Used as a negro prison before the War, it was later a prison for women and
a place for confinement of political or suspected spies and State
prisoners. John Minor Botts, Franklin Stearns, Burnham Wardwell and other
Unionists were at separate times confined here. Also known as McDaniel's Negro Jail.
"Lumpkin's jai" appears to be a totally different building nearby.
|
Richmond Dispatch |
3/3/1862; Account of arrests of J. M. Botts, Stearns & others. Confined in
“the new brick building on the extension of Fifteenth street, on the
right-hand side, beyond the auction house of Messrs. Dickinson & Hill”
(Castle Godwin) |
|
Richmond
Whig |
3/3/1862; John Minor Botts,
Franklin Stearns and other Union men have been arrested and put in "a jail
situated in Lumpkin’s Alley" [Castle Godwin] |
|
Richmond
Whig |
3/3/1862; Jefferson Davis'
proclamation that Richmond is under martial law and forced prohibition; Gen.
John H. Winder will enforce this proclamation; Capt. A. C. Godwin is
appointed Provost Marshal of Richmond. All private firearms must be turned
in |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
3/4/1862; good description of
Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
3/4/1862; John Minor Botts and
Franklin Stearns arrested; Richmond under martial law |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
3/6/1862; 21 prisoners at military prison – Samuel Maccubbin Chief of
Provost Marshal police & Baldwin T. Allen clerk of the prison |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
3/6/1862; Charles Palmer and others
arrested on charges of disloyalty and locked up in Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
3/6/1862; 21 prisoners now at
Castle Godwin; general discussion of suitable buildings for prisons |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
3/6/1862; Unionists and
grog-sellers have been confined in McDaniel's jail (Castle Godwin) |
|
Richmond
Whig |
3/6/1862; Samuel Macubbin has been
appointed Chief of Police, and Baldwin T. Allen has been appointed clerk of
the "prison in Lumpkins' Alley" [Castle Godwin] |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
3/7/1862; Charles Palmer released
from custody for suspected unionist sympathies |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
3/7/1862; Two more unionists
arrested and put in Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
3/7/1862; Capt. A. C. Godwin
resigns as Provost Marshal to concentrate on his duties as commandant of
prisons. |
|
Richmond
Whig |
3/7/1862; Charles Palmer has been
released from Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
3/10/1862; remarks on new arrivals at McDaniel’s Jail – one female. Uses the
term “Castle Godwin” |
|
Richmond
Whig |
3/10/1862; Castle Godwin mentioned |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
3/11/1862; 3 Yankee officers (including Zenas Bliss) stay overnight in
Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
3/13/1862; Major John C. Porter Provost Marshal of the City, with Godwin
commanding eastern half and John C. Maynard the western half; Passport
office to 9th & Broad & Winder to house on 9th beside Mechanics’
Institute |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
3/18/1862; Capt. Geo. W. Alexander appointed Assistant Provost Marshal; he
has not recovered fully from his injuries |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
3/20/1862; Half a dozen new inmates at Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
3/24/1862; 7 Unionists arrested in Roanoke county, put in Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
3/26/1862; names of latest Castle Godwin prisoners |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
3/29/1862; Castle Godwin takes Libby Prison overflow (more than 700 at
Libby) |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/3/1862; long list of everyone committed to Castle Godwin – date and charge |
|
Richmond
Whig |
4/3/1862; description of Capt.
