Individual Details
Henry Silvester FURR
(Abt 1841 - 19 Oct 1862)
TRAGEDY AT DUCK HILL STATION, COLLISION OF THE JAMES BROWN & THE A. M. WEST
By Norman L. Ezell, P. O. Box 186, Duck Hill, MS. 38925-0186 (September 1990)
In the early hours on the 19th of October of 1862 there occurred a tragic train wreck at Duck Hill, causing considerable loss of life to some Confederate troops. About 2:30 A. M. on a Sunday morning a speeding northbound train of the Mississippi Central Railroad, pulled by the engine A. M. West and a southbound train pulled by the engine James Brown met head-on at Duck Hill. Some thirty-four men lost their life. This was the first head-on wreck on the Mississippi Central and the South's worse loss of life in a train accident to that time. The story is related in the auto-biography by Reverend Daniel Thatcher Lake (1828-1891), an early Texas Methodist Minister, and a just-discharged Confederate soldier from Paterson's Company, Whitfield's Legion, who personally experienced the accident.
After Price's and Van Dorn's defeat at Corinth, the sick and stores were removed to Lauderdale Springs, farther south. Here I met with Colonel Whitfield, who at my request, had me discharged from the hospital service. In order to reach my company, which was then camped at Holly Springs, I had to go by way of Meridian and Jackson, then up the Central Mississippi Railroad (Mississippi Central Railroad). While enroute to Holly Springs, I narrowly escaped being crushed to death in a railroad collision, near Duck Hill Station, south of Grenada. The coaches being crowded, I and Mr. Silvey of Red River County, had taken a seat on the platform between two passenger coaches. The train making a short stop at Canton, and without any thought of danger or accident, I proposed to go to the rear and get a seat in another car. When we vacated our position, two others took our places and were later killed in the accident. The up (north-bound) train was behind and was running at fearful rate to reach the station before the down (south-bound) train left. As we came around a considerable curve into straight road in full view of Duck Hill Station, there was a fearful crash, resulting in the destruction of two engines, several cars, and the death of thirty-two men. About forty others were wounded, bruised and mangled... some mortally, some seriously and others only slightly. We remained at the wreck from 2:30 A.M. until 4:00 P.M. We buried the dead, mostly Arkansas and Texas volunteers, in one long pit grave, wide enough to lay the men crosswise...with only their blankets for coffins. I have been on the battlefield, seen men torn and mangled with ball and shell, but never have I seen such a heartrending scene as this. From that day to this, I have never felt safe on a railroad car.
An article in The Memphis Daily Appeal of October 20, 1862, gave some more details. Some of the soldiers names and units were in error, however. Peter Kirby was conductor on the down (southbound) train with eleven cars drawn by the engine James Brown. The up (northbound) train with twelve cars was pulled by the engine A. M. West, with a Mr. Shelton conductor. The southbound train had stopped at Duck Hill for a time and was traveling slowly as it began its trip south. As it reached a point about one-half mile south of the station, the speeding A. M. West rounded the long sweeping curve and its feeble lantern rushed at the plodding James Brown. The engineer of the southbound train saw the approaching train, quickly blasted the signal to stop, while reversing the large drive wheels, and leaped from the straining engine just before the impact. The engineer and the conductor of the northbound train also saw the impending crash and jumped from their engine. Only one man on the south train was killed and a few others slightly injured. The engine was completely wrecked and the tender was driven into the car in its rear, which was destroyed, The damage to the balance of this train was comparatively slight. The northbound train, however, fared much worse. Its engine penetrated the wreckage of the southern train and its tender was piled on top along with many track rails. Two flat cars that were behind the tender loaded with soldiers were completely demolished and many of the men killed instantly. The following baggage car and the first passenger car were piled on top of the wreckage. The balance of the train consisting of five passenger coaches, one sleeping car, and two platform cars were all, more or less, damages, but none of them left the track. There were thirty-four or thirty-five killed, according to reports at the time, and forty to fifty injured, several quite seriously. The severely injured were taken to Canton, Mississippi, for medical attention, except one man who was carried to Grenada with injury to arm. It later became necessary to amputate the arm. The two platform cars in front of the northbound train were crowded as were the platforms of all passenger coaches, with Rebel soldiers, who were on their way to various regiments, or were homebound, and were unable to get seats inside the coaches. Nearly all of these were killed or injured. One man was killed when he was thrown from a platform car in the rear of the train. None of the regular civilian passengers were killed or injured, except for slight bruises here and there.
Those verified as killed were:
FURR, Pvt. Silvester - Company N (?), 27th Texas Calvary.
