'The Prisoner'
Michael Corcoran sits in his prison cell wondering if he will live or die as the warring govenments play a deadly game of "bluff." Part 4 of 5.
By John J. Concannon
The jail conditions and treatment of Colonel Corcoran were so bad that Lieutenant Edward Connolly of the 69th, also a prisoner in the Charleston
jail, was moved to write to the 69th's Captain Kirker in New York,
requesting that the conditions of Colonel Corcoran's confinement and
treatment be brought before President Lincoln for immediate action.
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| Castle Pinckney in Charlestown harbor, from an old woodcut. |
In his letter, Connolly suggested: "That a public meeting be got up
immediately on behalf of the Colonel's case, demanding of the President
that protection that he so justly deserves, and requesting the government
to take immediate steps toward his liberation, for so sure as Smith, the
privateer, is executed, so sure will Colonel Corcoran be hanged. Nothing
short of the liberation of this man, Smith, will prevent the authorities
here from carrying out their threat and they seem to be determined on it.
"On second consideration I have concluded that perhaps it may now be
judicious to have Mr. O'Gorman, Judge Daly and yourself proceed immediately
to Washington to see the President and suggest that Smith be exchanged for
the Colonel. If the execution (of Smith) is postponed, it will make the
case little better, as the Colonel will be kept in close confinement in his
present quarters until Smith is disposed of, and his, or the strongest,
constitution would not endure the treatment that he is now subjected to.
"He is incarcerated in a felon's cell, six by eight feet, on the upper
story of this jail, no fire or heat of any kind to make the place anything
like endurable, and if suffered to remain there for any length of time I
fear, nay, I am confident, the result would prove fatal to him.
"I have written this without acquainting him, as I fear he would not allow
me to make any such appeal. He is in fine spirits and determined to meet
his fate like a true patriot. He is looked upon by all the officers and men
that are in confinement as a model patriot. He has never yet complained of
treatment he has received, although God knows he has had ample reason; nor
was he ever heard among the fault finders of our government for the course
they thought proper to take in connection with us, but when the voice of a secessionist was raised against our cause, then was he to be found prominent
amongst its defenders and that is probably the reason
he was selected as the first to suffer.
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"If such a man is to be hung, or suffered to remain here in a felon's cell
to die of disease, which he must inevitably engender (for those who have
better quarters here are fast fading; many are sick with typhoid fever),
the country will be deprived of the services of many a noble and patriotic
soldier."
Corcoran himself had a few words to say on his predicament. Though a
prisoner of war, he shared a cell in the Charleston city jail with
convicted criminals. He expected that at any day or hour he would be led
forth to his execution. In a letter of November 19, 1861, Corcoran wrote of
this dark time: "After all the privations and insults we have been subjected to since becoming prisoners of war, and at a time sufficient to allow the worst
passions to have been satisfied, we find we have yet another and worse
ordeal to pass through. We have been taken from Castle Pinkney and are now
in a common footing with the most depraved classes and locked up at night
like felons.
"I am condemned, but I have the consolation of knowing that I have been
selected with three captains and ten lieutenants to be executed as soon as
it may be ascertained that Smith at Philadelphia has suffered.
Neither the opportunity nor the time to accomplish the object for which I
held life most sacred having arrived—that of aiding to free my native land from the galling yoke of oppression under which she has been suffering for centuries—there could be no possible other cause for which I would be content to offer up my life than in the endeavor to maintain the glorious Flag which
has afforded a home and protection to me and my oppressed countrymen.
It was with the most perfect willingness to do this that I left New York,
watched for the approach of its enemies at Fort Corcoran, marched to and
met them at Manassas and, as fortune had not crowned us with success, I
made my last stand around that flag with very few, indeed, when from
necessity we were forced to surrender.
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Coutesy of Historical Art Prints.
The 69th NY fights to save it's regimental flag in the later stages of 1st Manassas, as painted by Don Troiani. |
"I hope and trust that my wife and all my friends will as cheerfully and
heroically submit to the necessity of my case as I do myself and assure all
that never in my life have I felt in better health or spirits.
I have much to say to you, but do not deem it expedient at this time to
write it to you, but in the event of my execution, I shall endeavor to have
a private letter which some of the boys may be able to deliver to you. I
must however state in justice to the manly hearts that beat in the breasts
of the rank and file of our fellow-prisoners that some means should be
adopted to have them exchanged, for no tongue can tell, nor
pen portray nor imagination conceive, what these poor fellows have
suffered during the last sixteen weeks.
Sincerely and affectionately yours,
Michael Corcoran
But this dark time passed and conditions changed for the better for
Corcoran, thanks to astute action by Congress. Senator Schuyler Colfax of
Indiana introduced a resolution recommending that one James M. Mason, a
Confederate envoy then imprisoned in Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, be given
the same treatment inflicted on Colonel Corcoran, unless Corcoran's
conditions of incarceration were bettered. Mason, a Virginian, was an
important figure in the Confederate government, and soon afterward
Corcoran was transferred from the Charleston city jail and restored to the position of an ordinary military prisoner.
The Confederates offered Corcoran a parole if he pledged not to take up
arms if released. Corcoran refused to so pledge. One of the first captured,
Colonel Corcoran had endured a long and unusually severe imprisonment.
Eventually, an exchange of prisoners was arranged between the United States
and the Confederate States. In mid-August 1862, Corcoran was released after
an imprisonment of 13 months.
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'The noble behavior of Corcoran in his long confinement and in his numerous trials endeared him to the American public.'
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President Lincoln immediately nominated Corcoran a brigadier general, dating the appointment from the Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861. Corcoran was now
one of the senior brigadier generals of the Volunteers, and he received one
year's full pay and allowances of a brigadier-general. Says biographer Coyle: "His romantic career, his long imprisonment, the success of his old regiment, now in the Irish Brigade, the noble behavior of Corcoran in his long confinement and in his numerous trials endeared him to the American public."
Irish Brigade historian Conyngham commented on the great change in the
attitude and feelings of the general populace toward General Corcoran, the
Irish as soldiers, and toward Britain. He wrote:
"All classes, without distinction, united with a heartiness, truly
inspiring, to do honor to a man (Corcoran) whose truly American patriotism
had subjected him to such dangers and privations, and whose well-known love
of Ireland had been the most permanent trait in his character. Corcoran was fully vindicated by subsequent events. "
Conyngham added: "The bitter hostility of England toward the Republic,
manifested in the actions of her politicians and the material aid given to
the Confederacy, justified his refusal in turning out to honor the Prince
of Wales, and showed the correctness of the Irish American sentiment
towards England."
On his way home to New York, General Corcoran was warmly received at every
stopover point. The throngs in Baltimore and Philadelphia were particularly
enthusiastic. Jersey City tendered him a public reception. He was met at
the Battery in New York City by thousands of citizens. They crowded the
streets and the windows of houses as the City's Common Council escorted him
to the St. Nicholas Hotel. He was pressured to make an address from the
balcony of the hotel and he did so. He told the overflow crowd that he would immediately recruit a fighting force and go to the front.
©2001 John J. Concannon
END OF PART 4
About the Author: Flushing, N.Y., resident John J. Concannon, narrowback@thewildgeese.com, is a former national historian of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. This series is derived from a monograph he wrote for the unveiling of a new gravestone for Michael Corcoran in 1990.
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