Francis "Frank" J. Renehan, #44 - new text file
Graduated from Georgetown University where he acted in many Shakesperean
plays. Went to NY where he was assistant editor of the NY World Tribune under
Horace Greeley. Over 6 feet tall and loved to walk. Joined the Confederate
forces in Civil War. (All this from Ann Day from an interview with Dorothy
Fogarty Dowdy 10/30/1979). Frank was a strong swimmer and he lept into the
Potomac to swim across to join the Confederate forces. The bridges were
closed. He was captured in midstream and held prisoner at the Old Capitol.
He wrote a poem on the wall of the prison:
"Outside, if you drill with a stick or a gun,
You're called a damn rebel and treated like one.
But inside, be it spoken or sung,
There's a lock on the door, but not on the tongue."
Frank was kept in prison for 3 years. When he was released, he went straight
to his mother's house without telling anyone he was getting out. When his
mother saw him, she thought he had died and she was seeing his ghost.
After the Civil War, Frank ran a swanky grocery story at 19th and R NW,
catering to Congressmen. Mrs. Walport (mother-in-law of Frank's cousin Blair)
once suggested that Frank had some English blood in him. Frank replied
"Madam, if I had one drop of English blood in my veins, I'd open my wrists and
let it out." Frank died at his sister Margaret Fogarty's house. He is buried
at Mt. Olivet Cemetery with Bridget. (M. Fogarty should be his daughter)
Frank was supposed to be named after his grandfather (Martin's Father). He
was a writer for 3 newspapers, at least one in Hoboken, N. J. When Frank was
arrested for "refusing to take an oath against the south" his father Martin
went to try to get him out. Martin said that Frank had never raised a gun
against his country and was told that Frank's "pen was more dangerous than any
gun." Martin felt that was a compliment. Frank was held at the Old Capitol
building (used by Congress after the British burned the Capitol during the War
of 1812). The prisoners there were told they would be sent to Dry Tortugas
(in Gulf of Mexico, now a national landmark, Fort Jefferson.)
Ann Day has provided excepts from 2 books mentioning Frank Renehan (408 20th
Street). Rebel Rose, Life of Rose O'Neal Greenhow, Confederate Spy, by Ishbel
Ross (NY, Harper and Bros. c1954) p. 154.
Spies for the Blue and Gray, by Harnett T. Kane (NY, Hanover House, c1954) pp.
30, 47, 48, 52.
From Pat Thomas' research: 1850 census of D. C. Francis was 13 years old and
was, in fact, born in D. C. Page 40, 432, Box 56.
The information below is from another Renehan Researcher:
Yes, I did receive the articles and excerpts on Friday and have just looked
through them and realize the Bakeless quote is there. Sorry for the
redundancy! And thanks very much for sending the items.
None of my CW reporters books list Frank, that's no surprise, since Frank
spent the majority of the war at Old Capitol. My feeling is that while we
can all keep an eye out in the CW reporters books, he's probably not there
b/c these books deal almost entirely with the war years, 61-65.
As I mentioned in a previous note, I intend to shoot through their microfilm
editions of the New York Tribune and the Irish American and find Frank's
offending prose. But this may be tricky, especially as regards the Tribune,
where bylines were not common until 1863.
With regards to the Irish American, things should be easier. Bylines were
common even before the war.
I think there was more to Frank than meets the eye. Not all reporter's were
locked-up. It makes perfect sense if a reporter is locked-up by an offended
general or captured by the enemy. But if a reporter is locked up before they
get to the battlefield, something is going on.
Note Frank Renehan was Roman Catholic, also Rose O'Neal Greenhow, also
countless other Confederate sympathizers/operatives, among them the Surratts
of Maryland (and also myself, for that matter, so please don't think that I'm
down on Catholics.) Frank's uncle on his mother's side, a Hogan, was
reportedly a Bishop in Ireland. As is commonly known, Lincoln not only
conscirpted impoverished Irish-Americans but also advertised for Irish
nationals to emigrate to the US to fight America's CW. Pope Pius IX was
outraged by this and responded by endorsing the Confederacy (with the Vatican
being the only foreign government to do so.) If Frank was on this side of
the water, raising hell about it, generating press coverage on it, hanging
out with Rose Greenhow, and spending three years time (a VERY long time, far
longer than the notorious Rose Greenhow, or even the nearly equally notorious
Offuts) in Old Capitol...this was not a mere case of one of Mr. Greeley's
reporters getting in trouble. There was something else going on.
Ok, we'll keep our eyes peeled in the CW reporter's arena...but my money is
on the Catholic angle, Old Capitol Prison 61-65, spys, the likely Offut
connection (at least two Offuts were notorious Confederate sympathizers/spies
and were locked up in Old Capitol with Frank, but not for as long as him)
etc. Frank was involved with significant characters & situations...and
really finding out this guy's story, while challenging, will be very
interesting.
I'm trying to find out where Alan Pinkerton's Civil War papers are, as he was
the agent who investigated/arrested both Rose Greenhow and Frank Renehan.
Perhaps they will hold more info. I'll keep you posted. I think a lot of this
info is in DC archives of one sort of another, and I'm going to try to make a
DC run sometime in the autumn.
All best, ------------------ Ed
EJRen@aol.com wrote:
I've just noticed, two of Frank's fellow prisoners at Old Capitol were James
Offut of Georgetown and John F. C. Offut of Baltimore. John was a Baltimore
policeman accused of encouraging the riots that had made it imposible early
in the war to send troops through the city. James was suspected of spying as
he was caught making nocturnal journeys between Georgetown and Rockville
carrying incriminating letters and papers with him. (This comes from John
Bakeless's book, SPIES FOR THE CONFEDERACY, Phil: J.B. Lippincott, 1970, p.
60.) Were these gentleman related to the Charles Offut who married Annie
Renehan?
By the way, Bakeless has this to say about Frank: that he was "a Washington
resident so deeply implicated in rebel plots of some kind he did not even try
to pretend loyalty." (p. 48).
Best, ------------ Ed
EDWARD J. RENEHAN, JR.