As we peruse the pages of American history, we find the names of the famous artillerists — the gallant Pelham at Fredericksburg, John Reynolds at Buena Vista, E. Porter Alexander at Gettysburg and Edgar Allan Poe ….
Poe? The author of the short horror stories and poems?
Yes. Edgar Allan Poe, the author of “The Raven,” “The Tell-tale Heart” and “The Bells,” was also a credible artillerist.
Poe’s entry into the realm of the artillery was less than auspicious. His reasons for joining were as simple as they were common. Poe had lost his parents, actors David and Eliza Poe, when he was still an infant. After a falling out with his foster father, John Allan of Richmond, Va., he was in debt and needed a hole to disappear into.
Poe had been living in Boston trying to make a living as a writer, but it was not going well for the 18-year-old. He enlisted in the First Artillery, Company H (as batteries were designated at the time) on May 26, 1827, for a period of five years. To disguise himself, he did not enlist under his own name, but rather under the name of Edgar A. Perry.
Poe’s battery was headquartered at Fort Independence in Boston Harbor. He may have been expecting that the company would stay in the Boston area, but such was not to be the case. In November of that same year, the battery was reassigned to historic Fort Moultrie at Charleston, S.C.
Still, Poe’s brief stint at Boston’s Fort Independence was not without consequence. While at the fort, the young writer heard the story of a tragic event in the fort’s history. Some 10 years before Poe arrived, a tyrannical officer at the fort had a duel with a well-liked young officer and killed him.
The other officers at the fort got revenge by getting the victor drunk and luring him into the bowels of the fort with the offer of a secret wine stash. Once below, they chained him in a room, and then walled up the room’s entrance. This horror story became the basis of Poe’s famous story, “The Cask of Amontillado.” The truth of the story would be confirmed in the early part of the 20th century when the room, and chained corpse, was uncovered at the fort.
Heading south to his new post at Fort Moultrie with his battery, Poe would have found the fort in a state of disrepair. The “relentless sea had eaten its way toward [the fort]” with the surf smashing into its ramparts at flood tide. In his time off duty, the restless young author would have found time to wander around Sullivan’s Island, where the fort was located.
The desolate land must have left an impression on his mind. The remote site would later appear in Poe’s stories “The Gold Bug” and the “Balloon Hoax.” It is also here that he began writing his longest poem, “Al Aaraaf.” Poe’s literacy, somewhat rare among the army privates, was quickly noticed. He soon found himself promoted to “Assistant to the Assistant Commissary of Subsistence,” company clerk and artificer.
After spending nearly a year at Fort Moultrie, Company H, First Artillery was ordered north to Virginia’s Fort Monroe in December of 1828. Fort Monroe, though still under construction, was an impressive 300-gun bastion guarding Virginia’s Hampton Roads. With its impressive 32-pdr. guns guarding the shipping channel, the fort was also the home of the Army’s Artillery School of Practice.
Shortly after the unit’s arrival, Poe was promoted to the highly honored rank of sergeant major, the highest non-commissioned officer rank, on Jan. 1, 1829.
Surprising to many familiar with Poe’s lifelong struggles, Sgt. Maj. Perry (or Poe) was complimented by his officers with statements indicating that he was “good and intirely free from drinking,” “exemplary in deportment,” and “highly worthy of confidence.” Even Col. William Worth, who would later see service in the Mexican War and the Civil War, commented that Poe was “free of bad habits.” He seemed to have found his niche in life — that of an artillery non-commissioned officer.
Unfortunately, Sgt. Maj. “Perry” was tiring of military life, however. He revealed his true identity and the circumstances of his life to his sympathetic commander, Lt. Howard. Howard agreed to aid in obtaining Poe’s early discharge from the military if Poe would reconcile with his foster father first.
Poe’s initial letters to his foster father met with no response. Howard attempted to aid Poe by writing to John Allan through an intermediary. The response, when it finally arrived, was that Poe should remain where he was until his term of enlistment had been fulfilled. Poe wrote again, attempting to persuade his foster father, by stating that “I am altered [by military life] & am no longer a boy tossing about in the world without aim or consistency.” Aim and consistency were apparently qualities that Poe knew were highly prized both in private life and in the artillery.
At about this time, Poe’s foster mother, Frances Allan, became gravely ill. The sergeant major requested and obtained a leave to go to her side. Unfortunately, by the time he arrived, she had already passed away. Brought together in grief, Poe and John Allan had a lukewarm reconciliation.
Allan agreed to help his foster son by financing the cost of the purchase of a substitute – $75 – the amount required for Sgt. Samuel “Bully” Graves to take Poe’s place. Allan also agreed to use his influence to help Poe in his next endeavor, which, rather than leave the army, was to enter West Point.
Poe’s application to West Point was accepted, being recommended by his officers, including Col. Worth. Poe’s departure from the First Artillery was an unfortunate indicator of things to come. When he was discharged from the unit on April 15, 1829, he left with characteristic debts, owing money to both Sgt. Graves and Sgt. Griffith.
The young writer’s career at West Point was short and unexcelled. He finally entered the school on July 1, 1830, after nearly a year of living with relatives in Baltimore. Perhaps he never really intended to follow through with his studies and was merely using the route to West Point as an acceptable means of getting out of the military, maybe his need to be a writer superseded his desire to excel at college, or, perhaps, personal problems intervened.
At first, he did very well, being ranked 17th out of 87 students in math, and being ranked third in French. During the time, the young cadet even had the opportunity to meet Winfield Scott, a hero of the War of 1812, and who would see service into the Civil War.
However, Poe began to have another falling out with his foster father. The funds from this eternal source dried up. At about the same time, the young writer apparently decided he wanted out of West Point and the military permanently. He deliberately neglected his duties and studies, racking up dreaded demerits. On Jan. 28, 1831, Poe was court-martialed out of the service.
Still, in March, Poe wrote to Col. Thayer at West point, asking for certification of his standing in the class and a letter of introduction that would be useful in his gaining a commission in the Polish Army. The trip to Poland never materialized.
Though his military career was over, Poe did show himself to be an artillerist of merit. The writer later tried to keep his time in the artillery a secret, spreading the rumor that he had spent those years traveling in Europe, as was more fashionable for young writers than spending time in the military.
Edgar Allan Poe last visited Fort Monroe, the site of the high water mark of his artillery career, on Sept. 9, 1849 when he recited poetry at the Hygiea Hotel, on the site now occupied by the Hotel Chamberlain, just outside the fort walls. On this occasion, he recited “The Raven” and “Annabel Lee,” among others.
Unknown to those listening, and probably to Poe himself, the career of the dark creative genius was at an end. Less than a month later, Poe was dead. Found dying in the streets of Baltimore, he died at the Washington College Hospital Oct. 7, 1849.
About the author: Patrick McSherry is editor of the Spanish-American War Centennial Website (www.spanamwar.com), a member of the living history crew of the USFS Olympia and Independent Battery I, Pennsylvania Light Artillery, as well as a historical freelance writer.