Andersonville Regulators

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Biography

The Regulators of Andersonville

Camp Sumter, more commonly known as Andersonville, was designed to house ten thousand Prisoners of War. Opening early 1864, Andersonville soon held over twenty-one thousand prisoners. There were no wooden structures to house the prisoners. Instead, they lived in self-constructed tents. ^[1] The overpopulation of Andersonville presents many problems for the prisoners.

Andersonville before the Regulators

The Confederate forces did not police the prisoner population; they only guarded against attempted escapes. Since there were no high-ranking officers among the prisoners, there was no structure established among them. The prisoners were left to fend for themselves. At first there was petty theft among the prisoners. But as more prisoners were transferred into Andersonville, the crime escalated. A group of prisoners that came to be known as the Andersonville Raiders committed more serious crimes. Because there was no organized protection from the Raiders, from petty thefts they became bolder. The Raiders began to attack other prisoners to rob them of whatever the victims possessed. The Raiders became more brutal in their attacks on other prisoners. In response, small groups would band together for their mutual protection. While this may lessen the attacks on those in the group, there was no overall protection for most of the prisoner population.

Rise of the Regulators

As the attacks by the Raiders on other prisoners became more brutal, several prisoners complained to the Confederate authorities at the prison camp. A group of prisoners from Illinois began having discussion with Camp Commandant, Captain Wirz. They discussed the rising crime rate within the prisoner population and the brutality of the attacks by the Raiders on other prisoners. The Confederate authorities gave them permission to organize an ad hoc police force. This group would become known as the Regulators. In an interview published in the New York Times, Sergeant Leroy Key, the self-proclaimed chief of the Regulators police force, said that the Regulators organized thirteen companies of thirty men and a captain in each company. ^[2]

According to Key, as told in the New York Times interview, before the Regulators finished their organization plans, Key was confronted by the Raiders. Charles Curtis, whom Key called the leader of the Raiders, and five other Raiders threatened Key at knifepoint. ^[2]

Private John H. McElroy, served in the 16th Illinois Cavalry and was one of the Regulators police force. McElroy maintained a diary and later published a book based on his experience at Andersonville. ^[3] According to the account told by McElroy, Sergeant Leroy L Key, 16th Illinois Cavalry, was the organizer of the Regulators. The Raiders were Northeasterners. In order to avoid letting a Raider into the Regulators, Key chose soldiers from the Midwest, such as Illinois, Indiana and Iowa, to be in the Regulators. In addition to Key and McElroy, some of the Regulators were Private Thomas Larkin, 16th Illinois Cavalry; Sergeant Alfred R Hill, 100th Ohio Infantry; Corporal Edward Carrigan, 16th Illinois Cavalry; and a soldier referred to as "Limber Jim." "Limber Jim" was the muscle of the group, but Carrigan was a former boxer.

In late June an especially brutal attack on Private John G. Doud prompted the Confederate authorities and the Regulators into action against the Raiders. A food rations wagon was robbed. Camp Commandant Captain Wirz threatened to withhold the food rations until those guilty of the crimes be turned over to the Confederates. Because the capture of the Raiders would create a riot-like commotion, the Regulators advised camp commandant Captain Wirz of their plans to arrest the raiders. Wirz gave orders to his guards that the commotion was not an attempt to escape and therefore, the guards would not open fire on the POWs. The Regulators sprang into action. On June 29, 1864, this police force began capturing and arresting Raiders. They turned those arrested over to the Confederates. Those believed to be the leaders or those believed to have committed the more serious crimes, were imprisoned by the Confederates separately from the general prisoner population. On June 30th (the day after the Regulators began arresting the Raiders), Brigadier General John H. Winders, the Commissary General of Confederate Prisons, issued General Orders No. 57 authorizing the prisoners to establish a court for the trial and punishment of the Raiders. Winder ordered that the specifics of the charges be furnished to the accused and ordered that a proper writing be maintained of the trial and testimony of the witnesses. Winder further order that a copy be provided to the commanding officer, and if found to be in proper order, the sentence will be ordered for execution. ^[4]

