Download In August 1864, Union General Eleazar A. Paine expelled a number

In August 1864, Union General Eleazar A.
Paine expelled a number of citizens of Columbus
and Paducah, Kentucky. Men, women, and
children were packed into rail cars guarded by
Negro soldiers from the 8th Heavy Artillery (Colored)
and sent to Canada because of their stubborn
support of the Confederate government. The intent
of Paine was to humiliate these defiant Kentucky
defenders of the Southern cause. When the war
orted , Ken tucky officially became a loyal slave
stote. As such, no Kentuc~y sl?ve was freed_ by .
st 1
·dent Lincoln's Emanc1pat1on Proclamation as 1t
pres
plied only to slaves from parts of rebel states then
oPcu pied by federal forces . Such harsh treatment
~fwest Kentuc~ia~s loyal '.o the Confeder?cy can
be identified principally with Eleazar A. _Pa~ne fr?m
h·s arrival in 1861 as colonel of the 9th lll1no1s regiment
~infantry under General U.S. Grant until his court
~artial in 1865 as the war en?ed. Paine, an .
acquaintance of Abraham Lincoln, never hesitated
nor apologized for his acts nor was he punished.
The year 1864 proved to be a dramatic one
tor Paducahans, black and white. President Lincoln
removed the right of habeas corpus in Kentucky on
September 15, 1863. By July 5, 1864, the President
declared martial law in Kentucky due to the
unsettled conditions in that state. Union recruiters
began enlisting Kentucky African-Americans despite
the opposition of state officials. Lorenzo Thomas,
adjutant general of the Union forces reported "In my
letter of the 1st instant, I reported instructions
respecting the 1st Artillery Regiment Colored Troops
to be raised at Paducah, Kentucky. Shall I proceed
with its organization?" By the end of the war, two
African-American artillery regiments and parts of
several African-American infantry regiments had
been recruited at Paducah and at Columbus.
Enlistment in the federal armed forces freed a
Kentucky slave and his family. The fact that General
Paine used these soldiers to escort the Kentuckians
suspected of disloyalty was, in effect, the realization
of the slave dream "De bottom rail gwin be on de
top." The date of the expulsion , August 8, continues
116
117
Picture, identified as E. A. Paine, in the holdings of the Ohio Historical
Society (www.ohiohistorv.wordpress.com/2011 /08/15/do-you-knowthis-man)
Kentuckians
Expelled
by Federal Government
By John Robertson
to be celebrated in Paducah as emancipation day,
However, the cause for the celebration is often
erroneously credited to the Emancipation
Proclamation . The role of Paine as the instigator of
the " Reign of Terror" is often overlooked . This paper
will focus on Paine in Paducah. (City records cite
the general as "Pain." They knew the proper
spelling of his name.)
When the War of the Rebellion (this event
certainly was not civil) began , Kentucky tried , for a
time, to remain aloof. In fact, the pro-southern
governor, Beriah Magoffin, threatened to fight either
side that violated the sovereign territory of the
Commonwealth. Rather than provoke an
unpleasant decision, Lincoln and Jefferson Davis
both made efforts to avoid provoking Kentucky
since the state possessed a well organized State
Guard under Simon B. Buckner. The colonel
commanding the guard in the west was Lloyd
Tilghman of Paducah. One incident caused
Tilghman to move a considerable force of State
Guards to Columbus to protect that point on the
Mississippi River. Later, Tilghman went to Guthrie,
Tennessee, and formed the 3rd Kentucky, CSA.
Many former state guards and their equipment from
Paducah were not in this Confederate unit.
R.B.J. Twyman , editor of a Paducah
newspaper, an avowed Democrat, noted when the
telegraph announced that South Carolina had
seceded from the Union there were not half a dozen
outspoken secessionists in Paducah. As state after
state followed , Paducahans shifted more and more
to the radical position . Shelling Fort Sumter at 4:30
a.m. caused Paducahans to put matches to
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sa nd hang them on their gates as a token of
1ante~t . soon the town was ablaze wi'.h light ..Many
:u~~d uc ah kept their allegiance to neighbors 1n the
in uth eve n when the state was forced t.o t.ake a .
so d with the Union. This often led to fnct1on. Union
ston ps were shunned by a majority of the people in
tr~~ucah. Eventually this led to retribution that
P onates through the psyche of Paducah even to
res· day The Sons of Confederate Veterans h ave a
th IS
•
•
•
Jorge membership. Blue 1s seen infrequently.
