Telegraph operator Douglas Kent left work at 9:30 AM and was never heard of or seen again amid rumors of being drunk.
Confederate and Union dead were buried quickly in shallow mass graves between the track and the Delaware River. Confederates were four to a casket which were made from wreckage. Individual coffins for the 17 Union dead arrived the next day. A total of 48 Confederates died.
Confederate survivors were taken to Shohola and housed in railroad buildings and some of their injured were housed in local homes. John and Michael Johnson were taken to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hickock, but died during the night. The Hickock's decided on giving them a Christian burial and the Johnsons were taken across the Delaware River and buried at the Congregational Church in Barryville, New York. The graves were unmarked so that the guards would be unable to find them.
The Hickocks were questioned by Union authorities, but never revealed the location. Eventually, a single stone marker was erected and is still there.
Five Confederates escaped from the wreck and were never recaptured.
On January 11, 1911, soldiers and prisoners were disinterred and taken to the Elmira Woodlawn national Cemetery. Their graves are marked by a single monument with two bronze plaques: one facing North for the Union soldiers and one facing South for the Confederates.
A little-Known Story of the War. --Old Secesh
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
Showing posts with label wrecks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wrecks. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Pennsylvania Tragic Prisoner Train Wreck-- Part 1
From the July 15, 2011, Pocono (Pa) Record "Prisoner train wreck during the Civil War near Shohola recalled as tragedy for both sides" by John Punola.
The Elmira, NY induction center had been converted into a prison for Confederates.
Confederate prisoners captured at the Battle of Cold Harbor, mostly recruits, were sent by train to Jersey City, NJ and transferred to the Erie RR destined for Port Jervis, NY, and a final destination of Elmira.
They arrived at Port Jervis July 15, 1864 on locomotive No. 171, following the West 23 Train as an extra. The train consisted of a mixture of passenger and freight cars, a locomotive, caboose, a Union guard detail and the prisoners.
They were running along a single track at 20 mph and had warning flags for other trains to give the right of way. There were sharp curves along the Delaware River. At Lackawaxen, a station where a branch railroad connected, the telegraph operator, Douglas Kent, noted that West 23 had flags showing that there was a train behind it.
At 2:30 PM, coal train Erie 237 arrived at the junction pulling 50 cars of coal. Kent mistakenly gave the all clear sign, turned the switch and the coal train headed east. The prisoner train and 237 collided at King & Fuller's Cut, a blind curve.
A Calamity. --Old Secesh
The Elmira, NY induction center had been converted into a prison for Confederates.
Confederate prisoners captured at the Battle of Cold Harbor, mostly recruits, were sent by train to Jersey City, NJ and transferred to the Erie RR destined for Port Jervis, NY, and a final destination of Elmira.
They arrived at Port Jervis July 15, 1864 on locomotive No. 171, following the West 23 Train as an extra. The train consisted of a mixture of passenger and freight cars, a locomotive, caboose, a Union guard detail and the prisoners.
They were running along a single track at 20 mph and had warning flags for other trains to give the right of way. There were sharp curves along the Delaware River. At Lackawaxen, a station where a branch railroad connected, the telegraph operator, Douglas Kent, noted that West 23 had flags showing that there was a train behind it.
At 2:30 PM, coal train Erie 237 arrived at the junction pulling 50 cars of coal. Kent mistakenly gave the all clear sign, turned the switch and the coal train headed east. The prisoner train and 237 collided at King & Fuller's Cut, a blind curve.
A Calamity. --Old Secesh
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