Old Capitol Prison

[Houmes]

(08-27-2012 05:06 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  We all owe a debt of gratitude to Betty Ownsbey for stumbling upon Hartranft's Letter Books years ago while researching Powell at Gettysburg College. The librarian literally dumped them in her lap and suggested they might be of interest.

When Betty realized what they were, she went running for a pay phone (no cell phones in those days) and called James O. Hall in McLean, Virginia. Mr. Hall had searched for them for years and had given up hope of finding the Letter Books. He told Betty to stay where she was, he would be there shortly -- and about two hours later, there he was!

Those records revealed many, many things. We even found out that Mrs. Surratt refused to eat and was threatened with force feeding. Ed Steers and Harold Holzer collaborated on a book covering Hartranft's records several years ago. There is also a good book on the career of Gen. Hartranft written by Al Gambone (now deceased).

P.S. When word got out that the Letter Books still existed, the National Archives stepped in and demanded that they be turned over to them. I believe the family also wanted them back, but they now reside in the Archives branch in Philadelphia (someone correct me if I'm wrong on that).

This illustrates a classic case of replevin, a hot button topic for years with dealers, collectors, relatives, state, and federal agencies. It allows the government or individuals to legally recover "goods unlawfully withheld from their possession." The Hartranft records were loaned by the family to Gettysburg College in 1965, and they asked for their return in 1992-93. The college refused, despite previous documents through the years detailing that the material was meant to be on loan as opposed to a donation. Lawyers became involved, the case made it into national media, and at one point the feds thought, hey, wait a minute, and now Gen. Hartranft's records (he was meticulous in keeping material from his career, hoping to write a book) are locked away in a less accessible archive. The family lost their books and Gettysburg College had a public relations nightmare.