Godwin and his police detectives. Godwin has his office on "Broad, corner of
Ninth street." Macubbin is "Chief of Confederate States Military Police" |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/5/1862; several Union officers released from Castle Godwin, including
Zenas Bliss |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/9/1862; escape attempt of Castle Godwin prisoner foiled |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
4/10/1862; list of Castle Godwin prisoners, confined since March 15 |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/11/1862; Government lithographers go on strike and are sent to Castle
Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/12/1862; failed escape attempt at Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/12/1862; trial of John Minor Botts has commenced; he was taken from Castle
Godwin under guard, and returned in the same manner |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/14/1862; 2 men to Castle Godwin for selling liquor |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
4/18/1862; Court of Inquiry for
Unionist John Minor Botts meets, and fails to release him from prison |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/21/1862; Michael Gately of Fredericksburg escapes from Franklin Street
Guard House – formerly at Castle Godwin – not a soldier |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/22/1862; continuation of Castle Godwin prisoner list – notes a “John
Booth” imprisoned for having a “bogus pass” [JWB?] |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/22/1862; trial of spy Tim Webster completed, no result yet – imprisoned in
Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/23/1862; Geo. W. Alexander raid nets deserters, bounty jumpers, Castle
Godwin escapee |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/24/1862; Lt. R. M. Booker has become one of the Assistant Provost Marshals
of the city – he had previously been one of the officers in charge of the
C.S. Military Prison on Main street |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/26/1862; Man released from Castle Godwin after wife’s constant pleas to
Captain Alexander |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
4/26/1862; Franklin Stearns has
been released from Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
4/26/1862; Franklin Stearns, lately
confined in Castle Godwin for alleged disloyalty, has been released, and
returns to his "Tree Hill" farm |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
4/28/1862; Timothy Webster, a
Pinkerton agent, has been condemned to be hung as a spy |
|
Richmond
Whig |
4/28/1862; Franklin Stearns has
been released from Castle Godwin, and returns home |
|
Richmond
Whig |
4/28/1862; A. C. Godwin has
resigned as Provost Marshal, and G. W. Griswold is appointed in his place |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
4/29/1862; Timothy Webster will be
hung today |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/29/1862; John M. Botts at Henrico residence - released from Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/30/1862; Conditions upon which John M. Botts was released from Castle
Godwin: move further South and tell the War Department about it |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/30/1862; names of 4 men released from Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
4/30/1862; Details of the
execution of Timothy Webster at Camp Lee; "Mrs. Webster" still confined in
Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond
Whig |
4/30/1862; Timothy Webster, Yankee
spy, was hung at Camp Lee yesterday |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
5/1/1862; female “spy” released from Castle Godwin after taking oath |
|
Richmond
Whig |
5/1/1862; John Minor Botts is
living in Henrico, after being released from prison. He is instructed to
live in the south somewhere and is preparing to depart |
|
G. W. Alexander letter |
5/3/1862; letter from Alexander to
Godwin, containing a breakdown of the numbers of guards detailed at the
various prisons |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
5/5/1862; “lunatic” who preached unionism at Washington Monument, Capitol
Square, sent to Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
5/5/1862; James L. Lepoe sent to Castle Godwin, spy & deserter |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/6/1862; escapes & attempts, Castle Godwin & “the guard house on Franklin
street.” |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/6/1862; 5/5 Elias Griswold replaces A. C. Godwin as Provost Marshal of
Richmond. Godwin to Salisbury to replace Gibbs, who is taking a Battalion to
the field. Griswold a lawyer from Maryland Eastern Shore - other details on
Elias Griswold |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/9/1862; details on a woman arrested for theft at Rocketts, sent to Castle
Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/15/1862; officers from Libby Prison & “fifty of the hardest subjects” from
Castle Godwin to go to Salisbury |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/16/1862; one of Castle Godwin political prisoners acquitted |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/20/1862; George W. Alexander carried the dispatches from Drewry’s Bluff to
Richmond; Lt. James H. Rochelle manned “gun No. 2” during the fight |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/21/1862; Castle Godwin update. Frederick Shaffer replaces Geo. Frebmyer as
warden - 60 prisoners, neat, clean, well-run, etc. G.W. Alexander praised |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/22/1862; kindly-treated poor woman names son after G. W. Alexander |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/22/1862; Alexander arrests fake officer at American Hotel |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/22/1862; G. W. Alexander says men are impersonating his officers |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/23/1862; prisoner shot by guard at Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
5/27/1862; Provost Marshal raids a
"rum shop" and hauls off the offender to the civilian prison |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/29/1862; U. S. Hotel apparently vacant. Man mugged inside & illegal bar
found on 3rd floor. Muggers taken to Castle Godwin. |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
5/31/1862; escape attempt from
Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/31/1862; Man jailed at Castle Godwin for hanging his female slave |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/2/1862;
Extravagant story about detective Cashmeyer killing Yanks at Seven Pines |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/5/1862; List of
21 POWs at Castle Godwin to be sent South. Also now 130 traitors in Libby
Prison |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/6/1862; 2
female prisoners at Castle Godwin to be sent home |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/6/1862; Man
temporarily escapes from Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/6/1862; City
Arms Hotel Hosp., 15th St., established by Capt. Alexander; McDaniel’s Jail
known as Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
6/6/1862; two ladies released from
Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/7/1862; 93NY
deserter brought in to Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/7/1862; poem by
G. W. Alexander, "The Dying Alabamian" |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
6/11/1862; 128 Federal prisoners
at Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/12/1862; 3 boys
steal horse - jailed for a day at Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/13/1862; CS
Commissioner examines Castle Godwin’s political prisoners |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/13/1862; 2
moonshiners caught - sent to Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/16/1862; local
resident A. O. Brummel released from Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/16/1862; man
escapes from Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/17/1862; Capt.
