Civil War Guerrilla Leader Escape to Vancouver Island? (Part 3)
Unlike these ‘regular’ Union soldiers, Quantrill and his men—and those of Capt. Terrell who hunted him down—were civilian guerrillas. —Wikipedia Commons
It’s generally accepted that the infamous Confederate guerrilla leader William Quantrill died a week after being shot and paralyzed from the shoulders down in a skirmish with Union irregulars in the weeks following the official end of the American Civil War.
But—did he?
As we’ve seen in previous Chronicles, in August 1907—a full 42 years later—old watchman John Sharp, in charge of the Vancouver Coal Co.’s property at Coal Harbour near Quatsino, was “recognized” as Quantrill by J.E. Duffy, one of the men who’d helped to hunt him down in May 1865.
Even before this, several northern Vancouver Island residents and others had heard stories about Sharp and come to believe that he was, indeed, a fugitive Quantrill who’d somehow escaped that fatal encounter in Kentucky, four decades before. Among them was the late Sidney Saunders, former member of the British Columbia Provincial Police, what is quoted in last week’s Chronicles.
Eustace Smith, a prominent forest engineer, met Sharp in 1902. Years later, he told B.C. historian and journalist B.A. McKelvie of his memorable encounter:
“My brother Cecil and I were acting as guides to James Dunsmuir, the coal baron and railway millionaire of Vancouver Island, and party. They wanted to fish and hunt in a little-known locality in the north-central part of the island. Mr. Dunsmuir went around Cape Scott and down to Quatsino in his yacht, But my brother and I packed across to Coal Harbour at the head of Quatsino Inlet, from where we were to make arrangements to go ahead and prepare camps for the progression of the party to the lakes and hunting grounds that were to provide the anticipated sport.
Vancouver Island Coal baron Robert Dunsmuir hired the Smith brothers as hunting and fishing guides. —Courtesy of Craigdarroch History Society, victoriaharbourhistory.com
“John Sharp was living in a cabin in at Coal Harbour. He was acting as a sort of watchman at the old coal property there.
“I was very interested in meeting him as I had heard it whispered that he was Quantrill. He had steady, blue eyes that did not suggest a decline of his mental or physical reflexes. I recall his powerful voice. I did not hear him admit [to] being Quantrill, but from various remarks made while we were there it would appear that he was a Civil War veteran and had fought for the South.
“He spoke of Jesse James, the bandit, with familiarity. Jesse James and his older brother, Frank, were members of Quantrill's band. "
(All connected with the mystery seem to have been well-versed in the history of Quantrill and his gang. Apparently the rumours surrounding Sharp had prompted them to consult history books in the hope of proving or disproving the conflicting claims.)
One of the few who knew John Sharp as well as anyone was a Quatsino resident. He’d been but a boy at the time. Upon telling me of his part in the story, almost 60 years ago, he asked that his name be withheld and I’ve referred to him in previous writings as Mr. G. This hardly seems necessary now as he’s long deceased. Part of the reason for his apparent shyness wasn’t that at all but, as it came out in our correspondence, his never-forgiven resentment of the fact that author McKelvie had exercised minor literary license in assuming that his initial, G., stood for George—not, as it was, Guy.
Journalist/historian Bruce A. ‘Pinky’ McKelvie wrote the story of John Sharp aka William Quantrill in his last book, Magic, Murder and Mystery. —Author’s Collection
That aside, McKelvie’s account in his extremely rare and hard-to-find book, Magic, Murder and Mystery, which was published posthumously in 1966 by his widow, is of extreme value to anyone researching the mystery of John Sharp aka William C. Quantrill.
Note: I’m exercising some literary license of my own by blending McKelvie’s version with my private correspondence with Mr. Ilstad:
McKelvie: “Probably the nearest approach to a friend that Sharp could claim in the Quatsino district was a boy, George [sic] Ilstad. He grew up in the district and told me how he became quite chummy with the strange old man of Coal Harbour. He used to drop into Sharp’s cabin whenever he was near it, and the old fellow seem to like to have him do so.”
Ilstad: “Sharp was six feet tall, fine-featured with high cheek bones, blue eyes, and had a ramrod-straight carriage. He was the northern blonde type. “If he had donned a shirt of mail, put on an eagle-winged helmet, he’d have looked every inch a Viking.
“While Sharp fought with the Confederates, his speech carried not the slightest southern accent. [Quantrill was born and raised in Canal Dover, Ohio.—TW.] He is supposed to have had a Southern uniform. I did not see it, but one man told me he had it. But it is perhaps true, as his cap-and-ball pistols were of the type used in The Civil War.”
