Lew Powell's Frostbitten Feet

[RJNorton]

According to Hartranft's letterbook, Lewis Powell had a female African American visitor at 10:00 A.M. on June 1, 1865. Do we know who that lady was and why she was visiting Powell?

[BettyO]

(08-24-2012 01:13 PM)Natty Wrote:  

(08-24-2012 12:30 PM)BettyO Wrote:  I wondered about that myself, Natty! Powell had the reputation of being the "Terrible Lewis Powell". I don't know what they meant here other than this - from what I heard.

Lewis had, along with Syd Ferguson and Cab Maddox single handedly in close hand to hand combat, captured Captain Richard Blazer and took him to Richmond to Libby Prison. Powell, at the Conspiracy Trial was remembered being seen by another officer at Libby when he was there. This was also about the same time that he was more or less meeting with officials in Richmond regarding his induction into the kidnap plot. It was stated that after the Blazer affair, that Powell did not go on many raids (probably because he was being coached by the Confederate SS) - at any rate, this could be why he didn't go on a raid; but apparently he did go on this a couple of raids and participated boldly! It was said that he was very quiet and thoughtful when he returned from Richmond. Mike Kauffman claims in American Brutus] that he thought Lew Powell was possibly "love sick" over the Branson girls -- this could be quite true as well, because he sure turned up on their doorstep right after he left Mosby!

Ah, yes - that would make sense. If he was receiving special training from the SS, his comrades would have gotten used to the idea that he was not going to be fighting.
The only thing that irritates me is the timeline. Blazer was captured in November of 1864, whereas the Dranesville incident occurred in February earlier that year. How could Lewis have been training for the CSS at that time already? Was he? He had just joined the Rangers the fall of the previous year, if I recall correctly - was he already chosen for the CSS in February of 1864?

Oh! Lewis as lovesick! That is a particularly endearing prospect - is it possible that he might have been a bit "lovesick" when he first joined the Rangers, perhaps seeming a bit distant and initially lacking enthusiasm?

Lewis could have been ill at Dranesville and did not fight -- I don't know....I do know that he was ill quite a bit with bouts of unspecified sickness. On June 30,at the battle of Gaines Mill he fought for one day and then was carted the 12 miles to Richmond where he spent over 3 months in the Florida Hospital (still standing) with illness. He was there until mid November 1862. The anthropologist who discovered Lew's noggin stated that he suffered apparently from chronic sinusitis. We do know that he had an attack of measles when he enlisted and was sent to the Camp of Instruction (boot camp) at Jacksonville, FL at the beginning of the war. This childhood illness turned ultimately into pneumonia from which he almost died. This could have also weakened his constitution. We don't know....He apparently began recruitment for the SS in November 1864 and then left for Baltimore on January 1, 1865. For all his hearty appearance, he appears to have been a somewhat frail lad constitutionally.

As for those girls -- we have yet to see. I know a bit more but can't divulge it yet. He also had a girlfriend in VA - so he DID get around a bit! Boys will be boys!

[Natty]

(08-24-2012 01:50 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  According to Hartranft's letterbook, Lewis Powell had a female African American visitor at 10:00 A.M. on June 1, 1865. Do we know who that lady was and why she was visiting Powell?

Betty would probably know best here - all I know is the mention of the African American women in Alias Paine, who mistook Lewis for Dan Murray Lee, whose Mammy she had been.
But her visit was listed in the book as on June 16th.

(08-24-2012 12:30 PM)BettyO Wrote:  Lewis could have been ill at Dranesville and did not fight -- I don't know....I do know that he was ill quite a bit with bouts of unspecified sickness. On June 30,at the battle of Gaines Mill he fought for one day and then was carted the 12 miles to Richmond where he spent over 3 months in the Florida Hospital (still standing) with illness. He was there until mid November 1862. The anthropologist who discovered Lew's noggin stated that he suffered apparently from chronic sinusitis. We do know that he had an attack of measles when he enlisted and was sent to the Camp of Instruction (boot camp) at Jacksonville, FL at the beginning of the war. This childhood illness turned ultimately into pneumonia from which he almost died. This could have also weakened his constitution. We don't know....He apparently began recruitment for the SS in November 1864 and then left for Baltimore on January 1, 1865. For all his hearty appearance, he appears to have been a somewhat frail lad constitutionally.