The neutrality of Kentucky came to an end
early in September, 1861. A new <?onfederate
rnmanded in west Tennessee , Lieutenant General
~~onidas Polk, moved into Hickman and Columbus
on September 3 rd and seized high ground
overlooking the Mississippi River. News of that event
eached the new commander of the Federal forces
~eadquartered in Cairo, Illinois, U.S. Grant, who
reacted immediately. He loaded a small force.on
boats and headed up the Ohio River. By so doing ,
Grant was out of telegraphic contact with St. Louis,
the regional headquarters of Federal forces and
thus could not be called back. Early the ne~t
morning, Grant seized Paducah to t~e surpn:e and
consternation of its occupants. In his Memoirs G~ant
noted that the citizens of Paducah were expecting
Confederates to arrive about noon . Some
Confederate flags were flying. " Men, women , and
children came out of their doors looking pale and
frightened at the presence of the invader." Among
the intruders were the men from the 9 th Illinois
Volunteers led by Col. E.A. Paine. Grant instructed
Paine carefully. "Upon my departure, you will
assume command of the troops at this post, make
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such disposal of the forces will best enable you to
obtain possession and control of the city. A portion
of the troops can be quartered at the Marine
Hospital. You are charged to take special care and
precaution that no harm is done to inoffensive
c itizens: that the soldiers shall not enter any private
dwelling, not make any searches unless by your
orders, and then a detail shall be made for that
purpose. Exercise the strictest discipline against any
soldier who shall insult citizens, or engage in
plundering private property." In her doctoral
dissertation at Auburn in 2009 (page 117), Patricia
Ann Hoskins noted that Grant in 1861 wanted
Paine 's men "to go easy on the citizens of Paducah.
He commanded him to make sure that no southern
sympathizing citizens were insulted or harmed and
forbade any soldier to enter the home of any Rebel
citizen or plunder his property. Paine, a West Pointer
from Ohio, ignored Grant's orders." He wrote Grant
that no one in Paducah could be trusted . He said
that he "was compelled to be severe for nearly
everyman is a rank secessionist." The day after
Grant left, Paine ordered a gunboat to fire a round
into the city as a warning. Fortunately, no one was
injured. Later, he ordered a blacksmith to shoe his
horse. When the man refused , Paine gave him two
choices: shoe the horse or be shot. As he wrote
Grant, he was not to be beaten." This attitude
deepened by the time Paine returned to Paducah.
Shortly thereafter, General C.F. Smith arrived
to take command with Paine leading the first
brigade (History of Kentucky Illustrated, Edition One,
reprint with additions, 1979, by Southern Historical
Press, p. 82). Note: Grant was careful to limit Paine.
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raid toward
Pai ne exceeded his orders ·on a A
Ldter,
· t an t
iu rnbus and c.F . Smith was furious . ss1s
C~. ton t General Thomas J . Newsham sent a hot
A t{~r to Pain on November 11, 186, charging that
le. 's men "marched back from Milburn, Kentucky
po1ne
f ·t·
'" rnere mob' and that the property o c1 1zens
d5 0
.
. t
wantonly destroyed, and 1n some ins onces
w~sbery by violence (was) committed." Newsham
~oiled for legal action against Paine. As it tur~ed
t Smith was reassigned . On February 8, Paine
oud~red troops to take prisoners out and "hang one
0
~ the rebel cavalry for each Union man murdered,
0
d ofter this two for each. Continue to scout,
~~pture, and kill." Grant becam_e aware_ of this and
when Paine came back under his authority, Gran_t
rote to General George Thomas, noting that Paine
;.v'was entirely unfit to command a post." (Dr: " .
Marshall Myers, Gen. Eleazar A Paine and Hts Reign
of Terror" in West Ky. in the Kentucky Explorer,
February 2011 , pp. 24ff.)
.
In the spring of 1864, active warfare hit
western Kentucky . Confederate General ~athan B.
Forrest struck north to disrupt Union supply lines.
