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| Living history at Andersonville (NPS) and Peter Kiene (Courtesy Mark Warren Collection) |
By this
point, a parade of witnesses had pilloried the stockade commander at Andersonville
prison. They said he personally killed men, was cruel and withheld food. A book
published after the sensational case pulled no punches, labeling him “The Demon of Andersonville.”
But the
Confederate officer had his advocates: They argued Wirz did the best he could
with meager supplies, showed acts of mercy and had no control over certain
aspects of the notorious operation in central Georgia.
Rawson’s testimony in early October 1865 was meant to buttress the defense claim their
client was a human – not a monster.
How did that come to be? Rawson encountered Wirz at the camp depot and asked whether she could care for a sick prisoner, according to her testimony. Another source provides a description of what could have led her there.
A New YorkTimes article cited Rawson’s testimony that “Capt.
Wirz had never refused or denied her any privileges that she had asked of him;
he was always agreeable and willing that she should bring anything to the
prison; she never heard of Capt. Wirz treating any lady in an unkind way.”
Andersonville National Historic Site recently made a Facebook post about Rawson and Kiene timed to
Women’s History Month in March and the 160th anniversary of the
prison’s existence and Rawson’s visits.
There was a fascinating
twist here: Mary’s brother, Pvt. Joseph Rawson of the 51st Georgia
Infantry, was a Federal prisoner in Rock Island, Ill., after having been
captured in Deep Bottom, Va. “Thoughts of Joseph suffering in an enemy prison
led Mary to want to comfort a prisoner at nearby Andersonville,” says the
social media post.
Park officials initially told the Picket they do not know why Mary Rawson chose to care for Kiene, who was just a teenager when he enlisted. He was reportedly captured in summer 1864 during fighting around Atlanta.
A brief entry indicates a Mr. and Mrs. Peter Kiene had traveled from Iowa, “that region of frost and snow,” solely to visit Mary Rawson, who lived in Magnolia Springs outside Americus.
"It seems that Mr. Kiene was a prisoner at Andersonville during the war, and that Mrs. Rawson had a brother who was imprisoned in Rock Island. This brother (Joseph), finding out from friends of Kiene's that Kiene was in Andersonville, wrote to his sister to provide for him particularly, as by so doing Kiene's friends would make his lot easier.
"Mrs. Rawson did so, and made Mr. Kiene as comfortable as possible, his friends reciprocating the favor by take care of her brother until the war was over and both released," it says. Kiene and his family lived in Dubuque, Iowa, about 50 miles from the prison camp.
There's yet another version from a 1964 article entitled "How a 15-Year-Old Dubuquer Survived Andersonville," in the Telegraph Herald newspaper.
It states the boy's father, Peter Kiene Jr., intervened to help Joseph Rawson after Mary Rawson learned Kiene was from Dubuque and then reached out. The father arranged for that assistance, says the article.
From Mary Rawson's testimony it is difficult to tell whether she had learned of Kiene's name beforehand.
Regardless of the circumstances, the episode is remarkable.
“For a
prisoner of war, survival depends on emotional resilience as well as physical
sustenance,” said the site’s Facebook post. “Mary Rawson’s kindness may have
been the difference between hope and despair, helping both soldiers survive the
hardships of imprisonment and return home to their families.”
Freed Union soldier returned to Georgia years later
Ranger Sherri
Barnhard said Wirz allowed Mary Rawson – who came about every two weeks -- and
Kiene to dine outside the prison walls. The commandant did not allow women
inside the walls and was known at times to protect the vulnerable. Wirz testified he allowed captive drummer
boys to be kept outside the stockade.
Joseph's compiled military service records
indicate he was captured in December 1863, near Knoxville, Tenn., said
Barnhard.
“The last
record I have is the record showing ‘name appears as signature to an Oath of
Allegiance to the United States, subscribed and sworn to at Rock Island
barracks, ILL., June 20, 1865,” she said.
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| Photographer unknown, "[Peter Kiene seated at his desk]," Loras College Digital Collections, accessed March 18, 2025, https:// |
“Kiene returned to his family in Dubuque and joined with his father in
the iron business,” says an article about Iowa Civil War volunteers published
in Military Images magazine. “Kiene went on to become successful in real estate
and insurance, and active as a philanthropist and in the Grand Army of the
Republic. He suffered a paralytic stroke in 1912 and succumbed to its effects at age 66. His wife, Caroline, and two children survived him.”
(See Iowa Civil War Images on Facebook here)
Sadly, the park has not yet learned anything much about the lives of Joseph
and Mary Rawson after the war, but Barnhard said she is continuing research.
An 1870 U.S. Census entry lists a Mary Rawson, the mother, as keeping house. The younger Mary is described as being 40 years old, while Joseph, at age 35 or 36, was a farmer.
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| Graves of Joseph and Mary Johnson (Courtesy Brenda Darbyshire, Findagrave) |
Interestingly, the cemetery is the resting place for James and Lillian
Carter, Jimmy Carter’s parents.
Teri A. Surber, park guide at Andersonville, told the Picket
why she believes the story of the Rawsons and Kienes resonates with people
“It shows the
best of human nature shining against the darkness of one of the worst places in
history, and that even though both families were on opposing sides, they could
set that aside and help one another. Mary looked at Peter Kiene and saw her
brother. She saw that they were not very different from one another after all.
The story is full of hope. Hope that people will do what is right. Both
families had to trust that a stranger, far away, was fulfilling their part of
the bargain and taking care of the one they loved. There had to be trust, and
in the end, the story has a happy ending. There's so much bad news today.
Sometimes people need a happy ending.”
Commandant was a truly polarizing figure
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| Henry Wirz reclines (left) during his 1865 trial in Washington, D.C. |
Rawson
recalled seeing the captain occasionally during her visits to Kiene.
“I was there
in the month of March 1865. I had on a brown dress. The captain always
recognized me and asked me if I was going to see my prisoner. I would say
‘Yes,’ and I would carry another basket up and leave it. He never refused me.”
"I used to tie
up a bushel basket and leave it, and my prisoner said that that would last him
two weeks,” Rawson testified.
The park has told the story before and I asked Barnhard about this year’s timing with Women’s History Month. She said Mary Rawson’s story goes toward that, but there were larger results of the Civil War, including women largely filling the ranks of teachers and nurses. The park is holding a living history event this Saturday (March 29) and among the topics is the Woman’s Relief Corps, a charitable auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic.
In the end, the testimony of those defending him could not save him. The Swiss-born soldier was convicted of both charges and executed in the prison yard on Nov. 10, 1865. (At left, Old Capitol Prison, Library of Congress)
A National Park Service page calls him a complicated figure. “Wirz was unable to control the bureaucracy that plagued the
Confederate military prison system, so he controlled the prisoners in the only
way he could – through intimidation and punishment.”
Barnhard said Wirz demonstrated both kindness and cruelty.
She wonders whether medication he took for a severe arm injury led to a “shift
in moods.”
“The more I
read about him, the more confused I become about him.”
