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Who was B.W. Warner?
Exactly who B.W. Warner was has yet to be definitely proven although
at least one man by that name appears in records from the 1860s in Memphis. A “B.W. Warner” is listed on an 1863 “Semi-Monthly Report of Citizen Prisoners Confined within the District of Memphis,” but the specifics of Warner’s offense are not listed. Given the offense is left blank, the offense may have been dittoed from the last offense listed above which was smuggling. Wilson theorized, “Perhaps the gift of these revolvers assisted in the incarceration of Warner – or were instrumental in obtaining his release.” Given the extortion discussed above, the latter could certainly could have been the case.
However, local newspapers also provide clues as to who Warner may have been and how he may have been in a position to present a lavish pair
of Colts to a Union officer in Memphis. While the inscription on the case does not include “Dr.” ahead of the presenter’s name, a “Dr. B.W. Warner
of Berlin, Prussia” was advertised in the Memphis Daily Appeal in October of 1860, as a “resident physician and operating surgeon of the hands and feet” or “surgeon chiropodist” who had relocated from Mobile, Alabama. Subsequently, local papers also advertised his services and noted that he had “been induced to settle here permanently and become a citizen of Memphis.” The Memphis Bulletin on June 22, 1863, lists a “B.W. Warner” as one of the citizens of Memphis who claimed to be British subjects who took the alien oath under the orders of General Sherman.
Significantly given the deluxe Colt Model 1861 Navy presented by Elizabeth Jarvis Colt to the U.S. Sanitary Commission discussed above,
the Memphis Bulletin on November 14, 1863, includes the following article: “THE BENEFIT AT THE THEATER. – Our readers will recollect that Mr. Rayfield, some time ago, gave a benefit for the sick and wounded soldiers. The proceeds, which amounted to [difficult to read but appears to be $240], were handed over to General Veatch, who added $20 and gave it to Dr. Irwin, the efficient manager of our hospitals. Subsequently it was placed in the hands of Dr. Warner, Agent of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, to be expended in luxuries and restoratives for soldiers in our hospitals.” “The Sanitary Commission of the United States Army: A Succinct Narrative of Its Works and Purposes” indicates that Memphis was one of the depots for the commission. Unfortunately little else was found concerning the doctor, although he continued to reside in Memphis given The Memphis Argus on October 22, 1865, notes “Dr. B. W. Warner, just returned from Havana, has selected for this market a fine stock of Havana cigars...”
It is certainly possible the doctor and the man held as a prisoner in 1863 are the same man and that he was released via some intervention by Captain Williams as part of the extortion scheme or through other means. Unfortunately, more documentation on the two men and their relationship to one another remains lacking. The Sanitary Commission connection certainly is seems a most likely explanation for how these revolvers ended up being presented to Captain Williams in Memphis where he was provost marshal.
“America’s Greatest Maritime Disaster”:
After receiving this cased set, Williams remained with the Union Army,
but his most infamous days lay ahead as the war was coming to an end. Thousands of Union soldiers held prisoner by the Confederacy were being exchanged and paroled. Many of them had been struggling to survive under horrid conditions, and Union officials were eager to get the men home. Around 5,500 Union prisoners were released from the infamous Andersonville Prison and the Cahaba Prison in early 1865. They were transferred to Camp Fisk near Vicksburg, Mississippi, to await parole.
Once paroled, they were to be taken northward up the Mississippi River by privately owned steamboats with the government paying for their passage. One of these steamboats was the Sultana which was officially supposed to have the capacity to carry 376 men. Captain Williams was
technically in charge of the exchanged prisoners, but he was absent from Vicksburg in mid-April 1865, so Captain Frederic Speed, the assistant adjutant general for the Department of the Mississippi, handled preparations for the departure of the paroled Union soldiers.
Many other steamboats had taken large loads of prisoners up river in recent days without issue and the same was promised to Captain J. Cass Mason of the Sultana. However, as the time for the Sultana to depart approached, Speed did not have the paperwork prepared and indicated the passengers would not be ready in time for the steamboat’s departure. Mason met with the Union commanders to ensure he received a full load to take north. He also had one of his boilers hastily repaired despite the mechanic urging him to have a more thorough repair undertaken, but Mason did not want to wait and risk losing his passengers and thus pay for another steamboat. Captain Williams returned and decided the men could be released by just being checked off the list as they departed. Thus, the remaining prisoners, estimated 1,300-1,400 by Speed, were to be loaded on the Sultana for its return trip. Before it was even being loaded, the plan was for the vessel to carry more than three times its capacity, but Speed had also underestimated the number of paroled prisoners awaiting a ride home: there were actually more than two thousand. Williams oversaw the loading over the men onto the Sultana at Vicksburg while Speed oversaw them being sent from Camp Fisk in three train loads. As the boat filled up, Captain Kerns and others pleaded that the men be sent on multiple boats since others were also available to lighten the load, but his concerns were ignored. Some of the officers being boarded also grew concerned as did Captain Mason as the Sultana became increasingly overloaded.
Nonetheless, more than 2,300 men departed on the Sultana on April 24 at 9 p.m. The decks had to be reinforced to keep them from collapsing under the weight of the men. A famous last photograph was taken of the Sultana while it was docked at Helena, Arkansas, on April 26, 1865. The men nearly capsized the boat when they rushed to the port for the photograph. Around 2:00 a.m. on April 27, 1865, the ship’s boiler exploded seven
miles north of Memphis. Hundreds of men may have been killed almost instantly. Others were scalded and/or thrown overboard by the blast. Fire quickly spread throughout the ship and the ship began to collapse. Hundreds of men
jumped overboard into Mississippi River to escape the inferno, and they struggled
to keep their heads above water. Many of the men were severely weakened from their time as prisoners and drowned quickly. The first assistance did not arrive until an hour after the explosion when the crew of
the Bostonia II pulled survivors from the water. At 3:20 a.m., U.S. Navy gunboats finally advanced upstream from Memphis to assist. The total number who died is estimated to be from 1,169 to as many as over 1,700
depending on the source. Among the dead was the ship’s captain.
Although steamboat
explosions, fires, and sinkings
were far from scarce, the
explosion and sinking of the
Sultana remains the worst maritime
disaster in U.S. waters. The disaster
was mostly blamed on the decision to
hastily patch the boiler, but it was obvious from the start that the Sultana had been overcrowded and that there certainly would have been fewer killed if so many hadn’t been crowded onto it. Captain Speed was found guilty of being complicit in the deaths by overcrowding the vessel. His conviction was overturned, and he was honorably discharged. Captain Williams was not charged since Speed had technically taken charge
of the operation. With the boat’s captain dead, no one was ultimately
held accountable for the affair. Nonetheless, the Sultana disaster has continued to be the most infamous affair of Williams’ career and remains the deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history. Despite his involvement in the disaster, Williams remained with the U.S. Army into the post-war era and was promoted to major in the 6th U.S. Infantry on March 15, 1866, and held the various commands noted above in the South and West during Reconstruction before retiring on December 15, 1870.
CONDITION: Excellent. 95% plus of the original silver plating remains on the barrel, loading lever, and grip frame. Some areas have taken on an attractive natural aged patina while most
of the silver remains bright.
The cylinder retains 85% of the
delicate original gilding with
silver plating showing through,
and traces of gold remain on
the nose of the hammer. The
frame has 60% of the original silver
and a smooth silver-gray patina on the
balance.
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