By Norman L. Ezell, P. O. Box 186, Duck Hill, MS. 38925-0186 (September 1990)
In the early hours on the 19th of October of 1862 there occurred a tragic train wreck at Duck Hill, causing considerable loss of life to some Confederate troops. About 2:30 A. M. on a Sunday morning a speeding northbound train of the Mississippi Central Railroad, pulled by the engine A. M. West and a southbound train pulled by the engine James Brown met head-on at Duck Hill. Some thirty-four men lost their life. This was the first head-on wreck on the Mississippi Central and the South's worse loss of life in a train accident to that time. The story is related in the auto-biography by Reverend Daniel Thatcher Lake (1828-1891), an early Texas Methodist Minister, and a just-discharged Confederate soldier from Paterson's Company, Whitfield's Legion, who personally experienced the accident.
After Price's and Van Dorn's defeat at Corinth, the sick and stores were removed to Lauderdale Springs, farther south. Here I met with Colonel Whitfield, who at my request, had me discharged from the hospital service. In order to reach my company, which was then camped at Holly Springs, I had to go by way of Meridian and Jackson, then up the Central Mississippi Railroad (Mississippi Central Railroad). While enroute to Holly Springs, I narrowly escaped being crushed to death in a railroad collision, near Duck Hill Station, south of Grenada. The coaches being crowded, I and Mr. Silvey of Red River County, had taken a seat on the platform between two passenger coaches. The train making a short stop at Canton, and without any thought of danger or accident, I proposed to go to the rear and get a seat in another car. When we vacated our position, two others took our places and were later killed in the accident. The up (north-bound) train was behind and was running at fearful rate to reach the station before the down (south-bound) train left. As we came around a considerable curve into straight road in full view of Duck Hill Station, there was a fearful crash, resulting in the destruction of two engines, several cars, and the death of thirty-two men. About forty others were wounded, bruised and mangled... some mortally, some seriously and others only slightly. We remained at the wreck from 2:30 A.M. until 4:00 P.M. We buried the dead, mostly Arkansas and Texas volunteers, in one long pit grave, wide enough to lay the men crosswise...with only their blankets for coffins. I have been on the battlefield, seen men torn and mangled with ball and shell, but never have I seen such a heartrending scene as this. From that day to this, I have never felt safe on a railroad car.
An article in The Memphis Daily Appeal of October 20, 1862, gave some more details. Some of the soldiers names and units were in error, however. Peter Kirby was conductor on the down (southbound) train with eleven cars drawn by the engine James Brown. The up (northbound) train with twelve cars was pulled by the engine A. M. West, with a Mr. Shelton conductor. The southbound train had stopped at Duck Hill for a time and was traveling slowly as it began its trip south. As it reached a point about one-half mile south of the station, the speeding A. M. West rounded the long sweeping curve and its feeble lantern rushed at the plodding James Brown. The engineer of the southbound train saw the approaching train, quickly blasted the signal to stop, while reversing the large drive wheels, and leaped from the straining engine just before the impact. The engineer and the conductor of the northbound train also saw the impending crash and jumped from their engine. Only one man on the south train was killed and a few others slightly injured. The engine was completely wrecked and the tender was driven into the car in its rear, which was destroyed, The damage to the balance of this train was comparatively slight. The northbound train, however, fared much worse. Its engine penetrated the wreckage of the southern train and its tender was piled on top along with many track rails. Two flat cars that were behind the tender loaded with soldiers were completely demolished and many of the men killed instantly. The following baggage car and the first passenger car were piled on top of the wreckage. The balance of the train consisting of five passenger coaches, one sleeping car, and two platform cars were all, more or less, damages, but none of them left the track. There were thirty-four or thirty-five killed, according to reports at the time, and forty to fifty injured, several quite seriously. The severely injured were taken to Canton, Mississippi, for medical attention, except one man who was carried to Grenada with injury to arm. It later became necessary to amputate the arm. The two platform cars in front of the northbound train were crowded as were the platforms of all passenger coaches, with Rebel soldiers, who were on their way to various regiments, or were homebound, and were unable to get seats inside the coaches. Nearly all of these were killed or injured. One man was killed when he was thrown from a platform car in the rear of the train. None of the regular civilian passengers were killed or injured, except for slight bruises here and there.
Those verified as killed were:
FURR, Pvt. Silvester - Company N (?), 27th Texas Calvary.
Events
| Birth | Abt 1841 | Franklin County, MS | |||
| Death | 19 Oct 1862 | Duck Hill, Montgomery County, MS | |||
| Alt name | Sylvester FURR | ||||
| Alt name | Silvester FURR | ||||
| Burial | Duck Hill Confederate Memorial Cemetery, Montgomery County, MS |  |  |
Families
| Father | Jeptha FURR (1817 - ) |
| Mother | Irena COLEMAN (1820 - ) |
| Sibling | William J. FURR (1839 - 1860) |
| Sibling | Nancy Elizabeth FURR (1842 - 1930) |
| Sibling | Irena Angelina FURR (1846 - 1863) |
| Sibling | Jefferson FURR (1848 - ) |
| Sibling | Jeptha I. FURR (1848 - ) |
| Sibling | Elzora I. FURR (1851 - ) |
| Sibling | Albert G. FURR (1853 - ) |
Notes
Burial
Co. N, 27th TX CavEndnotes
1. findagrave.com.