Thriller Thursday: The Courtesy Due My Rank, a Civil War Murder

General Davis, Circa 1862.

Along with my love of suspense, true crime, and thrillers, Civil War history is another favorite, so today we're talking about a Civil War murder committed by Jefferson Davis.

No, not THE Jefferson Davis, the one and only President of the Confederate States of America, but Jefferson C. Davis, an officer in the United States Army. Davis served in the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, and the Modoc War. A proven soldier, Davis was inside the walls of Fort Sumter in 1861 when the rebels fired the first shots. A tenacious soldier, he was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers in 1862. Despite his distinguished history, Davis is remembered for the similarity of his name to President Jefferson Davis and for murdering a superior officer during the Civil War.

In 1862, exhausted and emaciated, Davis left the Army on sick leave but returned to defend Cincinnati, Ohio. He soon found himself in Louisville, Kentucky reporting to Maj. General William Nelson.

Davis was a quiet man, but he was stubborn and known to have a temper. A biographer once described Davis as "aggressive, feisty, and confrontational with a fiery and combative spirit." Small and compact, Davis knew how to handle himself in a fight.

Jefferson C. Davis, standing second from right, with General Sherman and his staff.

In contrast, Maj. General William Nelson was over six foot tall and weighed around 300 pounds—no small feat in the lean days of the Civil War. Four years older than Davis, Nelson had gotten his start as a midshipman in the Navy and then quickly rose to rank during the Civil War. Known to be a bully, Nelson had been nicknamed "Bull" during his Navy days.

Major General William Nelson.

Not exactly a match made in heaven.

Davis was an Indiana boy, and Nelson a staunch Kentuckian. The two states didn't get along, and Nelson often referred to Hoosiers as "poor trash." A veteran soldier, Davis resented reporting to a man who'd only recently been given command of troops. Nelson ordered Davis to organize and train the "home guard," an assignment Davis would have been insulted by.

It didn't take long for the two men to clash. When Davis reported to Nelson at the Galt House, a fancy hotel serving as Army offices and Nelson's quarters, the Maj. General asked Davis for the number of troops gathered and how many weapons they needed. After only two days on the job, Davis later said he couldn't possibly have answered differently. Nelson was furious.

Maj. General James B. Fry

Maj. General James. B. Fry witnessed Nelson rise and glared down his nose at the diminutive Davis. The following is his description of his encounter:

"But you should know, I am disappointed in you, General Davis. I selected you for this duty because you are an officer in the regular Army, but I find I made a mistake.'

"Davis arose and remarked in a cool, deliberate manner:

"'General Nelson, I am a regular soldier, and I demand the treatment due to me as a general officer...I demand from you the courtesy due my rank.'

"Nelson replied: 'I will treat you as you deserve. You have disappointed me. You have been unfaithful to the trust I have reposed in you, and I shall relieve you at once. You will proceed to Cincinnati and report to General Wright.'

"Davis said: 'You have no authority to order me.'

"Nelson turned toward the Adj. General and said: 'Captain, if General Davis does not leave the city by nine o'clock tonight, give instructions to the Provost-Marshal to see that he shall be put across the Ohio!"

Needless to say, egos were severely wounded and all hell was about to break loose.

General Wright temporarily defused the situation, but when General Buell took over for Nelson, Wright sent Davis back to Ohio. Davis settled in and began planning an attack against rebels in Kentucky. On September 29, Davis entered Galt house to report. When Nelson arrived, Davis demanded an apology. Indiana Governor Oliver Morton and General Fry overheard the exchange.

Indiana Governor Oliver Morton

Fry said Nelson answered Davis's demand with a loud, "no!" and "said in a loud voice for all to hear, 'Go away, you damned puppy. I don't want anything to do with you!'"

Thoroughly insulted and embarrassed, Davis wadded up the paper he was holding and threw it in Nelson's face. Nelson slapped Davis with the back of his hand, made a nasty comment to Governor Morton, and stomped toward the staircase. Unbelievably, Davis took a pistol from a nearby friend, walked to within three feet of the towering Nelson and shot the unarmed general in the chest.

According to witnesses, Nelson dragged himself up the stairs before collapsing. "Send for a clergyman," he gasped. "I wish to be baptized. I have been basely murdered."

Davis was immediately arrested, but he insisted that while he wanted an apology, he had no intention of murdering Nelson. I'm not sure how you shoot a man point blank in the chest without intention, but I digress. Some officers screamed for Davis' immediate hanging. General Buell, an admirer of Nelson, called the act "a high crime and gross violation of military discipline. He intended to take quick action, but time was on Davis's side.

General Buell

Because time was short and quality officers in need, Buell didn't have the resources for a court marshall. He wanted Davis to be tried in Washington. Davis's friend Governor Morton lobbied on his behalf, and Davis was released with in a week. Some accounts also have General Wright coming to Davis's aid and gaining his release from prison. He escaped conviction because the Union Army was in desperate need for experienced field commanders, and within fourteen days of murdering Nelson, Davis received division command in the Army of the Cumberland.

General Davis, circa 1865.

Davis did receive a very tiny punishment for the murder: he never reached a rank higher than brigadier general of volunteers. He did earn a temporary promotion to major general of volunteers on August 8, 1864, then was appointed commanding officer of the XIV Corps, a post he retained until the end of the Civil War.