As for those girls -- we have yet to see. I know a bit more but can't divulge it yet. He also had a girlfriend in VA - so he DID get around a bit! Boys will be boys!

The sinusitis would have been as a result of his teeth, right? Dental infections can lead to all kinds of complications, even death, so this would not surprise me.
Yes, if Lewis was floundering in the health department and the others in the Rangers noticed it, they might have judged him as unfit for fighting duty. Lewis might have seemed under the weather, or generally weak due to chronic bouts of illness.

The other girlfriend was Betty Meredith, right? No, it does not surprise me that he quickly recovered from lovesickness due to the Bransons. A new pretty face would have provided ample amounts of distraction!

[MaddieM]

I think you're probably on target there. But as with most things such as this the real instigators are rarely caught, they're too smart to put themselves in the firing line. The driving force is an entity that never reveals itself. And if you get caught, they don't support you either. You're on your own.

---

(08-24-2012 01:56 PM)Natty Wrote:  

(08-24-2012 01:50 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  According to Hartranft's letterbook, Lewis Powell had a female African American visitor at 10:00 A.M. on June 1, 1865. Do we know who that lady was and why she was visiting Powell?

Betty would probably know best here - all I know is the mention of the African American women in Alias Paine, who mistook Lewis for Dan Murray Lee, whose Mammy she had been.
But her visit was listed in the book as on June 16th.

I think he denied knowing her, didn't he?

[BettyO]

(08-24-2012 01:27 PM)MaddieM Wrote:  

(08-24-2012 06:51 AM)BettyO Wrote:  According to Dr. Gillette, Lew didn't eat or drink a thing on the morning of the hanging - for obvious reasons. Lew had been a soldier, he had seen men die on the battle and he knew what happened. He didn't want to disgrace himself further by losing his bowels, etc. Enough said.

Yes, in the gallows photos you can see that Lew seems like a tall, very skinny kid! I would bet that this boy lost at least 20-25 lbs in prison making his weight thus about 150 - 155 lbs. Very thin for a young man of his frame - he was apparently large boned. I think that this in effect may have been the reason he strangled instead of having his neck broken humanely. Apparently Rath did not take into consideration the weight of his victims and the drops assigned to each.....

The drop was what? 5 feet or so? And they all had the same drop. If you were to compare body weights with the others would his have been that much lighter if you take into account his height? Also, he was a foot higher than the others, so his actual drop would have been a foot more than the others. it just strikes me that he was merely unlucky. It must have yanked at the neck in the most terrible way. The fact that he took so long to die, must be almost certainly his youth, muscular neck and healthy body. Five minutes is a long long time to hang there, and still be alive. From what I've read, he wanted to die for what he'd done, was resigned to it, and went to his execution with a spiritual strength that earned the respect of all present. But when your body is so young and vibrant, it's not going to let go of life easily.

It must have been excruciating witnessing that. The photos are bad enough.

There was also mention of him staring up at the sky as he was awaiting the rope. I imagine his thoughts would have been firmly with his family at that moment and perhaps wondering what was waiting for him on the 'other side'.

One of the most poignant things is that none of his family were present to comfort him. He seemed to have had nobody at that darkest time. one would have thought Maggie Branson might have paid a visit, if only to say goodbye.

---

(08-24-2012 01:13 PM)Natty Wrote:  

(08-24-2012 12:30 PM)BettyO Wrote:  I wondered about that myself, Natty! Powell had the reputation of being the "Terrible Lewis Powell". I don't know what they meant here other than this - from what I heard.

