A boy named ‘Sue,’ Part 2
From the Mountains
Combat was deadly during the Civil War. Resentment cost many lives even after the war.
Though he looked too young for his britches, young Clark served with distinction at Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River in 1862.
The river was a major waterway for both the North and the South during the Civil War. Fort Donelson was built to hinder Yankee water traffic during the war.
Yankee Brig. Gen. U.S. Grant’s forces captured Fort Henry on Feb. 6, 1862, and marched his men across country. The opposing forces met on Feb. 16, 1862, and the Confederate forces were forced to surrender after their all-out attempt to break through the Yankee lines failed.
It was a catastrophic loss for the Confederates, with more than 15,000 soldiers lost.
Slightly more than 2,000 Yankee soldiers lost their lives. The victory opened the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers for a northern advance. Future president Grant was rewarded with a promotion.
Sue Mundy’s company was among those that surrendered. They were sent to a Yankee prison, Fort Morrison in Indianapolis, Indiana.
They joked with the young man about his boyish manner and what they thought was a lack of courage. One evening around a campfire, he showed his sweetheart’s picture to some of the other prisoners, then a large man named Crow threw it into the fire.
The young man immediately turned into a wildcat as he assaulted the overgrown, brutish man, causing him to back down. His courage wasn’t ever questioned again.
The name Sue Mundy was given to him by his comrades because of his long hair and smooth face. In the same era, there was a madam in Louisville, Ky., whose name was also Sue Mundy. It caused some confusion during the last year of the war after young Clark adopted the name.
A couple months later he was taken to a small river with some other prisoners to take baths. Sue Mundy pretended to get into a fight with one of his comrades, and the guards laid down their arms and egged him on.
The fight eventually put him in close proximity to the guns. Mundy grabbed the weapons and threw them into the river. As the guards returned to camp to secure more arms, Mundy swam across the river and began his escape.
The next morning, he took clothes from an older black gentleman and made his trek back to his brother’s home in Logan County, Ky. A few days later, he and his brother were visiting a neighbor when Federal soldiers came and arrested them. They were taken into the woods and they knew were going to be shot. His brother was killed when they broke away and ran. Sue Mundy escaped.
After several hours, he returned and carried the body of his brother back to his home by whatever means he could steal and use. The next morning while he and his sister were alone with their brother’s corpse, a company of Federal soldiers came to arrest him. A gunfight ensued, with several soldiers being wounded before he again made his escape.
This was a turning point in his life. He changed from a shy, bashful boy to a terror against the Yankees.
Mundy was captured along with Billy Magruder and Henry Medkiff in a barn near Brandenburg, Ky. They were taken to the jail in Louisville, Ky., and a speedy trial ensued.
Witnesses testified to a number of murders by young Sue Mundy. He was also charged with diverting several train cars from the tracks and robbing the passengers.
There were no defense witnesses. Sue Mundy was found guilty and sentenced to die. It became clear at this time that Marcellus Jerome Clark and Sue Mundy were one and the same.
Since Sue Mundy had a penchant for escaping, the date of his execution was not announced. The Rev. Talbott, his spiritual advisor, arrived on the morning of March 15 and confided to Sue Mundy that on this day he would be hanged. The decision was made that he would face the hangman’s noose instead of a firing squad.
“I am not guilty of most of the outrages that I’ve learned about through the Kentucky newspapers,” Mundy said on the morning of his hanging. “Those writings were mostly untrue and they fanned the flames against me. That ain’t right. They said I was largely responsible for the Negro soldiers being killed at Simpsonville. I was nowhere close to there when it happened.
“I am a Confederate soldier and have a captain’s commission from Col. Jack Allen. I have been treated unfairly in my trial. I’m a prisoner and not a criminal, although you’re treating me like a criminal.”
The Rev. Talbott met with the prisoner several times prior to his execution. He prayed with him that morning and Sue Mundy professed his faith in Jesus. He asked to be baptized and this was done the hour before his hanging. He also asked Talbot to write letters to several of his relatives. Each was sealed with a lock of his hair.
“Send my body to my aunt in Franklin, Ky., where I want to be buried in my uniform alongside my father and mother,” he directed.
Sue Mundy was heavily guarded as he arrived at the gallows, his mouth muttering a prayer. Those nearby heard him praying, “Lord have mercy on my poor soul.” He daubed a dirty white handkerchief at his eyes.
The guards placed a white cap on his head while he stood next to the hangman’s noose, then on the count of three he fell through the trap door. His neck wasn’t broken. Those present sensed his anxiety as he squirmed about for a few minutes before he died.
Sue Mundy had been captured on Sunday, taken to Louisville on Monday, tried on Tuesday and hanged on Wednesday. Some called it “swift injustice.”
After his execution, it was learned that he was the son of Confederate Brig. Gen. Hector Clark. He had taken the name Sue Mundy so the various news accounts of his escapades would not embarrass his family and friends. This was a time before pictures were widely disseminated through the media.
Billy Magruder was allowed to heal from his wounds before he was hanged. Henry Medkiff was spared the death penalty.
Copyright 2022 Jadon Gibson
Mr. Gibson, the author, wants to add here that historic and criminal events often take on variations from family members over a period of time. “I give most weight to information that was gathered at the time of the events in question,” he said.
More interesting facts about Sue Mundy next week. Was Sue Mundy fact or fiction? It’s a great story either way.
Thanks to Lincoln Memorial University, Alice Lloyd College and the Museum of Appalachia for their assistance