| Notes |
- Harry was a Captain in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He was a blockade runner (crossed enemy lines) and was captured while running medical supplies to the Confederacy. Harry's first cousin, once-removed, Dr. Richard Spriggs Steuart, was involved in smuggling medical supplies to the Confederate army. It seems likely that they may have been working together. Harry was subsequently executed.
The following newspaper article from The Baltimore Sun, 24 July 1904, presents and glowing, tragic, and romantic portrait of Harry Steuart's loyalty to the Confederate cause of slave ownership.
"HE PAID TO BE KILLED
HOW YOUNG HARRY STEUART WAS BETRAYED BY A SENTRY
HE WAS A BLOCKADE RUNNER
Took Medicines And Ammunition Through Lines - Killed In The Old Capitol Prison.
On the little knoll to the left of the main entrance of Greenmount Cemetery and in the lot of the late Dr. Richard Sprigg Steuart stands a granite shaft, which marks the grave of a son of the late Gen. Roger Pryor, United States Army. Within the shadow of the column is a grave with a plain white headstone, bearing a cross and the inscription:
"In the Old Capitol Prison, HENRY A. STEUART, Son of ANN AND WILLIAM F. STEUART, In the twenty-first year of his age."
The simple inscription conveys only a slight idea that the stone marks the final resting place of a Marylander who left his home and gave his young life for the "Lost Cause."
A captain in the Confederate Army, young Steuart was a blockade runner, but not as the term is generally understood. He did not run the blockade for personal gain, but his daring trips through the lines were made under the direction of the Confederate Government, and his baggage consisted mainly of medical supplies for the sick and wounded soldiers, which the Federal Government had declared contraband and munitions of war. The story of Captain Steuart's life and death is a part of the history of the great Civil War.
If there is anything in the theory of heredity, in the old saying that what is born in the blood will manifest itself in the flesh, it was natural that young Steuart should be a soldier. In his veins flowed the blood of the early Scottish kings; the blood of the pious and warlike St. David; of Robert Bruce, one of the knightliest heroes of a knightly age; of Lord Robert Stewart, who commanded the Second Division of the ill-fated Scottish army at Halledon Hill; of Sir Dudley Digges, who fell fighting under the banner of Charles I, and of a score of lesser lights. His family too, had served the old State of Maryland well in the past, and his father, brothers and a score or more of kinsmen wore the gray and filled with honor every rank from private to major-general.
One Of The First To Respond.
Henry Augustus Steuart was the eldest son of Dr. William Frederick Steuart, afterward chief surgeon of the brigade of his kinsman, Gen. George H. Steuart. He was born at Pemberton, the estate of his father, near West River., Anne Arundel county, in 1841, and at the time of his death was not quite 21 years old. After receiving an excellent primary-school education he entered Charlotte Hall College, St. Mary's county, one of the oldest military schools in this country.
When the boom of Sumter's guns resounded from Maryland to Texas not even the shrill whistle of Rhoderic Dhu, which garrisoned the glen at once with full five hundred men, was responded to more promptly. Maryland never seceded, but from country and town, farm and office, college and counting room the youth of the Old Line State rushed to arms, all eager "to live and die for Dixie" and burning with the desire to emulate the deeds of their sires under Smallwood and Howard.
Harry Steuart was among the first to leave his father's home, and with a few comrades, whose names have been lost in the march of the years to make his way across the Potomac into Virginia. Being an expert horseman he had no difficulty in enlisting as a private in the Black Horse Cavalry, a troop of superbly mounted and equipped cavalry which was organized in Fauquier county some time before the outbreak of the war by Col. John Scott.
As a private of this command young Steuart was engaged at the battle of Manassas, where the Black Horse Cavalry made several brilliant charges upon the enemy's infantry and won a name for itself which the vicissitudes of four years of war could not dim and the lapse of years has not erased. Not long after the victory at Manassas young Steuart was detached from his command and selected as a special agent of the Confederate States, with the rank of captain, and ordered to Baltimore to procure medical supplies, of which the Southern army was in dire need. Captain Steuart had not attained his majority at the time of his selection for the responsible and dangerous mission, and his appointment was a high tribute to his courage and ability.
Several Trips Through The Lines.
In his capacity as agent for the Confederate Government Captain Steuart made several trips through the lines, carrying medical supplies, fuses and musket caps. His route was down through St. Mary's county and thence by ferry across the Potomac.
