Disabled Man Sold to Union Army!

Yes, you read that right. In 1863, because of the increased need for more manpower, and because of the lack of ready volunteers, states were offering substantial bounties to encourage men to join the Union army. Cornelius “Con” Garvin, 18, a young man described in the newspaper articles of the time an “idiot boy” or “lunatic” was sold to the Union Army by the superintendent of the Almhouse where he was living. The descriptions are what would have been appropriate for the time as describing a person with an intellectual disability.

The precise nature of Cornelius (or Con’s) disorder is not known, but whatever it was, one of the way’s in which it appears to have impacted him was that he was easily led, and was quick to do what others told him.

I cannot praise enough the detailed article about this story written in the Irish American Civil War. It took an immense amount of research to discover all of the threads of the tale. And it is amazing. You can read the full article with details and citations here: http://irishamericancivilwar.com/2015/01/11/in-search-of-con-the-remarkable-story-of-the-hunt-for-the-idiot-boy-sold-into-service/

But to give you a short summary, Con’s mother, Catharine, having a difficult time caring for him placed him temporarily in the Rensselaer County Almhouse. The head of the Almhouse, likely working with others “sold” Con to the army as a substitute for the large bounty. This was the beginning of Catharine’s multi-year quest to find her son. 

For the next two years she haunted the Union army searching for the familiar face of her son. She petitioned military officers and politicians and basically begged anyone who could with help in finding her son.  The media picked up on the story; Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, learned of the story; even President Lincoln himself wanted to see it come to resolution.

Lafayette C. Baker, commander of the Union’s Intelligence Service, was assigned the task. Unfortunately, this story doesn’t have a happy ending. Baker, in his book, the History of the United States Secret Service, (https://archive.org/details/histsecretservice00bakerich/page/n9) uncovers, not only was Con sold by the head of the Almhouse, but also that Captain Degner of the 52nd New York Volunteers, who commanded Con’s company (Co. F or possibly I), ‘attempted to intimidate, by threats of punishment, those privates of his company who were disposed to assist Mrs. Garvin and others engaged in the investigation.’ Referred to as ‘Watches’ or ‘Watchless’, Con Garvin was killed in battle in Spotsylvania, VA., in May, 1864.

References:

Catharine Garvin Collection at the Allen County Public Library: http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/LincolnCollection/shared/docs/Catharine%20Garvin%20Collection.pdf

In Search of Con: The Remarkable Story of the Hunt for the ‘Idiot’ Boy Sold into Service from the Irish American Civil War:  http://irishamericancivilwar.com/2015/01/11/in-search-of-con-the-remarkable-story-of-the-hunt-for-the-idiot-boy-sold-into-service/

History of the United States Secret Service by L.C. Baker: https://archive.org/details/histsecretservice00bakerich/page/n9