Leading the raid was General Abe Buford 's
Kentuckians. Louis Kolb Sr. recalled the Battle of
Paducah in an article in the New-Democrat on
March 15, 1927, 63 years after the event. The.
advanced rebel contingent arrived at the Union
outpost at Eden's Hill about 2:10 Saturday after~oon.
By 3:00 p.m Forrest's main body reached what 1s
now Fifteenth and Broadway, where they
dismounted to wait for dark. Kolb and his young
wife got to the river bank about 5 o'clock, on the
afternoon of the battle. Kolb managed to gain a
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place for his family in a small boat. " I clung fast to
the bottom of the boat while the firing was going on.
near a woman with a bad case of smallpox. having
less fear of contracting the disease than the shots
from in and around the fort. " The Kolbs crossed over
the Ohio River to Brookport, Illinois where they
remained until the fighting ended on Sunday. Word
of smallpox reached the rebels, hastening their
departure.
The goal of Forrest 's raid was to cut the vital
supply lines running through Kentucky and disrupt
Federal dispositions. The advance part of Forrest
was the 12th Kentucky, CSA, led by Captain H. A.
Taylor. The defenders, led by Colonel S. G . Hicks of
Illinois (a veteran of Shiloh) consisted of the 122nd
Illinois Infantry, 16th Kentucky Cavalry, recently
recruited by George F. Barnes of Paducah, and the
ist Kentucky Artillery plus the 8th U.S. Heavy Artillery
(Colored), containing many former Kentucky slaves.
The Federals were supported by the gunboats
Peosta and Paw-Paw.
As soon as the Confederates came within
cannon-shot, the guns in the fort opened up. A
participant recalled: "The Kentuckians were
dismounted and moved in line of battle in the
direction of the fort . The alignment was maintained
until the more densely built-up portion of the city
was reached, when it was broken by the buildings
and the further advance had to be made along the
streets in column by regiments or companies ."
Forrest's' men halted for a short time about 300
yards from the enemy and protected themselves by
getting behind houses in the street and alleys that
ran at right angles to those leading out in the
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directi on of the fort . Henry George in the History of
the Jrd, 7 th, Bth, and /2 th Kentucky C.S.A. wrote:
"While marching through the streets the command
as under a constant and withering fire from the fort
~y both small arms and artillery. When ou.t in the
open space, the lines were somewhat adius'.e~
before the final charge ~as ma~e. When w1th1~ a
hod distance of the fort 1t was discovered that 1t
~as surrounded by a deep ditch with s~ch
perpendicular banks as to render crossing
impossible."
A retreat was ordered back to cover the
buildings . There, "a terrific fire was kept up on the
tort until near night at which time the whole
command was withdrawn a short distance from the
city and went into camp for the night," according
to George.
Colonel A.P. Thompson led the rebels in the
assault to allow him the honor of taking his
hometown. Instead, he was killed by artillery.
Colonel Edward Crossland , next in command and
also from Kentucky, took over and was severely
wounded. The Union losses were 4 killed, 46
wounded, and 40 prisoners. The fort held. White
and black soldiers acted with courage and honor.
No other assault was attempted.
The Rebels moved southward. Upon learning
that the newspapers in Paducah were boasting
about hiding horses from the Confederates, Forrest
detached General Abe Buford's Kentuckians to
return to Paducah for the prized mounts. Then,
oddly enough , the Kentucky troops under Forrest
were allowed to return home on leave with the
understanding that they would rejoin the column at
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a fixed date. They all did, remounted and
resupplied with food and clothing. In their absence
'
Forrest attacked Fort Pillow that also had black
soldiers. After taking the position, many of the black
soldiers were massacred.
General Paine transferred from the Army of
the Mississippi back to western Kentucky on July 19,
1864, beginning a campaign of nearly two months
of unabated fear and chaos as punishment for
recalcitrant civilians in western Kentucky. Some of
Paine 's acts border on sadism. Finally, Governor
Thomas Bramlette of Kentucky appointed General
Speed Fry and Colonel John Mason Brown of the
Kentucky State Guard to look into the situation in
Paducah. This they did with diligent investigation.
On September 18, 1864, Captain J. Bates
Dickson, A.A.G . Military District KY wrote the report of
Speed Fry-John Mason Brown. "Your committee
would report that they had much difficulty in
procuring information from official sources, as Brig.
