Through the years I have taken day trips to experience the unique, the offbeat, and just strange sights the world has to offer. One of the strangest things I have seen a monument to is the hole, charitably referred to as a dugout, that Boston Corbett lived in following the Civil War.
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| Gateway to monument near Concordia, KS |
Who was Boston Corbett and why did he live in a hole? He was the hatmaker who, as a sergeant in the Union Army shot John Wilkes Booth (counter to orders by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton) in the Garrett farm barn outside of Port Royal, VA in the early morning hours of 25 April, 1865. A reading of his biography shows Corbett to be a truly disturbed individual who was periodically psychotic, most likely due to mercury poisoning, a common hazard of his vocation.
Born Thomas Corbett in London, England in 1832, he immigrated to the United States with his family in 1839. Arriving in New York City, his family moved several times until they settled in Troy, NY. As a teenager, Corbett apprenticed as a hatter. The occupational exposure to mercury (II) nitrate used in feltmaking likely resulted in the eccentric behaviors exhibited throughout Corbett's adulthood.
Married as a young adult, his wife died giving birth to a daughter, who also died. A devastated Thomas Corbett turned to alcohol, literally staggering throughout New England, until he met a street preacher in Boston, MA. Urged to change his ways, Thomas paid heed, found a job as a hatter and eventually took to preaching and distributing religious literature on his own street corner. He grew his hair and beard long, in imitation of Jesus. He swore off liquor and sought to live a life of Christian devotion. Baptized by a Methodist Episcopal Church minister on 29th August 1858, Corbett renamed himself Boston in honor of the city in which he found salvation.
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| Narrative of Boston Corbett Dugout Marker |
As is often the case in conversion, the pendulum of Corbett's life swung from a life of utter purposelessness and drunken stupor to hypervigilant religious zeal. Whenever someone cursed in his presence, he would sing to God and pray, often interrupting his work. Propositioned on 16 July 1858 by prostitutes while going home from a church meeting (and body parts responding in an earthly fashion), he used a pair of scissors to remove his own testicles in an effort to avoid temptation. He took a meal, then attended a prayer meeting before seeking medical attention. That is one tough (and unbalanced) fellow.
Civil War service
Enlisting as a private in Company I of the 12th Regiment of the New York Militia in April 1861, Corbett was soon at odds with military life. Carrying a bible at all times, reading from it randomly and condemning soldiers and officers for swearing apparently doesn't mix well with military life. After reprimanding Colonel Dan Butterfield (composer/arranger of "Taps") for using profanity, Corbett was arrested and held in stockade until such time as he would apologize to the colonel. When no such apology was forthcoming, Butterfield relented and set Corbett free. His continued insubordination eventually brought a court-martial, and Corbett was sentenced to be shot. The sentence was reduced and he was discharged in August 1863.
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| Matthew Brady photograph of Corbett, 1865 |
One would think that would be a lesson well-learned, but Corbett re-enlisted in Co. L of the 16th Regiment, New York Cavalry. Stubbornly standing his ground during a fight with Mosby's Raiders, he was captured on 24 June 1864 at Culpeper, VA. His bravery under fire earned the respect of the Confederate troops, who took Pvt. Corbett prisoner instead of executing him. At Andersonville, he stood as a model Christian and human, refusing to give in to the predatory environment of the prison camp. After five months and suffering from dysentery, exposure and scurvy, Corbett was released in a November 1864 prisoner exchange. Upon his return to his company, Corbett was promoted to sergeant. After the war, Sgt. Corbett testified against the commandant of Andersonville, Capt. Henry Wirz.
On 24 April 1865, Corbett's regiment was given the task of apprehending Booth - Alive. Stanton wanted answers as to the reasons for and extent of the conspiracy to kill President Lincoln. Surrounding David Herold and Booth in a barn near Port Royal, VA on 26 April, the regiment captured the surrendering Herold, but Booth vowed to fight on. The barn was set on fire in an attempt to flush Booth out, then a shot rang out. Booth fell, with a shot in the back of the neck, his spinal cord severed. Removed from the burning barn, Booth died of his injuries two hours later.
