/08.
caswain01
December 2, 2008
You are familiar with the story of the Immortal 600?
What prompted that move by the Federals? Several Federal officers, among them BG Alexander Shaler (led a Brigade in VI Corps at Gettysburg), were held under the Union Guns bombarding locations around Charleston, SC.
We seem to forget neither side was exactly “clean” with regard to conduct during this war. Yet, there are some out there today who’d have you believe the treatment of the 600 Confederates was an unprecedented act (some even contending it was a war crime!).
cenantua
December 2, 2008
Hi Craig…
Yup, familiar…
One of the Immortal 600 (Confederate prisoners placed by the Federals under “friendly” Confederate fire) was Capt. Erasmus Lee Bell, Co. K, 10th Va. Inf. (a 1st cousin, 4 times removed)…
AND
Bvt. Brig. Gen. William Andrew Robinson (a third cousin, five times removed), formerly of the 77th Pa. Inf., was a one of the POWs who was placed by Confederates under “friendly” Union fire, and as you mention, the root reason behind the “immortality” of the 600…
Fifty Union officers (five brigadier generals, eleven colonels, twenty-five lieutenant colonels, and nine majors) had been transported from Macon, Ga. to Charleston to, as the Charleston Mercury put it, “share the pleasures of the bombardment… These prisoners we understand will be furnished with comfortable quarters in that portion of the city most exposed to the enemy’s fire.” However, the Union officers had no idea that they were being placed in Charleston as pawns of war, and would be subjected to friendly fire. For more info, see this report by Union Maj. Gen. Foster. Lonnie R. Speer also wrote about it in War of Vengeance: Acts of Retaliation against Civil War POWs (see portions of the book that discuss this incident here). Ultimately, the entire episode of the two sides using POWs was one of the examples of how low officers from both sides could sink to achieve different goals.
Neither side came out of the war with lilly white innocence.
Michael Aubrecht
December 2, 2008
Great post Robert. I NEVER knew of this event (although I was VERY familiar with some of the names of course.)
I just posted a related piece that shows the ‘other side’. Enjoy.
http://www.pinstripepress.net/PPBlog/index.blog/1348996/they-did-it-too/
cenantua
December 2, 2008
Thanks Michael! While the “atrocities against civilians” in the South seem to abound, it appears that the similar atrocities against Northerners at the hands of Confederates are “under-remembered.” Looks like something that merits more investigation. Note also my link to an earlier post discussing the atrocities at Chambersburg, Pa. and Hancock, Md., where women, children and even men of the cloth were all impacted.
Richard Williams
December 3, 2008
Under-remembered because there weren’t near the number, nor severity. I don’t think there’s any real comparison.
cenantua
December 3, 2008
I don’t know how it seems so easy to make assumptions about a group of people (northerners who experienced atrocities) when one isn’t familiar with them or their experiences. In this case, you are making assumptions (specifically why their experiences are “under-remembered”) about Northern civilians and their experiences that you can’t back-up. You are also under-rating the severity of their experiences as they felt them and wrote about them.
As for “weren’t near the number,” of course not… because the mass of soldiers wasn’t in the North nearly a fraction of the time it was in the South. So, it is correct to say that one cannot list the number of atrocities committed against Northern civilians (at the hands of Confederate soldiers) side-by-side with the number of atrocities against Southern civilians (at the hands of Union soldiers). Well, one can do it, but they aren’t going to equal one-another, incident by incident. But that’s not my point.
My point is that Confederates were not only capable of “less than honorable” actions, but were engaged in activities that were not at all conforming to the standard of gentlemanly conduct so often blanketed as a generalization upon the Confederate soldier (for example, how many under this line of “thinking” would ever imagine that a Confederate from McCausland’s cavalry would/could ever possibly think of taking (aka “stealing”) a watch of a Catholic clergyman (aka “a man of the cloth”) on, of all days, a SUNDAY!). As I said in my post about Chambersburg, Bradley Johnson was appalled by the conduct of the Confederates in the incident. He clearly stated that, in this brief raid, he witnessed (and these are Johnson’s exact words) “Every crime in the catalogue of infamy has been committed, I believe, except murder and rape.” Johnson also reported “Highway robbery of watches and pocket-books was of ordinary occurrence; the taking of breast-pins, finger-rings, and earrings frequently happened. Pillage and sack of private dwellings took place hourly.”
I find it most amazing that as an organized body of men, with senior Confederate officers present, that this incident (and a number of incidents along the way, as in the case of Hancock, Md) still occured with, apparently, no repercusions to the men who engaged in less than gentlemanly conduct. Yet, it happened and is documented. Considering what has been documented (even by Confederates themselves) of this incident, if the Confederate army was able to sustain itself for any period longer in lands across the Mason-Dixon line, it’s hard to say with any degree of certainty what else might have occured.
Richard Williams
December 3, 2008
All points well-taken Robert, but there is no comparison to what took place in the South and the attitude (overall) that the competing armies had toward civilians. Also, compare Lee’s orders and comments to Sherman’s and Sheridan’s.
The Union Army was an invading, offensive Army and the Confederates, even when going North, were in a defensive mindset. Huge difference.
cenantua
December 3, 2008
You are actually moving farther from my focus here; the focus being on the actions of the soldiers. Nonetheless, how would Lee look upon the taking of the seven civilians? He probably didn’t even know about it. More importantly, considering Lee’s orders as issued, how does the taking of the seven civilians as an action reflect upon the the men in the way that they interpreted or failed to follow Lee’s orders?