Lewis had, along with Syd Ferguson and Cab Maddox single handedly in close hand to hand combat, captured Captain Richard Blazer and took him to Richmond to Libby Prison. Powell, at the Conspiracy Trial was remembered being seen by another officer at Libby when he was there. This was also about the same time that he was more or less meeting with officials in Richmond regarding his induction into the kidnap plot. It was stated that after the Blazer affair, that Powell did not go on many raids (probably because he was being coached by the Confederate SS) - at any rate, this could be why he didn't go on a raid; but apparently he did go on this a couple of raids and participated boldly! It was said that he was very quiet and thoughtful when he returned from Richmond. Mike Kauffman claims in American Brutus] that he thought Lew Powell was possibly "love sick" over the Branson girls -- this could be quite true as well, because he sure turned up on their doorstep right after he left Mosby!

Ah, yes - that would make sense. If he was receiving special training from the SS, his comrades would have gotten used to the idea that he was not going to be fighting.
The only thing that irritates me is the timeline. Blazer was captured in November of 1864, whereas the Dranesville incident occurred in February earlier that year. How could Lewis have been training for the CSS at that time already? Was he? He had just joined the Rangers the fall of the previous year, if I recall correctly - was he already chosen for the CSS in February of 1864?

Oh! Lewis as lovesick! That is a particularly endearing prospect - is it possible that he might have been a bit "lovesick" when he first joined the Rangers, perhaps seeming a bit distant and initially lacking enthusiasm?

I've wondered if it might have been the gravity of this situation, rather than being love sick. Let's face it, romance would still be there at any time for him, but what he was involved in, or about to do, perhaps he was thinking about the impact that might have on his family, should they find out. And as it turned out, didn't he specifically say to one of his guards, 'Please don't tell my Mama what i've done. It would kill her.'

He may well have been pensive or introspective at that time, and I also suspect he was a deep thinker and quite sensitive. Had he been less so, I'm sure he would not have had the same deep level of regret at what he did later on.

I definitely agree! I think he was thinking about a lot of things. He was extremely young. He had his whole life ahead of him -- his home, his girlfriends and now the impact of doing a real man's job! If he succeeded - he thought he'd be lauded by the South -- and if he failed; he knew he was going to die. Heavy stuff for a 20 year old kid....

---

(08-24-2012 01:58 PM)MaddieM Wrote:  I think you're probably on target there. But as with most things such as this the real instigators are rarely caught, they're too smart to put themselves in the firing line. The driving force is an entity that never reveals itself. And if you get caught, they don't support you either. You're on your own.

---

(08-24-2012 01:56 PM)Natty Wrote:  

(08-24-2012 01:50 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  According to Hartranft's letterbook, Lewis Powell had a female African American visitor at 10:00 A.M. on June 1, 1865. Do we know who that lady was and why she was visiting Powell?

Betty would probably know best here - all I know is the mention of the African American women in Alias Paine, who mistook Lewis for Dan Murray Lee, whose Mammy she had been.
But her visit was listed in the book as on June 16th.

I think he denied knowing her, didn't he?

This lady was brought in to butress the contention that he was Dan Murry Lee...of course, Lew was most certainly NOT! He denied knowing the woman as well he did not know her!

[MaddieM]

(08-24-2012 01:56 PM)BettyO Wrote:  Lewis could have been ill at Dranesville and did not fight -- I don't know....I do know that he was ill quite a bit with bouts of unspecified sickness. On June 30,at the battle of Gaines Mill he fought for one day and then was carted the 12 miles to Richmond where he spent over 3 months in the Florida Hospital (still standing) with illness. He was there until mid November 1862. The anthropologist who discovered Lew's noggin stated that he suffered apparently from chronic sinusitis. We do know that he had an attack of measles when he enlisted and was sent to the Camp of Instruction (boot camp) at Jacksonville, FL at the beginning of the war. This childhood illness turned ultimately into pneumonia from which he almost died. This could have also weakened his constitution. We don't know....He apparently began recruitment for the SS in November 1864 and then left for Baltimore on January 1, 1865. For all his hearty appearance, he appears to have been a somewhat frail lad constitutionally.

