Another gem from Mike Gerow. Louisiana’s BGen James deBerty Trudeau, M.D., who commanded the Confederate artillery defenses at New Madrid/Island No. 10. He was a founding member of the New York Academy of Medicine in 1847, an organization which still exists today as one of the world’s best medical libraries.
Posted to another website —
“Captain [Thomas F.] Wade, of the U. S. bark Arthur, blockading off Pensacola, was ashore with an illegitimate flag of truce, and was indulging in a confab with the rebel officers, when suddenly, to the astonishment of all at the consulate, Captain Young and party suddenly turned a corner, and demanded the immediate surrender of the rebels, who very tamely submitted to capture. All of the party excepting the two rebel officers were in the road. No hostile encroachment was made upon the premises of the Spanish consul. Captain Young, at this stage of the proceedings, was subjected to a tirade of abuse and ungentlemanly swagger from Captain Wade, whose conduct and language I have reported to the naval authorities.”
What piqued my curiosity was Wade’s radical, hyper-sensitive overreaction (methinks he doth protest WAY too loudly), which he may have intended to deflect scrutiny away from nefarious activities such as fraternization with the enemy, possibly in the form of smuggling.
I have a personal interest in the story of Mahlon Young (KIA Marianna, FL 9/27/64), whose penchant for collecting Rebel officers was again demonstrated almost a month later with the capture of Louisiana militia BGen James deBerty Trudeau at Washington, La. on October 24, 1863.
The letter in my possession was written by Young from Mallory House in late Jan’y 1864 and was addressed to my g-gf Peter Thacher Washburn, Adj Gen of Vermont. Young sent the letter along with Trudeau’s ornate, gold-embroidered sword belt to Washburn as a gift. I found the letter and belt in a garage in Pasadena not long ago.
As I’m sure you’ll appreciate, the high value of the relic hinges substantially on Young’s letter establishing provenance.
Mike Gerow
I couldn’t find much on General Trudeau just a condensed bio on find a grave at —
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSmid=46487586&GRid=21323360&
James Deberty Trudeau
Birth: Sep. 14, 1817
St. James Parish
Louisiana, USA
Death: May 25, 1887
New Orleans
Orleans Parish
Louisiana, USA
Confederate Brigadier General. A physician, painter, and outdoorsman, in January of 1861, Trudeau was appointed as an artillery instructor for the Louisiana State Militia. During the summer of 1861 he was appointed brigadier general of the “Louisiana Legion,” a brigade-sized unit of the state militia. He assisted Major General Leonidas Polk in laying out the fortifications of Columbus, Kentucky and was appointed chief of artillery for its defense. In February of 1862, General P. G. T. Beauregard appointed him to command the batteries at Island No. 10. General Polk nominated him to be a brigadier general, but President Jefferson Davis did not approve the commission. In April of 1862, he escaped the southern surrender of Island No. 10, and reported to General Beauregard, who was assembling an army at Corinth, Mississippi. Without an official assignment, he followed Beauregard to Shiloh, where he was seriously wounded. Captured by Union forces at his plantation home on November 5, 1863, he was granted a parole, but ordered to stay on the plantation in Ascension Parish. He broke parole by traveling through Mississippi to report on conditions there to President Davis in 1864. After the war, he resumed his medical practice in New Orleans.
Burial:
Saint Louis Cemetery Number 1
New Orleans
Orleans Parish
Louisiana, USA
Plot: Trudeau Family Vault
Created by: Thomas Fisher
Record added: Sep 03, 2007
Find A Grave Memorial# 21323360
Added by: Thomas Fisher
Cemetery Photo
Added by: kimshockey (reb)
The information above can be verified by a more in depth biography found at
http://books.google.com/books?id=kvGmN0Bq45IC&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=Dr.+E.L.++Trudeau+confederate+
father&source=web&ots=o5HRuoxNq_&sig=oN4_kxUKJqplIxQLRkBfGULVAK8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA39
It does appear from searching the web that there is an interest in his artwork but I was unable to find any posted samples of his work.
The New York Academy of Medicine
NYAM has been advancing the health of people in cities since 1847. An independent organization, NYAM addresses the health challenges facing the world’s urban populations through interdisciplinary approaches to innovative research, education, community engagement and policy leadership. Drawing on the expertise of diverse partners worldwide and more than 2,000 elected Fellows from across the professions, our current priorities are to create environments in cities that support healthy aging; to strengthen systems that prevent disease and promote the public’s health; and to implement interventions that eliminate health disparities. http://www.nyam.org/about/
GP
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George,
Attached is a pic of James deBerty Trudeau, taken c. 1861 when he was commander of the Lousiana Legion, a militia outfit in New Orleans. The Legion had been around for many years, and it looks like Trudeau’s uniform may even have been Union blue.
This CDV image was sent to me by Ken Byrd, a copy of the same image in much lousier condition that was sent to me by the current owner of Hermitage Plantation in Darrow, LA.
This image had major gashes and bad spots that an artist friend of mine fixed in Photoshop to the extent that you can’t even tell where the problems were.
You can use this image on your site, if you wish to, but please put a credit line, such as: “photo courtesy of Mike Gerow via Ken Byrd, with image restoration by Steve Veach.”
Good job on your text. And you don’t even mention that young E.L. Trudeau (the general’s son) shot Ambassador to France John Slidell in the back with a slingshot in celebration of the Kearsarge’s 1864 victory over Alabama off Cherbourg. Slidell went ballistic and grabbed young Trudeau, who managed to slither out of his coat and run away.
Mike
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