While passing from Baltimore through Southern Maryland on his way to Virginia "Our Harry" used to obtain relays of horses at Mount Airy, the Colonial manor house of his kinsman, the Calverts, in Prince George's county, about 16 miles from Washington. At the auction sale of the treasures of Mount Airy held in Washington in February, 1903, there was sold a gutta percha ring, such as were made by Confederate soldiers in prison. This ring bears the label, "Presented to Eleanor A. Calvert by her cousin, Harry Steuart."
The official records of the War of the Rebellion show that on October 29, 1861, Captain Steuart wrote from Baltimore to Hon. Judah P. Benjamin, Confederate Secretary of War, as follows:
"The gentleman who will hand you this I have forwarded by our Government route, as he comes on very important business with the Navy Department. Anything that I can do for you here let me know immediately. Any communication directed to Mr. Hermange, Sun office, Baltimore, will reach me safely. This is a better arrangement than the one mentioned in my former letter. General Dix has announced his intention of hanging me as a spy if he can find me. That for his intentions.
With every wish for the success of our devoted cause I remain, very respectfully yours,
H. A. Steuart."
Caught At Millstone.
No official data concerning Captain Steuart's arrest can be found, but the newspaper accounts say that he was captured about December 15, 1861, at the home of Mr. Henry J. Carroll, at Millstone Landing, St. Mary's county. Family tradition says that Captain Steuart left Baltimore in charge of a wagon loaded with medical supplies and military stores, and was near Camp Parole, Anne Arundel county, when halted by a detachment of United States cavalry.
Captain Steuart charged through the lines of the cavalry and made his escape, hotly pursued. With the evident intention of returning to Virginia, he made his way to Mr. Carroll's home. Here he was placed under arrest one morning by Federal troops and detectives.
Captain Steuart was taken direct to the Old Capitol Prison, in Washington, where he was placed in confinement on the charge of being a "rebel spy." His roommates in prison were Mr. Rudolph Watkins, of St. Mary's county, a relative of Col. Ashton Ramsay, of Baltimore, and Mr. Judson J. Jarboe, also of St. Mary's county. In February the trio received a recruit in the person of Mr. William I. Rasin, afterward captain of Company E, First Maryland Cavalry, Confederate States of America, and a cousin of Mr. I. Freeman Rasin, of Baltimore. Mr. Rasin was arrested at Stoneton, Kent county, the residence of Mr. Price, on the night of February 12. The arrest was made by two detectives, heavily armed, and he was hurried in a closed carriage to Elkton and taken thence to Washington and charged with being a spy.
Determined To Escape.
Captain Steuart had been in confinement only a few weeks when he began to look about him for some means by which to escape. He soon found that the hope and thought of escape was foremost in the minds of both Mr. Rasin and Mr. Watkins, and the three men became bound together by the tie of mutual confidence and a common purpose. One of the trio knew of the existence in the prison of a rope which had been woven from an old manilla doormat found in the prison by Mansfield Walworth, a political prisoner who had been reduced to solitary confinement. This rope was concealed in a certain mattress.
A letter to friends outside of the prison had been sent safely through the guards, and was answered in a unique manner. A box of cigars was sent to the prison for Mr. Rasin. After the box was opened and examined by the prison authorities to see if it contained anything contraband, it was delivered to Mr. Rasin. Had the superintendent of the prison or any of the guards seen what took place after the box of cigars was delivered, they would have been much interested.
In the seclusion of their room the three prisoners took the cigars from the box one by one and bit off the end of each. About half of the cigars had been thus treated when one of the prisoners gave an exclamation. His teeth had struck a pin. Then the three men, with feverish haste, stripped the cigar of its wrapper and crumbled up the tobacco to disclose a tiny ball of paper. The ball was carefully straightened and smoothed out and the answer to their communication was eagerly read. It furnished detailed information of a valuable nature to the anxious prisoners.
The next important thing to be done by the prisoners was the removal of one of the heavy wooden bars on the outside of the window. A common table knife was procured, and with much patience and labor teeth were filed in it. With this improvised saw the work of cutting the wooden bar was begun. The work could only be done on dark nights, a little at a time, the prisoners taking turns at the task, and it was two weeks before the bar was sawed so that a slight blow with the fist would dislodge it.