“I cannot think of Sharp as an inventor of tales. He did not talk much when sober, but after a few drinks, the Civil War was fought over again.
“These details are very clear in my mind to this day. I cannot recall a single incident Sharp ever told me when we two were alone at his house, as he seemed to like a mature audience–and a dram of hootch—to restart the war. "
McKelvie: “He used to tell me all kinds of stories of adventure, and of fighting in the Civil War,” Mr Ilstad recounted. "”When he was sober he did not say anything that would lead me to think that he had any other identity than that of John Sharp; but when he had been drinking he would sometimes boast to me that his real name was ‘Quantrill.’
William C. Quantrill was, perhaps, the most notorious participant in the American Civil War. —Wikipedia
“One time he told me how he had been surprised by a Union force, and had been badly wounded in the fight that followed. In fact, the Union men had found him on the field. He had been shot in the shoulder and had another wound on the chest. It was not expected that he could live, and he was left at the farmhouse where the fight took place.
“He did manage to get away, though, and lay hidden for several months until he could make his way out of the country. He got down to the Gulf of Mexico and got a ship to take him to South America, where he remained for years.”
Although very young, Mr. Ilstad was present when Sharp told most of his adventures. The story of Sharp’s escape is the most intriguing:
Ilstad: “I heard John tell this story one night at a gathering of men at Bergh’s store on Steamboat Day. The Queen City brought our mail and freight. She was equipped with a bar, so Sharp and the others were in a good storytelling mood.
“Sharp related the last fight he was in. It must have been near the close of the war. Sharp was badly wounded and lying on the ground, left for dead. He claimed to have been bayoneted even after he had fallen. He did carry seven great scars from these wounds; a friend of mine saw them.
“He lay on the field until darkness and, finding himself alone, managed to get to a quadroon girl he knew who hid and nursed him. But before he was well she rushed to his hidden room and cried, ‘Fly for your life, John Sharp, they are coming for you!’
“He lost no time in getting away.
“You will note that Sharp put the words into the girl's mouth—“John Sharp.” You would think that being mellow with good booze and in an unguarded moment he would have said, "Quantrill”—that is, if he really were that person.
“But, of course this proves nothing. I think Sharp’s story about the girl to be true.
“After reaching New Orleans, he managed to get a berth on a ship bound for South America, and was there for seven years. I do not remember what country in South America. If the Latin American part of short story is true, it would indicate that he'd been a guerrilla of some importance as the lesser-known members eventually were able to return home.
“Another time, Sharp boasted that a $2,000 reward had been placed on his head.”
McKelvie: “About 1880 (I fancy it was) he returned to the United States and had worked as a cow puncher and logger. it would be in the mid-nineties that he crossed to British Columbia from Oregon, and went up the coast, working in lumber camps and trapping. Then he was offered the job that brought him to isolated Coal Harbour. "
Ilstad: “When Sharp sobered after these “admissions,” he was surly and would not discuss the subject further, switching instead to talk of his experiences in the woods.”
McKelvie: “When he was sobered after his ‘confessions,’ Sharp was cranky and would not discuss the admissions he had previously made, but would talk of his experience in the woods. He seemed to like to have the boy come to see him, but he did not seek the companionship of any man residing in the district.”
Sharp reputedly told another man a story concerning the James brothers, anecdotes of the Civil War, and said he’d gambled in earlier days as Quantrill is supposed to have. He also told this man the same story about having been shot in the barnyard that Mr. G. has related, but to this man Sharp definitely mentioned it as having occurred in Kentucky.
Another Quatsino resident told of his encounter with Sharp in which he heard of the notorious raid on Lawrence, Kansas.
“... He told me many incidents of the raiding in the Southern states although I do not remember all the details. One story was [about] a raid on Lawrence, Kansas where a large number of people were killed.
“Sharp, or Quantrill, was always strong in pointing out, when he told the story, that although they killed many, not a woman or child was injured, and he was indignant regarding some histories [sic] accounts in respect to this raid.”
With few exceptions, including encyclopedias, historians record that 100-150 men women and children were killed in this most savage raid of the Civil War. Yet in his very factual William Clark Quantrill: His Life and Times, author Albert Castel made no mention of the raiders having killed anyone other than males.
It’s known many of the victims definitely weren’t adults–children by anyone’s standards.
(Next week: Conclusion)