Bossieux’s Co doing provost duty. Arrested more than 50 AWOLs on Saturday |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/17/1862; local
cabinet maker sent to Castle Godwin for “seditious language” |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/17/1862; Jim
Cook "celebrated toddy mixer" put in Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/17/1862;
paragraph on G. W. Alexander, now AAG to Winder by late promotion |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/19/1862; Fred
Keyser, alias Wm. Schultz, escapes briefly from Castle Godwin by putting on
blackface |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
6/19/1862; man attempts to escape
Castle Godwin by blacking his face to look like a negro - recaptured after a
chase through Butchertown and "bucked." |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/20/1862; John
Eubank, 12BnLA at Battery #7, advertises reward for the arrest “and safe
delivery at Castle Godwin” of AWOL |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/23/1862; 23
deserters brought into Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/30/1862; Yankee
POW tries to pass counterfeit money. Transferred to Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/3/1862; G. W.
Alexander at Castle Godwin says negro of Jas. Bates now confined there |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/3/1862;
“Strong-minded female” captured and interrogated by G. W. Alexander |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/7/1862; Good
description of the use of Castle Godwin – Gen. Winder to send all soldiers
their back to their units. |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/9/1862;
enormous list of soldiers at Castle Godwin. About 160-170 names. G. W.
Alexander requests officers to call for them or have their cases tried. |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/9/1862;
confused member of 12 U. S. regulars sent to Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
7/11/1862; inmates at Castle
Godwin have been thinning out |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/17/1862;
“Citizens as well as soldiers must now show their passes, if they wish to
avoid getting into trouble.” Squads are detailed to “intercept straggling
soldiers and examine exemption papers.” Those who can’t prove why they
shouldn’t be in the army will be put in prison. |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
7/21/1862; patient has been shot
at Louisiana Hospital by one of the guard. The offending parties are in
Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/22/1862;
Lumpkin, of Lumpkin’s Jail, has Spotsylvania slave of Col. William Webber |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/24/1862;
prisoner escapes from Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/24/1862; T.
Dudley, Jr., released from Castle Godwin. Also D. F. Booth, moonshiner |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/25/1862;
scathing editorial on poor quality of guards at city prisons – Castle Godwin
mentioned specifically |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/26/1862; “lad”
jailed at Castle Godwin for passing counterfeit money |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/26/1862; Castle
Godwin escapee recaptured on Broad Street, “gloriously corned” |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
7/26/1862; escapee from Castle
Godwin, Lacy, has been re-captured |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/28/1862;
escaped thief caught – sent to Castle Godwin. He had attempted to rob a man
at the Spotswood Hotel. |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/28/1862; Maria
Underwood sent to Castle Godwin – tried to enlist in Palmetto Sharpshooters
in disguise |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/31/1862; 7
citizens living on Nine Mile Road caught smuggling & selling liquor. Sent to
Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/1/1862; Castle Godwin is crammed
full |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
8/1/1862; Castle Godwin is full |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/4/1862; alleged disloyal citizens
have been released from Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/5/1862; civilians arrested and
put in Castle Godwin for assisting the escape of prisoners from the
officers' prison on 18th street |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/5/1862; six negroes, attempting to
escape to Yankee lines, are put in Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
8/6/1862; Messrs.