As for those girls -- we have yet to see. I know a bit more but can't divulge it yet. He also had a girlfriend in VA - so he DID get around a bit! Boys will be boys!

I've been reading up about chewing tobacco, and it said that it can make you ill if you swallow it, give you sickness and upset stomach. Could that have been his problem?

[BettyO]

(08-24-2012 02:01 PM)MaddieM Wrote:  

(08-24-2012 01:56 PM)BettyO Wrote:  Lewis could have been ill at Dranesville and did not fight -- I don't know....I do know that he was ill quite a bit with bouts of unspecified sickness. On June 30,at the battle of Gaines Mill he fought for one day and then was carted the 12 miles to Richmond where he spent over 3 months in the Florida Hospital (still standing) with illness. He was there until mid November 1862. The anthropologist who discovered Lew's noggin stated that he suffered apparently from chronic sinusitis. We do know that he had an attack of measles when he enlisted and was sent to the Camp of Instruction (boot camp) at Jacksonville, FL at the beginning of the war. This childhood illness turned ultimately into pneumonia from which he almost died. This could have also weakened his constitution. We don't know....He apparently began recruitment for the SS in November 1864 and then left for Baltimore on January 1, 1865. For all his hearty appearance, he appears to have been a somewhat frail lad constitutionally.

As for those girls -- we have yet to see. I know a bit more but can't divulge it yet. He also had a girlfriend in VA - so he DID get around a bit! Boys will be boys!

I've been reading up about chewing tobacco, and it said that it can make you ill if you swallow it, give you sickness and upset stomach. Could that have been his problem?

Oh, no....I'm sure that kid new all about chewing tobacco -- he could spit, I'm sure!

Now - long story, but I did that once years ago as a teenager. We had horses and we kept a "quid" of tobacco in the barn to worm the horses as well as a bottle of whiskey to drench them if they had colic. I was 16. My sister 14, and another schoolmate also 16 got into the tobacco and whiskey out of curiosity. I took a bite of that plug, swallowed it and I thought I'd die! Never again. I didn't know you were supposed to spit it! By the way - didn't like the Whiskey either! HA!

[MaddieM]

(08-24-2012 02:01 PM)MaddieM Wrote:  The anthropologist who discovered Lew's noggin stated that he suffered apparently from chronic sinusitis. We do know that he had an attack of measles when he enlisted and was sent to the Camp of Instruction (boot camp) at Jacksonville, FL at the beginning of the war. This childhood illness turned ultimately into pneumonia from which he almost died. This could have also weakened his constitution. We don't know....He apparently began recruitment for the SS in November 1864 and then left for Baltimore on January 1, 1865. For all his hearty appearance, he appears to have been a somewhat frail lad constitutionally.

I know someone who suffers from chronic sinusitis, and it's awful. Really painful. It also flares up when you're run down. I had measles when I was 16, and boy, was I ill! My weight dropped from 8 stone to 6 stone. I was ill for months.

[BettyO]

(08-24-2012 02:24 PM)MaddieM Wrote:  

(08-24-2012 02:01 PM)MaddieM Wrote:  The anthropologist who discovered Lew's noggin stated that he suffered apparently from chronic sinusitis. We do know that he had an attack of measles when he enlisted and was sent to the Camp of Instruction (boot camp) at Jacksonville, FL at the beginning of the war. This childhood illness turned ultimately into pneumonia from which he almost died. This could have also weakened his constitution. We don't know....He apparently began recruitment for the SS in November 1864 and then left for Baltimore on January 1, 1865. For all his hearty appearance, he appears to have been a somewhat frail lad constitutionally.

I know someone who suffers from chronic sinusitis, and it's awful. Really painful. It also flares up when you're run down. I had measles when I was 16, and boy, was I ill! My weight dropped from 8 stone to 6 stone. I was ill for months.

