Father Peter Whelan, OSB, Catholic CSA Chaplain

Father Peter Whelan, O.S.B., C.S.A.

by

J.C. Sullivan

To describe the life and times of one immigrant to the American South could be also be aptly titled "Holy Men in Modern Times." One chapter would describe Wexford-born Peter Whelan. Oh, he was human, to be sure, but his devotion to God and his fellow man is evident in the way he chose to live his life. He was also a Confederate Chaplain to Irish-Americans in the Montgomery Guards, part of the 1st Georgia Volunteers.

Peter Whelan was born in 1802 in County Wexford, Ireland. He attended Birchfield College in Kilkenny for two years, where he received classical and mathematical education. He may have been influenced by the desperate appeal of John England, the bishop of the new diocese of Charleston, South Carolina. Priests were sorely needed, particularly in the South. He was ordained a priest of the Benedictine Order in Charleston on November 21, 1830. He offered his first Mass in the state of Georgia in 1835 in the home of Robert Semmes. In 1854 a yellow fever epidemic claimed the life of Savannah's first Bishop, Frances Gartland in 1854. Father Whelan was summoned to Savannah and was stationed there for the remainder of his life.

In September 1861 Bishop Augustine Verot was named the third Bishop of the Savannah Diocese, which was formed in 1850. Arriving at his new post from Florida, he was asked to send a chaplain to Fort Pulaski. The Fort, on the Savannah River, guarded the approaches to the city. It was thought to be impregnable as no artillery shells could be directed at it from any nearby land. Part of the garrison there were Catholic troops, in particular the Montgomery Guards, mostly Irish from Savannah.

The militia unit was organized on August 20, 1861. Not having their own banner, Captain Lawrence J. Guilmartin contacted the Sisters of Mercy in Savannah. After Mass on Saint Patrick's Day, 1862, a presentation ceremony was held. Private Bernard O'Neill was appointed standard-bearer and Major John Foley presented it to him.

Father Whelan was present on April 10, 1862 when Federal forces began an artillery bombardment of the Fort. Using new 'rifled' artillery, the rounds were able to reach the outer walls from Tybee Island, more than a mile away. Thirty hours later, with one wall breached by the shot, it was determined that the entire ammunition magazine was in danger of exploding, If that happened the entire garrison would be killed. Colonel Charles H. Olmstead agreed to surrender. Now prisoners-of-war, Father Whelan and the Montgomery Guards were transported to Governor's Island, New York. Bernard O'Neill hid the banner on his person.

Wartime conditions persisted for prisoners and Father Whelan, through the office of Father William Quinn, pastor of St. Peter's Church, Barclay St., New York, applied for the position of Prison Chaplain so he could offer daily Mass at Castle William. Through Father Quinn he was discharged and put on parole. Father Whelan could have left but he chose to remain with his men and minister to them. He eventually returned to Savannah where the Vicar General assigned him the task of overseeing the spiritual needs of the confederate military posts in Georgia.

On one occasion another CSA chaplain, the Reverend James Sheeran of the 14th Louisiana, on leave from Virginia, visited him. In his diary he observed, "He stands nearly six feet with drab hair, coarse ill shaped countenance, round or swinging shoulders, long arms, short body and long legs, with feet of more than ordinary size.... One day he met a brother priest, to whom nature was no more liberal than to himself. "Well," said he, "...your mother and mine must have been women of great virtue....because they did not drown us when the first saw us. None but mothers of great...patience would have raised such ugly specimens of humanity."

During May of the same year Fr. William Hamilton, pastor of Assumption Church in Macon, accidentally came upon Andersonville Prison and stopped to learn how many Catholics were there. His experience led him to petition the Vicar, suggesting a priest be provided; Father Whelan was asked. He arrived at Andersonville on June 16, 1864. Even though other priests and the Bishop visited briefly, Whelan remained for four months. Although he never penned his feelings, a pastor from Macon did. "I found the stockade extremely filthy: the men all huddled together and covered with vermin....they had nothing under them but the ground."

At the fall of the Confederacy, Father Whelan returned to Savannah and served there until 1868. Now aged sixty-nine and in failing health from his wartime tribulations, he administered his last baptism in 1871 and died in February of the same year. The funeral procession was reported in the Savannah Evening News as the longest ever seen in the city. After a 10:00 a.m. Mass a procession of eighty-six carriages and buggies of civilians, religious societies and Irish organizations escorted his mortal remains through Savannah's crowd-lined streets to the Catholic Cemetery. Colonel Olmstead led Confederate Army and Navy veterans. An officer who knew Father Whelan said, "I followed this good old man to his grave with a sense of exultation as I thought of the welcome that awaited him from the Master whose spirit he had caught and made the rule of his live."