Also, “the Union army was an invading, offensive army” – yes, to some, but most certainly not to everyone in the South. Ditto for some in the North (but as Lee realized, his entrance into Maryland didn’t nearly result in the jubilation that he expected). So, was not the Confederate army seen as invading and offensive to Northerners in the Maryland and Gettysburg Campaigns, and especially the raid on Chambersburg? As seen from accounts of civilians in Clear Spring, Md. (the home of my my western Maryland Moore ancestors), sure scared the heck out of them in all three “invasions.”
Defensive mindset of an army or not, at the experienced level of the civilians upon which the actions were committed… these actions specifically are the focus of concerns (as seen by the civilians) and my point in this series of posts.
As I already mentioned, there is no doubt that they occured much more often in the South and I’ve already made that clear. However, if we’re going to tell the story of “atrocities against civilians,” let’s be sure to tell all of it. We should not ignore (conveniently or not) the actions of Confederates against Northern civilians.
Robert Moore
December 3, 2008
Richard,
I’d like to add that we should no more ignore the atrocities against northern civilians, in the big scheme of Civil War atrocities against civilians, than we should ignore the experiences of Confederate POWs in the big scheme of the experiences of Civil War POWs. What purpose is served by telling only one side of the overall story?
Richard Williams
December 3, 2008
“Nonetheless, how would Lee look upon the taking of the seven civilians?”
Severely, I would have to assume.
“He probably didn’t even know about it.”
I agree.
“More importantly, considering Lee’s orders as issued, how does the taking of the seven civilians as an action reflect upon the the men in the way that they interpreted or failed to follow Lee’s orders?”
Poorly.
cenantua
December 3, 2008
Considering all of your answers, in each instance we are left with nothing certain and can only assume… and so begins the quest of an historian to see if an answer can be found or, at the very least, if we can’t shed more light on the matter to provide us with a clearer understanding.
Like I said, seven civilians were taken by the Confederate army. Why? We don’t know yet, but it would be nice to try to find an answer. Likewise, it is important to know why, even though, by comparison, a smaller number of instances occured than in the case of Union activities against Southern civilians, Confederates committed these atrocities against Northern civilians.
Bill Codori
January 12, 2009
Hi cenantua
Thanks for posting the information on Jean George Codori, My GG grandfather, and also for posting the link to our family web site. I will read more on your blog later but I did want to point out one error you posted Dec 2nd 2008. You have made a very common mistake by adding the extra R to our family name it is spelled Codori….only one R in the name.
Thanks again for your blog.
Bill
cenantua
January 12, 2009
Thank you Bill, and thanks for commenting. Is there anything more about the story of your GG Grandfather’s being taken prisoner, from the time he was taken, until his return? Thanks again! Robert
Bill Codori
January 12, 2009
Hi Robert
Sorry to say there is nothing more I could add to but there is a mention of George in a book by Pam Newhouse about the head stone for George at: http://codorifamily.com/codoris_1.htm The full book is on the site but it deals more with the family and farm than battle history.
Bill
cenantua
January 14, 2009
Bill,
Too bad. I’m still trying to figure out if stories are floating out there somewhere for the rest of the civilians captured and sent South by the Confederates.
Again, however, many thanks for writing.
Bill Codori
January 14, 2009
Hi Robert
George Jean Codori died only a week after being returned to Gettysburg form his 14 month stay. On his return home he came down with pneumonia and died as a result of that.
I think a bigger tragedy than the civilians taken hostage would be the free blacks that lived in Gettysburg but were taken away to be reinslaved in the south. I’m sure they weren’t counted as civilian hostage.
Bill
cenantua
January 14, 2009
Bill, I think both sets of “seizings” by the Confederates is significant and has largely been forgotten. The taking of white civilians seems to have been forgotten more than the taking of the free blacks. While the number of atrocities against Northern civilians doesn’t compare to the number against Southern civilians, I still believe this is very important in our understanding of the war and what Confederate soldiers were equally capable of doing… and did! It’s truly something beyond the ability of some folks to accept as believable, even today.
cenantua
January 14, 2009
Bill,
Have you seen this post that I wrote in December about the seizing of free blacks in the Gettysburg Campaign?
Bill Codori
January 14, 2009
Hi Robert
Their story and struggle deserve more exposure. Thanks for the link, I’ll be doing more reading tonight.
Bill
Eric Peterson
February 15, 2009
Great subject but some of the readers are focusing on north vs. south when the real issue is soldiers vs. civilians. There are countless instances of Wheeler’s Hardee’s and Beauregard’s men preying on the citizens of Georgia bothe beofre and after Sherman’s two columns moved through on their way to Savannah.
One farmer near Social Circle sold his horses to the Union Army and stated,”I may as well sell them to y’all as let the Confederate Army have them for free!”
There are also numerous accounts of civilians complaining to federal troops of atrocities committed upon them by the very army that was supposed to be protecting them. They often asked the Union troops to post guards on their property when they left.
So if we are going to match atrocity for atrocity maybe we also need to to include southern civilians that were harmed by confederate troops. And let’s not let the home guard off the hook either.
cenantua
February 16, 2009
Thanks for commenting Eric,
It doesn’t take long to realize that Southern civilians suffered quite a bit under the hand of some of their own people in gray, whether Southern Unionists or not. As you point out, there are plenty of stories out there, they just need to be brought back to the attention of those who want to lay all the blame on the Union soldiers.