I could not find my notes on our previous discussions, so I started from scratch.

Society researchers working from microfilmed NARA records pertaining to Fort Delaware only did not come across his name. However, I examined his Compiled Military Service Records and found the following pieces of information.

(1) Samuel A. WILLSON was enrolled as 1st Lieutenant in Captain P. A. Work’s company of Texas volunteers at New Orleans on 28 MAY 1861. This company became Company F, 1st Texas Infantry and WILLSON was elected Captain of the company on 28 MAY 1862 when they re-enlisted for 3 years or the war.

(2) He was appointed AAAG to Brigadier General E. B. Greer, Chief of the Bureau of Conscription for the Trans-Mississippi Department on 30 APR 1863 but never received the orders. He was commanding Company F at Gettysburg.

(3) Federal POW records are at best confusing. All three records show him as a Private, Company F, 1st TX Infantry. Two records put him at Fort Delaware.

(a) The first shows that he was captured at Gettysburg on 3 JUL 1863, confined at Fort McHenry on 5 JUL 1863, and sent to Fort Delaware “in July 1863”.

(b) The second shows that he was paroled at Fort McHenry and sent to Fortress Monroe for exchange on 8 JUL 1863. But, there is no delivery receipt record confirming that he was ever delivered to CSA authorities at City Point.

(c) A third record shows that he was captured at Gettysburg on 3 JUL 1863 and received at Fort Delaware in the time window 7/12 JUL 1863. In the remarks section is the notation “escaped” without any date or other information provided. This appears to be the record that you cited in posting your query.

(4) The company muster roll for July & August 1863 (status as of 31 AUG 1863) shows him absent and still missing at the Battle of Gettysburg on 3 JUL 1863. The company muster roll covering September & October 1863 (status as of 31 OCT 1863) shows him absent having been taken prisoner at Gettysburg. The roll for November & December 1863 (status as of 31 DEC 1863) shows him absent with leave. This authorized leave of absence is confirmed by a record card citing Special Order No. 308/15 dated 29 DEC 1863.

(5) General and Staff Officers records for Samuel A. WILLSON, Captain, AAAG contain a type written summary of his career as a Confederate staff officer by the US War Department circa 1900. The following passage addresses his escape:

>>> Captain Willson was on duty with his Regiment when appointed and was never notified. At the Battle of Gettysburg, he was captured. He escaped and reached Richmond about the 25th [of] December 1863. He was then ordered to report to General Greer, where he arrived January 1864. <<<

(6) One of our University of Delaware undergraduates recently did a survey of the literature for a history course and did not find any published post-war escape narrative featuring Captain Samuel A. WILLSON.

He was successful in concealing the fact that he was an officer – he would have been sent to Johnson’s Island if they had discovered this fact – and passed himself off as a private during his imprisonment. As of 31 AUG 1863, he was still absent from the company and his whereabouts not known. As of 31 OCT 1863, the company knew that he was a prisoner of war but were unaware of his escape. The Staff officer records memo states that he “arrived in Richmond about the 25th [of] December 1863.” He was granted a leave of absence and sent home to Texas beginning 29 DEC 1863. All of this would seem to put the time of his escape in the fall of 1863.

That is as much as we know at the moment about Captain WILLSON’s escape from Fort Delaware. If you have any family stories, or know of any published accounts of his escape, we would welcome hearing about them. Any chance that you have a photo of Sam WILLSON? We would like to add him to our Photo Display Board.

Hugh Simmons
Fort Delaware Society
Website: www.fortdelaware.org
E-mail: society@fortdelaware.org