Genl. Paine and his Asst. Adj . Genl. left Paducah on
the evening of our arrival, taking with them, or
having sent away every clerk who was familiar with
the office business of Hd. Qrs."
The committee persisted. "Your committee
proceeded to examine numerous w itnesses, both
soldiers and civilians and to reduce their testimony
to the form of affidavits." The remainder of the
report was in this form. "It was the constant aim of
your committee to elicit, as nearly as practicable,
the actual truth." To this end , the committee was
open to anyone who wished to testify. Those
implicated also were allowed to submit rebutting
evidence. "This course although irregular, was
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·udged under all the circumstances to be neces~ary
land expedient. It enables us to make the following
ort of facts about which , we think, there can be
reP
,,
bUt little controversy.
.
" .
The committee got right to the point. Bng.
Genl. E. A. Paine assumed command at Paducah
on or about 19 July 1864. His violence of manner
as of a character to very much alarm the .
~ommunity. Several of the citizen.s, whos~ uniform
ood conduct is a matter of public notoriety and
~ho had fought to defend the city against an.
attack by Genl. Forrest, were terrified into leaving
their homes. The most sanguinary an.d brutal threats
were continually uttered by Genl. Prnne and the
execution of some Guerillas (or persons charged
with that crime) gave such color to his threats as to
alarm the entire country. Such was the state of the
public 's mind in the Dist. of West Kentucky (but more
especially in Paducah) naturally conseque~t upon
the Public speeches and private conversation of
Brig . Paine at the time of his arrival."
. ,
The committee turned to reports of Prnne s
treatment of private citizens. "Your committee has
found but one single citizen of the city of Paducah
(Mr. R Enders) who was ever.a.~c~ sted by Bri.gl.
Paine in terms of common c1v11ity. Others did not
fare so well. "His usage of gentlemen whose
reputation for integrity and social worth is co- .
extensive with the District was harsh and brutal 1n the
extreme. Curses were heaped upon all who
approached him. A favorite expression and one
frequently made use of was , 'You are a Goddammed scoundrel, God dam you. I'll dig a hole
and shoot and put you in it.'" Even women
1
125
rogramme or whether Capt. Hall's report of $2700,
received similar treatment. " Private citizens against
whom not an earthly charge could be made, were
summarily arrested and thrust into the Guard House.
One gentleman (Dr. Milam) was confined for fifty
one days and finally thrust out as he had been thrust
in, without charges or explanations. During his
imprisonment he suffered from a violent attack of
Erysipelas but was refused medical aid."
"A man named Doughty, was seized by Genl.
Paine and ordered to execution - although he had
been tried and acquitted by a Military Court of the
identical charge upon which his death warrant was
founded - Fortunately your committee were
informed of the facts and (after Paine's removal)
Brig. Genl. Meredith was at once apprised of them
and countermanded the order."
Additional instances were noted by the
committee. "Your committee could multiply
instances, but respectfully refer to the
accompanying affidavits for the accumulated
proofs of a uniform system of violent, profane, and
abusive tyranny such as they freely confess they
would not have believed possible were it not for the
respectable oaths which establish the fact. Still
further to terrify and alarm the citizens an order was
issued by Genl. Paine confiscating the rents of all
property belonging to persons who were not and
had not been of unconditional loyalty. Capt. R.H.
Hall, Pro. Mar. 1st cong. Dist of Ky. was charged by
Genl. Paine with the supervision and collection of
the forfeited rents, testified that many loyal and
Union men suffered heavily by this order, but that
Genl. Paine's order was express and preemptory.
How much money was collected under this
\certaining except from Capt. Hall 's affidavit,
a
which is filed h erew1•th .
.
The committee reported the reaction of local
uthoriti es to the acts of Paine. "When civil officers
of the county remonstrated against Genl. Paine's
~olicy, they were notified to resign and in one
instance did resign." Moreover, "the jailor of the
county was forced to discharge from his custody
persons committed for felony because their
accusers in the civil courts were not proved to have
been unconditional union men." Another charge
was that "money was extorted from private citizens
by officers with the knowledge and consent of Brig.
Genl. Pain, as will be particularly seen from the
affidavits of W.L. Mayes and Thomas A. Duke."