Dixon & Hughes, locals in Castle Godwin, released |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/6/1862; it is contemplated to
remove prisoners from Castle Godwin to Greanor's factory (Castle Thunder) |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
8/6/1862; Great description of the Military
District of Richmond - gives details on Winder's office, Castle Godwin,
Castle "Grizzly" (Griswold) at the corner of 6th and Cary street |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
8/7/1862;
enormous new
list of prisoners at Castle Godwin, “Castle Godwin Guard House,” & Alexander Hospital. |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/8/1862; appeal for officers to
come and get wayward soldiers out of Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
8/8/1862; 3
Yankee deserters sent to Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
8/11/1862;
suspected spy captured in Richmond – put in Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/11/1862; civilians held in
Castle Godwin for assisting Federal escapees have been released |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
8/13/1862;
attempted deserter, confined in Castle Godwin, is executed |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/14/1862; Castle Godwin contains
250 prisoners - it is hoped that Greanor's factory (Castle Thunder) will
hold 1,000 |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
8/14/1862;
Mathews farmer named Stokes put in Castle Godwin for disloyalty |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
8/16/1862;
counterfeiter caught – sent to Castle Godwin |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/18/1862; Castle Godwin will be
evacuated today, the prisoners being removed to Greanor's factory (Castle
Thunder) |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
8/18/1862; Prisoners to be moved
from Castle Godwin to Greanor's Tobacco Factory (Castle Thunder) |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/19/1862; all Castle Godwin
prisoners (500-600) were removed to Castle Thunder yesterday |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/21/1862; prisoner in Castle
Godwin has been there for nine months |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
8/21/1862; movement of prisoners
from Castle Godwin to Castle Thunder. Lengthy description of Castle Thunder. |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
9/29/1862; among
next batch of northbound prisoners will be A. McMillen & John May, ex-Castle
Godwin men now in Castle Thunder. Also Yankee females |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. V, p. 872 |
4/3/1863; excerpt from testimony
regarding treatment of prisoners at Castle Thunder that mentions Castle
Godwin |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. V, p. 894 |
4/15/1863; excerpt from testimony
regarding treatment of prisoners at Castle Thunder that mentions Castle
Godwin |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. V, p. 905 |
4/24/1863; excerpt from testimony
regarding treatment of prisoners at Castle Thunder that mentions Castle
Godwin |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. VIII, pp. 764-767 |
10/12/1865; post-war account of
conditions at Libby Prison, Castle Godwin and other prisons during the war. |
|
R. A. Brock notes |
1880; notes on various Richmond
sights and their current condition - mentions Libby Prison, Castle Godwin,
Castle Thunder (recently destroyed by fire), Robertson Hospital (great
physical description), Drewry's Bluff, and the Union Hotel (now used to
train missionaries) |
|
National
Tribune |
8/10/1899; “A Union Man in Richmond;” part four of
serial account. Describes John Minor Bott’s stay in “a negro jail in Lombard
Alley” [Castle Godwin], the economic situation in Richmond, the Battle of
First Manassas, the man who [Mr. Gretter] who tossed the first shovelful of
dirt for the Richmond defenses, the dangerous nature of “Lombard Alley”
[probably Locust Alley], and the post-war collapse of the upper floor of the
Capitol building |
|
National
Tribune |
9/28/1899; “A Union Man in Richmond” part eight of serialized account.
Describes the capture and execution of Timothy Webster, the Libby Prison
escape (mentions prisoners being aided by Van Lew, and good feeling amongst
the Unionists toward her), a shooting of a prisoner at Libby, “the clerk” of
Libby being involved in trading with the prisoners (Ross), and being shot at
while near Locust Alley. St. Charles Hotel mentioned. |