Bibliography
Gilliam Bowen, Diocese of Savannah
Father Whelan of Fort Pulaski and Andersonville, Georgia Historical Quarterly, Spring, 1987.

Saint Patrick's Day in Savannah

JC & Cairenn Sullivan



Six years had passed since we last visited Savannah. The occasion in 1995 was their Irish Cultural Festival, now in its ninth year. We went at that time to witness the event that was begun so the Irish of Savannah could show their children there is more than being Irish than being in a slight state of inebriation and wearing a green plastic hat That was then, this was now ….we were going to be a part of the green plastic hat crowd.

Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland all come to mind when one thinks about being Irish In America. But, the American South? Who would think of Savannah, Georgia, a town with about eleven Catholic churches in it?

The community here has a very long tradition of honoring Saint Patrick. In his book The Days We've Celebrated, the late William L. Fogarty discovered the first official invitation to a 'public observance' was found in the 1813 minutes of the Hibernian Society of Savannah

The closest we could get a room was at the Days Inn, Oglethorpe Mall. We took a bus downtown on the 16th to witness the service honoring Sgt William Jasper, an Irish American Revolutionary War hero who died defending Savannah against the British. The ceremony was very colorful, with speeches from military officers from Fort Stewart and Hunter Air Force Base being the highlight. The pipe band from the Irish Air Force, Dublin, Ireland, was present for the ceremony.

Knowing other Hibernians is a true blessing, We linked up with our friends Don & Patti Fallon, who we had initially met in Louisville, KY. Don is a Parade Marshal and is plugged into the hierarchy of Savannah's Irish community. We enjoyed a reception at the K of C Hall afterwards and were also invited to a private party at the Hilton. Hosted by Mr. It was here I got my first taste of Midleton Irish whiskey. The bottle comes in a wooden box and allegedly one cannot procure it in this country. One sip of it is enough to establish it as the finest and smoothest to ever cross these Irish lips!

Mass is celebrated early on Saint Patrick's Day - 8:30 a.m. - at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. Afterwards Savannah's Irish-born Bishop J. Kevin Boland joined the outdoor celebration and struck up a conversation with some Irish lads from County Cork, the band Natural Gas. Together they sang On the Banks Of My Own Lovely Lee. As reported in the Savannah Morning News, Tim O'Riordan said, "Whenever Cork people meet away from home that's the song we sing. It puts some strength into the soul." Boland, in Savannah for forty years, said, "How can you miss home with something like this? We are at home. All the Irish are at home in Savannah."

It would have been too difficult to get to the early Mass from the Oglethrope Mall so Saint Patrick's Day began for us with bus ride downtown. For a buck each way, the Chatham Area Regional Transit (CHART) folks moved busses from the Mall on a continual basis. Although the line was very long, they did a commendable job of moving the large crowd. Once downtown we began to walk towards the marshaling area for the early 10:30 a.m. start. We decided to park ourselves and wait for the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Ladies AOH to come by us. It wasn't long before they appeared and we joined them for the parade. What a great experience it was - all this and a temperature in the 70s!

The streets of Savannah being old, are also narrow, affording we marchers the opportunity to speak to the parade watchers without shouting. The crowd is lively and spirited, in town specifically for the parade. Official estimates later put it at 400-500,000. We had fun placing beads around the necks of small children, with Mom and Dad's permission, of course.

The young ladies of Savannah make a great sport of smooching parade walkers, especially the military. You see them on the sidelines, lipstick in hand, reloading their lips as they reconnoiter their target. Then, like hawks circling field mice, they spring into action and swoop down on the unsuspecting, planting a perfect red lip tattoo on a surprised cheek. It was charming to see an Army Ranger Platoon Leader hard-pressed to stifle a bemused smile.

At the end of the parade we went to the K of C Hall where a rock 'n roll band was just setting up. One of their tunes was the old hit by Jay and the Americans, This Magic Moment. I thought it aptly described Saint Patrick's Day everywhere, especially Savannah.

We partook of refreshments being offered and chatted with many people, including Savannah oncologist Dr. Jim Burke. His dad , also Dr. Jim, and mother, originally from Chicago, are now retired in Florida and were staying in town with son Jim. Much later, looking out the window, we were surprised to see the parade still going by. We estimate it was about four and a half hours long, the largest we've ever witnessed.

We had a return token on CHART and decided to take the return bus to Oglethorpe Mall, arriving back early evening. Our intent was to catch a little R & R but, alas, the spirit was willing but the flesh…….we didn't get back downtown that evening. Boy, are we dating ourselves?

The town of Savannah knows how to promote itself. The Savannah Morning News, for example, dedicated at least four and one-half pages to Saint Patrick's Day, two of which were full color photos. As well they should - the estimated revenue brought into the city by this event is 23 million buckaroos.