A major area of misconduct by Paine and his
men concerned the conduct of trade. Colonel H.
w. Barry, (8th U.S. Heavy Artillery, Colored) "forced a
Banker of the city to pay $150 in gold to a prostitute,
whose society the Col. Enjoyed." Also, "private
homes were seized by Genl. Paine 's order and the
furniture and bedding confiscated." This was a
hallmark of Paine throughout the war. He never
passed an opportunity to confiscate furniture for his
own use. "Your committee enquired carefully and
closely for the money resulting from the confiscation,
but no trace of it could be discovered."
A tax of $1 O per hogshead and bale was to
be paid as a fee. Paine did not stop there. "For the
purpose of carrying out this order the large tobacco
warehouse of Thomas Hale was seized." The report
did exonerate the person to whom the fees were
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127
~correct, your committee had no method of
1
II
paid . He acted properly. However, the report went
on to list those who did profit: Hon . Lucian Anderson
member of Congress, John J. Bollinger, R. H. Hall, Pro'
Mar. 1st cong. Dist Ky, Major Henry Bartling, 8 th U.S. ·
Heavy Artillery and Thomas Redd, Surveyor of the
port of Paducah." Bollinger was accused of
shipping "about 142 hhds of tobacco and 84 bales
of cotton." Bollinger only paid $10 in fees and had 0
government steamboat come to his landing where
the cargo was loaded by soldiers.
The committee was convinced that "the all
powerful influence of Anderson, Bolinger [siCJ had
already sprung up when your committee arrived,
and in some instances heavy sums were paid for
permits which if admissible should have been freely
granted, and if improper should have of course
been refused."
Paine ordered "all bank checks should be
approved by him or by an agent appointed by him,
before payment could be obtained. The
committee noted the effect of this on trade: "The
paralyzing effect of such a measure must appear at
first glance." This view was sustained by the local
banking community in a document appended to
the report of the committee. Further, Mr. Redd was
allowed to collect 50 cents on each check.
Instances of resistance were dealt with firmly.
The committee noted that "the seizure of
store houses and g.oods was generally preceded by
the arrest of the owners or their clerks. In no case
was a reason assigned for seizure which was
explained away as soon as a fee was paid to Mr.
Anderson and Major Bartling - in the great majority
of cases your committee could not with the most
128
.. ent search discover any charge alleged or
d1l1Q d against the sufferers." The committee
pr~ve d that this practice was commonplace and
e
1· k ·
0 ff1rrn
t "the seizure of such property was but one 1n 1n
thO eries of oppressions and extortions so
th~ smatically devised. Your committee conferred
sv;e~Y with Brig. Genl. Meredith (who replaced .
fr . el on this point and the complaints were being
pain
.bl ,,
lieved as rapidly as poss1 e.
.
re
It was the opinion of the committee that one
f the most egregious acts of the Paine cortege was
~vied against federal troops: "A charge of ten
ts for each letter, newspaper or parcel allowed
f;~ave the city of Paducah." _It should be no'.ed
that black soldiers had to pay fifty cents to mrnl ?
letter at a time they received half the pay of white
soldiers.
.
During General Paine's first tour of duty 1n
western Kentucky, he had run afoul with the
Woolfolk family. In 1852, Robert, a wealthy
"gentleman," encouraged Lloyd Tilghman to :ome
to Paducah to build the New Orle?ns a~d Ohio
Railroad. In fact, Woolfolk built a fine bnck h?use to
accommodate the Tilghman family. When Tilghman
and family left to join the Confederates, the
Woolfolk moved into the two story house (currently
known as the Tilghman house). In 1861 this house
was the scene of a fist fight over a Confed~rate flag
flying over the Tilghman-Woolfolk house while a
Union column marched by. Troops, commanded by
General Lew Wallace, objected to a rebel flag on
the house of Robert Owen Woolfolk who shouted
"Hurrah for Jefferson Davis." Wallace's men tore the
flag down. Woolfolk appealed to General Charles
129
Ferguson Smith, commanding, who sent two men to
replace the flag as Confederates were there under
a flag of truce. A fist fight resulted , but the Union
flag remained. Smith was reassigned . Paine also
left Kentucky but carried with him his dislike of
Woolfolk. On return, this family became a prime
target for Paine 's spleen.