I have sinusitis also occasionally - it depends on the temperature outside. My sinuses flair up in cold weather. I think of Lewis sleeping on the ground outside in the army and that didn't help any probably - plus there were those teeth and the abscesses he must have had and the tooth aches! Ugh! I don't even want to go there! I had measles at age 5 and really don't remember it much - I had chicken pox at age 6 and do remember that! My younger sister had that really bad. I had the mumps at age 11 and remember that, too!

[Gene C]

Betty wrote:
"He apparently began recruitment for the SS in November 1864 and then left for Baltimore on January 1, 1865. For all his hearty appearance, he appears to have been a somewhat frail lad constitutionally."


IF his health was so poor or he got sick a lot, why would the Confederate SS pick him for such an important job? Seems to me they would want someone more reliable and rugged?

[BettyO]

Good question, Gene! I really don't know, but this kid was seemingly one sick puppy. He was in the hospital a lot unless he was "playing Old Soldier." And with those teeth, I doubt it!

I assume that the Confederate higher ups had some sickly folk as well - look at Alexander Stephens -- he was about as sick as they come and he was the Vice President -- so apparently health didn't matter a bit -- not when your government is going down the tube at as fast a rate as the Confederacy was. Their ranks in late 1864-1865 were getting down to old men and little boys (and I mean 14-16 year olds!) so.....who knows!

[Natty]

(08-24-2012 03:03 PM)BettyO Wrote:  Good question, Gene! I really don't know, but this kid was seemingly one sick puppy. He was in the hospital a lot unless he was "playing Old Soldier." And with those teeth, I doubt it!

I assume that the Confederate higher ups had some sickly folk as well - look at Alexander Stephens -- he was about as sick as they come and he was the Vice President -- so apparently health didn't matter a bit -- not when your government is going down the tube at as fast a rate as the Confederacy was. Their ranks in late 1864-1865 were getting down to old men and little boys (and I mean 14-16 year olds!) so.....who knows!

I just read a book about sexually transmitted diseases during the Civil War - if these statistics told me anything, it was that "sick bay" was a common place for many Union and Confederate soldiers.
Lewis probably functioned very highly in between flare ups (of sinusitis, not the above!) and was considered quite healthy. He might have suffered a particularly bad bout during his initial period with the Rangers, due to the added stress and more difficult living circumstances, leading others to believe he was a bit sickly. He did, however, make sure that this impression was thoroughly destroyed during the raids that came thereafter, probably wanting impress everyone and prove them wrong.

[Gene C]

(08-24-2012 03:13 PM)Natty Wrote:  I just read a book about sexually transmitted diseases during the Civil War -

A whole book? Yuk!

I have to agree with you Betty. Considering this whole kidnap - assassination plot....the Confederates must have been desperate to try a ham actor without any military experience for such an important task.

[Natty]

(08-24-2012 03:20 PM)Gene C Wrote:  

(08-24-2012 03:13 PM)Natty Wrote:  I just read a book about sexually transmitted diseases during the Civil War -

A whole book? Yuk!

I have to agree with you Betty. Considering this whole kidnap - assassination plot....the Confederates must have been desperate to try a ham actor without any military experience for such an important task.

Well, it was actually about sex during the Civil War, but to sum it up, yes - it was mostly about STDs and prostitutes with STDs. A whole book.

I agree with Betty too. They could have done a lot worse than Lewis, particularly considering the nature of the work.

[Gene C]

(08-24-2012 03:25 PM)Natty Wrote:  

(08-24-2012 03:20 PM)Gene C Wrote:  

(08-24-2012 03:13 PM)Natty Wrote:  I just read a book about sexually transmitted diseases during the Civil War -

A whole book? Yuk!

Well, it was actually about sex during the Civil War, but to sum it up, yes - it was mostly about STDs and prostitutes with STDs. A whole book.

I hope you washed your hands