Controversy continued to surround Davis during the Ebenezer Creek passing. His racist attitude toward freed slaves was deplorable. On December 9, 1864, Davis ordered a bridge removed before the refugee slaves following his army could cross. Hundreds of slaves were either captured by Confederates or drowned in the Creek.

Davis with his staff in Washington D.C. in 1865

Davis stayed in the Army after the war. He was the first commander of the Department of Alaska. True to his crusty nature, he forced the Russian settlers of Sitka, Alaska out of their homes because they were "needed for Americans." In the Modoc War, Davis's field prowess was an asset, resulting in the successful Battle of Dry Lake.

Crown Hill Gateway, Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Jefferson C. Davis died in 1879 at age 51 in Chicago. He was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana. Crown Hill is the place for Indiana's soldiers and celebrities, and it's a beautiful cemetery. On a personal note, my great-great grandfather Peter Fisher is buried at Crown Hill. He served in the Civil War, and we're lucky enough to have his Colt Revolver.

Jefferson C. Davis Grave Site, Crown Hill. Image credit Seth Musselmen.

Clearly this was a case of egos and tempers out of control. In the days when gentlemanly conduct was highly valued, it's astounding Davis wasn't tried. Do you think General Davis should have served time for the murder, or did the needs of the Union Army outweigh justice?

Thriller Thursday: Dead Body Walks Out On Autopsy

I just finished reading Tess Gerritsen’s fantastic book, Vanish. Dr. Maura Isles is a Boston medical examiner swamped on a hot summer day. Before leaving the office, she hears something moving in the morgue. It can’t be, can it? But it was. A drowned woman mistaken for dead had come to life and was shuffling around in the body bag.

Can you IMAGINE?

Naturally, I was hooked. And then I got to thinking, is that really possible? Surely mistakes like aren’t made any more?

And then I remembered the case of the coffin lady. Remember her? Fagily Mukhametzyanov from Russia woke up in her coffin, surrounded by friends and family mourning her. She went into shock and died 12 minutes later in the hospital from a heart attack. She’d collapsed at home after having chest pains.

Seriously? Obviously she wasn’t embalmed. But how does she pass through various doctors and funeral services without being discovered? I realize their practices are different, but come on! Nobody heard the poor woman? Even if she wasn’t conscious, she was breathing.

Oh, there’s more. In 2009, an eighty-four year old Polish woman woke up in a morgue. She’d fallen unconscious at home, and a doctor pronounced her dead.

According to a police spokesman, a funeral company took the body to the morgue. Several hours later, a worker noticed the bag containing the body moving. The woman went to intensive care and survived.

And there’s even more. In 2010, a premature newborn declared dead in Mexico woke up inside her coffin. The parents heard a strange noise during the baby’s wake. When they opened the casket, the baby was crying and very much alive. The doctor was investigated for negligence.

In 2007, a Venezuelan man woke up in the morgue in excruciating pain because medical examiners had cut into his face. Carlos Cameio, 33, had been declared dead after an accident. His wife came to ID the body and found him moved to the hallway, alive.

A happy ending, at least.

It’s happening in the U.S., too. In 2005, Larry Green was hit by a car in North Carolina and declared dead. He was put into a body bag and sent to the morgue. The medical examiner didn’t notice he was alive until two and half hours later. Green is suing North Carolina Medical, claiming the mistake led to injuries from which he might not recover.

And in a suburb outside Boston, a young woman was found dead in her tub. Empty pill bottles were found beside her, so it was assumed her death was an accidental overdose. She woke up in the morgue a few hours later.

I wonder if this is where Gerritsen got the idea for Vanish? Takes place in Boston, the woman drowned, had barbiturates in her system, etc.

According to Jonathon Turley, Lexis-nexis shows there’s case after case of this happening. In Colorado, the ink on a boy’s death certificate hadn’t dried when they noticed he was moving. In Georgia, a man hit by a car spent the night in the morgue refigerator before someone heard him moving. In NYC, the pathologist was about to make his first cut when the corpse woke up and grabbed the doctor. Doctor keeled over, dead from a heart attack. Gerritsen mentions that one in Vanish, by the way.

I could list more cases, but you get the point. It sounds like the stuff of great horror stories, but these are real people going through this terror. How are mistakes like this made? According to Gerritsen’s character Dr. Maura Isles, people who are in very cold water can look dead and have an extremely slow heartbeat. Certain drugs can mask vital signs and make it difficult to hear a pulse.

Gerritsen is a doctor and was a practicing internist before leaving to write, so I assume she knows what she’s talking about.

But can that really explain all of these mistakes? In Vanish, Isles talks about caskets being dug up with claw marks. That’s not a fun fact Gerritsen made up. People have feared being buried alive for centuries. In the Civil War era, they installed “coffin alarms.” A bell was attached to the headstone with a chain leading down into the coffin to a ring on the finger of the deceased. If you woke up and found yourself stuck in a casket, you could pull on the chain.

I’d hate to be the graveyard caretaker and hear the bells ring.

In Vanish, Dr. Isles says that some casket makers sell coffins equipped with emergency transmitters. I couldn’t find any confirmation of that, but after reading case after case of mistaken death, I’m hoping they exist.

What do you guys think? Have you heard any plausible explanations for this?