By July 1, 1864, the Regulators had arrested at least 75 of them. These arrested Raiders were held apart awaiting their trial. ^[5]

The trial lasted several days in early July 1864. The court-martial found as many as 11 of the Raiders of the arrested guilty of crimes against the other prisoners. Some of the convicted Raiders who were found guilty of lesser crimes were given milder punishments. Six of the Raiders found guilty of the more serious crimes were sentenced to be executed. ^[5]

Camp commandant Captain Wirz provided the lumber and Key had his Regulators build a gallows. During the construction, Key had Regulators standing guard to prevent other Raiders from tearing it down. ^[6] There was some doubt among the Confederate authorities at Andersonville whether they should carry out the executions. On Sunday, July 10, 1864, General Winder issued General Orders 61 that the executions would proceed on July 11, at 4:00 pm. ^[7]

On July 11, the six condemned Raiders, accompanied by Father Peter Whelan, were taken out of the holding area and led into the stockade by Confederate guards. The guards turned the six Raiders over to the Regulators. The Regulators had six men handling the gallows. The rest of the Regulators stood guard preventing any attempt to rescue the condemned Raiders by their colleagues. As the Raiders mounted the gallows, Curtis broke free and ran across the camp. He was caught by the Regulators and forced to join the other five on the gallows. The leaders of the Raiders hung to their death. ^[8]

Immediately after the execution, the certain Regulators who were instrumental in the capture of the Raiders, and those who participated in the trial were removed from the prison population. Sergeant Key turned over control of the Regulators to Sgt Alfred R Hill. The Regulators continued to maintain order at Andersonville until the prisoner population was greatly reduced (as prisoners were being transferred to other prisons).

Sources

1. ↑ Andersonville Raiders, Historical context, Military-History Fandom.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Andersonville Raiders, Yankee Versus Yankee in the Civil War's Most Notorious Prison Camp, by Gary Morgan, Stackpole Books 2020, Page 194.
3. ↑ Andersonville: A Story of Rebel Military Prisons", by John McElroy, Fawcett Publications, Inc., 1962 CBS Publications,
4. ↑ Andersonville Raiders, Yankee Versus Yankee in the Civil War's Most Notorious Prison Camp, by Gary Morgan, Stackpole Books 2020, Page 24.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} The Raiders," Andersonville National Historic Site, National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/ande/learn/the_raiders.htm
6. ↑ "Execution of the Raiders at Andersonville" Scriptorium novum
7. ↑ Andersonville Raiders, Yankee Versus Yankee in the Civil War's Most Notorious Prison Camp, by Gary Morgan, Stackpole Books 2020, Page 150.
8. ↑ Morgan, Gary "Raiders: Yankee versus Yankee in the Civil War’s Most Notorious Prison Camp" Dokumen.Pub. https://dokumen.pub/andersonville-raiders-yankee-versus-yankee-in-the-civil-wars-most-notorious-prison-camp-0811738841-9780811738842.html

• https://www.nps.gov/ande/learn/the_raiders.htm
• https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/andersonville-raiders-rogue-soldiers-prison-video/virtual-field-trips/

See also: * Wikipedia: Andersonville Raiders

• Wikidata: Item Q4754262

Acknowledgements

Photo Credits

• Photo "Civil War bunting" (Eubank-436-2): Photo courtesy of The Clipart Library. https://clipart-library.com/clipart/903927.htm

• Photo "Andersonville Prison, Georgia": Photo courtesy Library of Congress, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Andersonville_prison._Georgia_LCCN2003662359.jpg

• Photo "Sgt. Leroy Key" (Key5314): Photo courtesy of Sangamon County Historical Society, Leroy Key, Andersonville hero. https://sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/?p=13887