Narrowly Escaped Detection.
At one time the superintendent of the prison, Colonel Wood, narrowly missed detecting the work of sawing the bar. In order to conceal their work the prisoners stored a lot of old jars and bottles in the window and hung an old damask curtain over it. One day, when the work of sawing the bar was about half completed, Colonel Wood entered the room and sharply demanded to know why the curtain was hung over the window, at the same time stalking over and pulling the curtain aside. Mr. Watkins quickly replied: "Oh that's our pantry, Colonel. The curtain keeps the flies off the preserves." The jars and other rubbish concealed the cuts in the bar, and Colonel Wood was satisfied with Mr. Watkins' explanation and left the prisoners to recover from the shock.
For nearly a month the prisoners waited a favorite opportunity to attempt to put their plan in operation. Finally a dark, stormy night arrived, and it was determined to make the attempt. About 11 o'clock the cards were cut to decide who should have the honor of going first, and Mr. Rasin cut high, Mr. Watkins next and Captain Steuart low.
Quickly removing the jars and bottles from the window the sawed bar was broken, the rope produced and fastened to another bar and all was in readiness for the escape. Mr. Rasin swung himself out of the window and started down the rope hand-over-hand, when the rope broke and the two waiting prisoners heard their comrade's body fall with a thud upon a cellar door many feet below. Then all was quiet.
Rasin Had Gotten Away
Believing that the game was up and that Rasin was either dead or maimed and captured, Captain Steuart and Mr. Watkins replaced the sawed bar in position, concealed the end of the rope and retired to their bunks to await the morning's developments.
Shortly before daybreak a strong gust of wind dislodged the sawed bar and it fell with a clatter on the cellar door beneath. A few minutes later several guards rushed into the room occupied by the prisoners, and then both guards and prisoners learned to their amazement that Mr. Rasin had gotten away.
It seems that Mr. Rasin had landed squarely on his feet on the cellar door, and the wind had carried the sound away from the two guards, who were engaged in a quiet flirtation with a girl at the time. Summoning up all his nerve Mr. Rasin straightened up and walked directly toward the guards and passed between them, they saluting, undoubtedly believing him to be one of their officers. For three days Mr. Rasin lay concealed in Washington while the city and surrounding country were being scoured for him. Then he escaped from the capital in disguise and was soon with the Army of Northern Virginia.
Colonel Wood instituted a rigid examination to try to ascertain if any prisoners were implicated in Mr. Rasin's escape, but it was fruitless. Mr. Rasin carried his end of the rope with him, and the other end was burned by Captain Steuart, and the prison authorities concluded that Mr. Rasin had performed the hazardous feat of dropping to the ground from the window.
Mad Steuart Desperate.
The failure of their own attempt to escape was a terrible blow to Captain Steuart and Mr. Watkins and made the former desperate. Mr. Watkins says that he seemed to lose all discretion and regard for danger and frequently walked about the prison at night with a pair of yarn socks over his boots trying to bribe some of the guards into letting him pass them. Mr. Watkins and his other friends warned him of the danger he was incurring, but he did not heed them.
Finally his prison-mates noticed that he was often in conversation with a certain guard, and suspected that the soldier had made a proposition to him. On the night before his death he was seen to count $50 and roll the notes up in a piece of paper and tie a string around it. As he did so he appeared as buoyant as a child. As he placed the money in his pocket one of his roommates approached him and said: "Harry are you going to trust that devil with your life?"
"It's all right," was the cheery reply. "Please don't say anything to discourage me."
Mr. Watkins, when he heard that Captain Steuart had made an arrangement with the guard whereby the latter for $50 agreed to permit him to drop from the window to the ground and then, to pass him, endeavored to dissuade his friend from the desperate attempt, but in vain.
How He Met His Fate.
In an article published in the Rockville (Md.) Sentinel nearly 20 years ago Mr. Watkins, Captain Steuart's friend and prison-mate, gives the following details of the shooting of Steuart on the morning of Sunday, May 11, 1862:
"My bunk was under Steuart's in a tier of two that occupied the space from the wall of the corridor to the other against the locked door opening into the corridor in a little room formed by throwing a partition wall across the corridor. This little room opened into the larger room.
