Irving Block Prison

 Known as the "Bastille of Memphis," Irving Block was originally constructed as office buildings in 1860.  But, like so many structures, it was repurposed as a Confederate hospital after the war broke out.  And then in 1862, when Union forces began their occupation of Memphis, they turned it into a prison for soldiers and Confederate sympathizers.  During its time in Federal possession, the facility became intertwined with corruption and plagued with deplorable conditions.

Irving Block prison, 1864
www.historic-memphis.com

General Stephen A. Hurlbut was at the center of the corruption.  Appointed by General Grant to oversee military operations in Memphis, the Illinois politician ultimately set up an extortion ring in which he threw citizens into Irving Block on false pretenses in order to profit from their bonds.  And then he, along with the commandant he appointed, Captain George A. Williams, expanded his fraudulent operations to include extorting locals for ransoms to release their loved ones held at the prison.

 

 

Among the prisoners who witnessed the corruption and chaos within the walls of the Irving Block prison were women.  One of whom was Melinda Vine.

Memphis Bulletin, September 25th, 1863

 

Notice that the article just mentions that she was dressed in soldier's clothes.  The writer didn't state that she was a soldier. He didn't include a unit or background information on how she came to be a soldier.  The "perfect sin" in quotes seems to be hinting that she was perhaps involved in intimate activities.  Prostitution was rampant in Memphis just as it was in Nashville.  So Vine was perhaps a fallen woman who used the soldier's clothing to infiltrate nearby Union camps and ply her trade.  But it's difficult to say without more information.  This lone article is the only one I have found so far on her.

 When Vine arrived, she may have noticed the miserable situation inside the prison - if she had been sober enough to do so.  Conditions were deteriorating as the war progressed, prompting calls for an inspection and improvement. The resulting report by Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt to Abraham Lincoln in April 1864 noted that Irving Block was "the filthiest place the inspector ever saw occupied by human beings."

And it was this challenging setting that saw the arrival of two women soldiers a few months after Holt issued his report.  Newspapers from around the world carried the account of Jane Short and Lou Morris being arrested in the camp of the 21st Missouri (Union) and subsequently being sent to Irving Block.  The two claimed to have served in separate units previously but after they met and introduced themselves to each other in a hotel in Memphis, they contrived a plan to once again join the army.  Short, after all, was "pining for the excitement of glorious war" and Morris stated that they wanted to do their part in "licking the rebs." Short was described as “thick set, full faced" with "short hair of a light color, and blue eyes," appearing as an "unsophisticated country lad" that someone would have never suspected of being a woman.  As "Charley Davis," she had joined the band as a bass drummer.  Morris was younger and described as “better looking than her companion.”  As "Bill Morris," she served as a teamster.  

It seemed that the women possessed an unwavering, patriotic desire to fight for cause and country.  However, Short's pining for combat was completely tempered by Nathan Bedford Forrest.  Their unit was to be sent after the feared Confederate cavalry commander, a venture she did not wish to participate in.  And she turned them both in, which resulted in military authorities dismissing them and sending them to Irving Block under suspicion of nefarious intentions.

 

 

Ironically, Short nearly met Forrest anyway.  Just about a week after they arrived at Irving Block, he led a raid on the facility in an effort to free Confederate prisoners.  

 

Harper's Weekly, Forrest's Raid on Irving Block, August 1864

 

But at that point, Short and Morris were on a steamboat heading north where a soldier saw them and recorded his thoughts in his diary.  He described Morris as "young and beautiful."  Short, who was "telling fortune from cards" when he viewed her, was older, and she apparently showed it.  That was not all she seemingly showed as he also noted that she had “too much bust for a man and could not hide it.”  Therefore, his observations about Short differed from the newspaper writer's who claimed that she was indistinguishable from a man.

 

Irving Block continued to serve as a notorious prison until 1865, when Lincoln himself ordered it to be closed.  After the war, the buildings reverted back to housing shops and offices until being demolished in the 1930's.  A parking garage was built on location until it, too, was demolished in 2013.  Now, it's an empty lot on North Second Street across from Court Square.