Andrew Lucas Hunt of Chicago, newly arrived
Lieutenant in the l 34th Illinois volunteers was
assigned to Paine's Head Quarters. He wrote his
mother on August 5, 1864 that "I saw General Payne
[sic] this morning ... .He is a very pleasant ge.n tleman."
(The last word was underscored twice!). Hunt
commented that were no "really fine places residences in the city. The rebels when they
attacked the city last March - destroyed so much
property- and it has never been fully repaired.
Hunt was in a position to see and understand
the acts of Paine that have come down in history as
the "Reign of Terror" in Paducah. Hunt wrote on
August 14th that "I am with him (Paine) a great deal.
I hear him issue orders to close such a store - and
bring its owner to him in irons. The accounts you see
in the papers are true. I saw him send this lady off. I
stood right along side of him - when an old lady
whose three sons are in the rebel army - came with
tears in her eyes and ask him to let her stay in the
city. The General told her that living or dead she
should leave for Canada on next (last) Monday. I
saw her off on the following day. There were eight
in that family. Their names were Woolfolk. They had
a splendid residence -had to leave everything and there is a negro guard to Canada. The captain
of the guard reported to Capt. Paine (the general's
130
) yesterday noon . The trip cost $350.00 but it all
sonmes out of the rebels who live in the
c~igh borhood ." Hunt explained to his mother that
noine put taxes on the sale of tobacco and cotton
p ed by "rebs - or persons of doubtful loyalty - to
own a fund for repaying union fam11es
·1· th a t 1·1ve ·1n
for1,.
d [. ]
the neighborhood. "Pain paye sic a woman
hose husband had been hanged by the rebs for
~dhering to his union sentiments - a thou:and dollars
f this fund - and told her when she was 1n a place
of safety and wanted more funds - he would pay
~er a thousand more. That's the right kind of
doctrine - he will give audience to? poor ne~ro
woman - and will listen with all possible attention to
her complaints ."
Punishment of suspect citizens by the order of
General Paine, for giving "aid and comfort to the
rebels" was extraordinary. On September l, 1864,
the Holmes County Former (in Ohio) carried the
report from the Detroit Free Press for August 11 of
Kentucky citizens from Columbus and Pa?uca.h who
were banished to Canada. The party arrived in
Detroit "this morning, en route for Canada, under
the conductorship of Captain H. B. Norton, 8th
United Sates Colored Artillery (Heavy) and the
fragrance of about two dozen artillerists. ~heir
appearance at the Michigan Central Stat10.n
created quite a sensation." The reporter srnd
numerous citizens engaged in conversation the
southerners who gave a "round unvarnished tale" of
the cause of their banishment so far as would be
permitted by the guard.
The party " consisted of about forty persons,
men, women and children, all of whom belonged to
n'"\
131
the first families of the State in which they resided.
Judges, magistrates , and wealthy merchants, young
and beautiful women , widows, and their offspring,
were all made to feel the iron hand of despotism,
disgorge blood money, dignified by the title of
" assessments." The correspondent characterized
their misery, "leaving the homes of their youth and
the scenes of their childhood, and suffer the tortures
of a worse than Siberian Exile, without home, friends
'
or even a place in which to lay their heads."
Those with whom our reporter conversed
expressed none but the most loyal sentimenls to the
Federal Government. They stated that they knew
not for what they were ordered into exile. They
were simply notified that they must either "go to hell,
Africa, or Canada by an imperial edict from Gen.
Paine. They made no complaint. "
Among those expelled from Columbus and
whose property was seized were Pembroke Walker,
George B. Moss, James Morton, William McKew
Hubbard, William Cook, Turner Horn, Josephine Horn
Moss, Horn Hill, Kate Horn Moss, James Moore,
Richard Cook, and Burns Walker. The family of Major
John W. Malone (then a POW from the 12th
Kentucky CSA) also were deported. They included
William George and Sarah Van Battle Malone (his
parents) and four sisters and two young brothers.