"When I turned in I left Steuart leaning on the sill of the window only a few feet from where I lay, with the sash thrown up and his head pressed forward against the 'guard crip.' Several times during the night I awakened from a very uneasy slumber and saw him in the same position, and once I asked him to come to bed, but he gave me no audible answer. In my sleep I heard someone calling 'Come on,' and I think then calling continued for some time and Steuart, I have no doubt, had dropped asleep.
At last, in a half-wakened condition, I heard a voice in a low tone saying 'Come on; it will soon be too late; come on.' Then I saw Steuart climb over the crib, and he must have rested his feet on the granite ledge below the window to steady himself before letting go his hold, but he had scarcely passed over the crib when I distinctly heard the guard say 'Halt,' and almost that the same instant came the report of the rifle and the ball tearing the plaster from above my head.
Shot Through The Knee.
"He got back and fell on the floor under the window before I could reach him not assist him in; in fact, it seemed to me that he was blown in, he got back so quickly. The first thing I did was to raise his head and place my pillow under him. Then I ran my knife blade through his clothing and boot and removed them, when the wounded joint, the knee of the right leg was exposed, with blood spurting out in the most rapid and frightful manner.
A tourniquet was brought from the hospital steward's room and applied above the wound, but it had very little effect in checking the flow of blood. He was bleeding from 4 o'clock A.M. until his leg was amputated late in the afternoon, and he received no surgical treatment before 9 A.M. There was not really any reason for his being allowed to die if he had been treated in time, but it never did seem to us that a prisoner's sufferings or death were regarded as of any material importance by any of the authorities, except Colonel Wood. He on this occasion did everything in his power, but he could not do much, owing to circumstances.
"The fact is certain that Steuart was the victim, as far as his death is concerned, of the absence of prompt treatment. His sufferings were dreadful, the minie ball having ground the joint to atoms as it passed through. He seemed to care but little for himself and the burden of his sorrow seemed to be his sympathy for his mother. Later I saw her for a moment bending over him as he lay dead in the hospital ward, and now, though it has been 25 years since the scenes here narrated happened, I can see her still, the most sublime and exquisite picture of grief I ever looked upon."
Senator Mahoney's Account.
Senator Mahoney, of Iowa, in his interesting book, "The Prisoner of State," gives the particulars of Captain Steuart's death and says:
"The $50 was found in the young man's pockets, all ready wrapped up for the sentry, and written upon the paper containing the funds was the sentence, "This is the money I promised you." The bribery was fairly proved, the deliberation attending the murder was apparent and proof that the sentry called him was ready, and yet the authorities did not even punish the guilty sentry, but actually put the villain on guard afterward. The same sentinel deserted afterward and was brought back to the old Capitol a prisoner, where he remained up to the middle of November. He was one of the most villainous looking human beings that ever had the head and face of a man."
The sentry who shot Captain Steuart was a member of the Eighty-sixth New York Volunteers.
In speaking of Captain Steuart Senator Mahoney says: "Mr. Steuart was a very fine gentleman, of short but robust stature and excellent qualities, and a devout Christian."
Mr. Watkins thus speaks of him: "Harry Steuart was a bright, amiable and attractive young man, scarcely having more than reached manhood at the time he was overtaken by death in its most dreadful form. In stature he was rather below the general run of men, but compactly formed, active and strong, and probably in perfect health. His hair and eyes were black or deep brown, and his expression and manners were exceedingly agreeable, enabling him to win the warm attachment of everyone with whom he was brought in contact. I think I can convey a pretty good impression of his appearance by stating that I have frequently been strongly reminded of him by meeting with Hon. J. Sprigg Poole, though poor Steuart was considerably more fleshy in person than the former gentleman."
Body Brought to Baltimore.
In a recent letter to a nephew of Captain Steuart Mr. Watkins says: "He was in perfect health and one of the most perfect physiques I ever saw. But he was in a comatose state from loss of blood before he received any professional attention, and I do not think he spoke after his removal from the room where he was shot."
Captain Steuart's family experienced considerable difficulty in getting his remains from the prison authorities. through the intercession of Mrs. Voorhees, wife of Senator Voorhees, of Indiana, the body was finally delivered to the parents of the young man. It was brought to Baltimore and interred in Greenmount Cemetery, where it now rests. R. D. S."
(The Baltimore Sun. 24 July 1904)
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1840 - 1862 (21 years)
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