Thomas Jones

[L Verge]

(05-27-2018 02:43 PM)Rick Smith Wrote:  

(05-27-2018 01:26 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(05-27-2018 07:00 AM)Rick Smith Wrote:  

(05-26-2018 08:56 PM)Dennis Urban Wrote:  

(05-26-2018 07:51 PM)Rick Smith Wrote:  I’ll look forward to hearing from you.

I sent an email using the forum and included my private email address. You should have it.

Sorry, but for some reason, I haven't received your email. Would you send it again?

Thanks

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Dennis,

You may know this, but James Owens was arrested along with Austin and Adele Adams and eventually taken to the Old Capital. He was interrogated and apparently did not respond in the way that the federals were hoping he would. He died in the prison.

Rick

Rick - Do we have proof that Owens died in prison? I know the likelihood that he did is pretty good, but is there evidence? Are there death records for prisoners at the Old Capitol? Have the Charles County, PG County, or DC Census Records for 1870 been checked?

Just out of curiosity, I wonder how many black men/women were imprisoned at Old Capitol during the war...

Laurie,

Good questions.

Before writing the article on the Owens Statement and the fate of the horses, while I was looking through Mr. Hall's files at the JOH Library, I came across a type written letter from Mr. Hall to Joan Chaconas dated about 1975. It contained a reference to the Owens Statement. I believe that the letter also included a typed copy of the Owens Statement. There was also a hand written reference on another piece of paper in the file inferring that Owens was poorly treated and that he did not come out alive. I have since looked through the same file and other files of Mr. Hall, twice, since Bill Richter wanted me to find it for him and make a copy, but have been unable to find the original letter to Joan. I may have brought this to your attention at the time. There are copies of the Owens Statement in Mr. Hall's files and in General Tidwell's files, but the original letter, etc., is missing.

Probably plenty of black men and women saw the inside of the Old Capital for various reasons. I believe that Oswell Swann was one.

Rick

Thanks, Rick. I didn't realize that it was a second sheet of paper that was missing, the one that indicates Owens did not make it out alive. I can only hope that that sheet of paper has been misfiled - don't want to think of the items that we may have lost over the years by trusting too many people...

I wish we had staff and time to thoroughly check each item in the Hall files and put them in better order (similar to what Wild Bill did years ago when we "hired" him to come East and make sense of the Tidwell files). That has been a great help. The Hall files, however, are intimidating - about 16 file cabinets, each with five drawers, I believe.