The Forgotten General in the City Jail
A decorated Civil War veteran and Indian fighter finds himself destitute and seeking shelter in a Seattle prison.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
There walked out of the city prison this morning a man with a remarkable history—a history that would honor any citizen of the United States. Major-General August Thierman, United States army, retired, while temporarily impoverished yesterday applied to Chief of Police Hickman for food and shelter. The chief, who served in the Union army, gave him a warm supper and a bed in the hospital department. A leather pouch around his neck contained letters from distinguished statesmen and proof of 242 battles, seven wounds, and thirteen army commissions over forty-two years of service. Born in New York in 1819, Thierman served in Florida Indian wars, the Mexican War, and on the frontier in Oregon and Washington. He was present at the capture of Jefferson Davis and guarded him at Fortress Monroe. After a devastating cyclone killed his family in North Dakota, his spirit and health broke. When local Grand Army members learned his history, they provided for him, but he refused to stay at the Soldiers' Home, preferring his independence. He came to Seattle to find a friend named Miller.
“His stories of Indian fights in the Northwest would fill a volume.”
Thierman's story highlights the precariousness of life for aging veterans in a city rapidly industrializing, a struggle that remains a critical issue for Seattle's unhoused veterans today. His rejection of the institutional 'Soldiers' Home' in favor of his own dignity captures an enduring tension between public charity and personal autonomy.
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