This family chose not to return until the end of the
war. The Paducah Evening Star for July 27, 1907, p. 2
gave names of others sent from Columbus to
Canada. Mrs. Joe Overall on July 6 wrote : "About
August 8, 1864, I with a number of others from the
same place, were banished and sent to Canada by
order of General E. A. Paine. We were sent up the
132
\;er to Coiro by boot, and there transferred to a car.
n n afterwards quite o party from Paducah, Ky.,
soo
. eluding the family of Colonel R.A. Woolfolk, came
in n the Ohio River in a boat and were transferred
dOW
t . th
to the some car with us, and we were kep 1n e
or until we reached Windsor, Canada. Negro
~o1diers were kept stationed ?teach door. I . .
ember distinctly Miss Bertie Woolfolk coming into
re rn
. t
t P .
the c ar holding to the arm of Lieu enan 01ne, son
of the man who banished us .. I have .a clear
.
collection now of the clonking of his sword as 1t
re
,,
would strike the floor of the car.
The Paducah News-Democrat, February 15,
1903, carried the names of those banished to
canoda : "Mrs. Robert Woolfolk, six children Nannie, Bertie, Kate, George, Owen , Mary, Henry,
nurse Nancy; Mrs. Joe Dane Hobbs, Mrs . Masurer,
Mrs. Rollston, Miss Kate Sanders, Mr. Robert Sanders.
I do not recall any others banished from P?ducah,
but there may have been." Nancy technically was
freed the moment she set foot on Canadian soil, but
she returned to Paducah with the family. (J . R.
Puryear gave the name of another from Paducah
who went to Canada : Robert Shanklin .)
In 1906, the Evening Sun carried o note from
Mrs. (Kate) Whitfield , a daughter of the Woolfolks:
"My father, who had made his esca~e at the
instance of a cousin who had seen his name
heading a list of southern citizens to be shot,
reached Windsor about 6 the same day. We
occupied the suite of rooms Vallandingham had
used during his stay in Canada. I was not grown at
the time , so I may not recall all who were sent ... "
133
Kate continued: "My uncle, Captain R. H.
Woolfolk, of Louisville, went personally to Washington
to see President Lincoln (I think my grandfather, Mr.
Robert Enders, accompanied him). They showed
the paper to Lincoln and told of Paine's injustice.
The same paper must have been carried to
Burbridge (Stephen Gano Burbridge took command
of the District of Kentucky in February of 1864). He
may have been in Washington at the time. I do not
know. The paper was then mailed to my father in
Canada, who from anxiety and exposure was
suffering with a serious brain fever and was not able
to return to Paducah until six weeks later."
The court martial found Paine guilty of some
of the charges, but let him off with only a reprimand
as the war was over. Paine did express remorse for
his profane language, but for nothing else. As a
result, Paine is most often remembered as cruel,
remorseless, and sadistic general in the Army of the
Mississippi. One who saw to it that prisoners had
access to broken down horses. When they tried to
escape, Paine would organize a trophy hunt that
ended in the death of the escapee. His second tour
in Paducah earned the name "Reign of Terror".
About the Author:
John E. L. Robertson is a longtime me mber of the Jackson
Purchase Historical Society and served as th e Society 's
President in 1991 -1992 and 1999-2000. Robertson is a w e llknown Pad ucah historian and author of many boo ks and
a rticles about th e area. He is also a profess or emeritus of West
Kentucky Community and Technical College.
134
poetry Book Review:
THE HOMEPLACE
Poems by Marilyn Nelson Waniek
The Homeplace, we all have one . That
won derful family home where past, present an~
futu re meet on warm summer days accompanied
bY good food, g.o~d con.versation , and laugh.terl
This slim volume 1s filled with wonderful word pictures,
set in free and metered rhythms, of an AfricanAmerican homeplace in the Jackson Purchase town
of Hickman, Kentucky.
Each section begins with an ancestral picture
and short genealogical reference point which brings
one down through the years from the 1845 birth of
the poetess' great-great-grandmother, in slavery, to
the 191 6 birth of the poetess's mother. Diverne was
the Hickman slave who bore the bi-racial children
destined to become important citizens in Hickman,
the state of Kentucky and the world: Pomp Atwood ,
businessman and partner in Hickman Joint Stock
Company; Rufus Atwood , President of Kentucky
State University for 38 years; Melvin M. Nelson,
Captain , USAF (Ret.), a Tuskegee Airman.
Entwined with the family stories is the story of
the African-American struggle before, during , and
after the Civil War, the failures they experienced
and the successes they achieved in Hickman and
beyond to the places to which they migrated:
businesses, schools, the ability to go to college, the
ability to earn a living! From the poem , Intermezzo,
page 15:
135