When questioned who fired the shot, Corbett immediately admitted that it was him. When asked why he had disobeyed the direct order to take Booth alive, he said that "Providence directed me", Under arrest and interrogated by Stanton, Corbett claimed that he thought Booth had raised his gun to shoot and he killed Booth to protect himself. Seemingly satisfied, Stanton ordered his release, concluding that Booth's death had saved the country time and money in prosecuting him. Corbett eventually collected $1,653.85 ($25,000 2015 value) in War Department reward money for Booth's capture.
Life after the Civil War
Following the war, Corbett traveled the East Coast as a hatter and lay minister. His habit of interrupting work to pray and sing caused him to be unable to keep a job. He then tried to capitalize on his fame as "Lincoln's Avenger", speaking to women's groups, Sunday schools and tent meetings about the shooting of Booth. His rambling speeches and eccentric behavior resulting in his not being asked back to lecture again. He became increasingly paranoid, worried about conspiracies against him from the government and Booth supporters. At an 1875 reunion of Civil War soldiers, the fact of Booth's death was questioned, angering Corbett to the point of drawing a weapon. He was promptly removed from the meeting before harm could come to him or others.
This was a repeating theme of postwar life for Boston Corbett. After killing Booth, he expected to be hailed as a hero, the man who brought the assassin Booth to justice. Instead, he found himself hated by men who expected to make a name for themselves in the prosecution of Booth, the target of death threats from Booth supporters and the suspect in a variety of conspiracy theories, including several that Booth was not actually dead. Disillusioned, Corbett sought to separate himself from the well settled East Coast.
This was a repeating theme of postwar life for Boston Corbett. After killing Booth, he expected to be hailed as a hero, the man who brought the assassin Booth to justice. Instead, he found himself hated by men who expected to make a name for themselves in the prosecution of Booth, the target of death threats from Booth supporters and the suspect in a variety of conspiracy theories, including several that Booth was not actually dead. Disillusioned, Corbett sought to separate himself from the well settled East Coast.
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| Boston Corbett built his dugout home on the side of this hill |
In 1878, Corbett homesteaded land near Concordia in Cloud County, KS. He constructed a crude "dugout" which was little more than a hole, located some sixty yards south of the current marker. A crack shot, he could kill birds on the fly, leaving no doubt he could hit a fairly stationary backlit target exactly where he wanted. His oddities followed him and he was intolerant of his neighbors and their children, and would brandish a firearm should any stray too close.
During this time, he continued to preach informally. He would attend church, then at the end of the service, inform the minister that "God wants me to say a few words". By some accounts, he would remove the two six-shooters that he was carrying and place them on either side of the Bible on the lectern as he said his words. In January 1887, he was appointed assistant doorkeeper at the Kansas House of Representatives in Topeka. On February 15, convinced that he was being discriminated against, he drew his pistol and chased officers out of the building. He was declared insane the following day by a judge and sent to the Topeka Asylum for the Insane.
During this time, he continued to preach informally. He would attend church, then at the end of the service, inform the minister that "God wants me to say a few words". By some accounts, he would remove the two six-shooters that he was carrying and place them on either side of the Bible on the lectern as he said his words. In January 1887, he was appointed assistant doorkeeper at the Kansas House of Representatives in Topeka. On February 15, convinced that he was being discriminated against, he drew his pistol and chased officers out of the building. He was declared insane the following day by a judge and sent to the Topeka Asylum for the Insane.
Corbett escaped from the asylum on 26 May 1888 and after meeting with a fellow POW in Neodesha, KS rode off into history. Although he claimed to be heading for Mexico, where he went nobody knows for sure. It is thought that he might have built a cabin near Hinckley, MN where he perished in the Great Hinckley Fire on 1 September 1894. It is a fact that a man named Thomas Corbett is listed as missing or as having died in the blaze.
The monument
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| Inoceramid clams in Corbett Dugout marker |
In 1958, Boy Scout Troop 31 of Concordia built this monument to Corbett out of native stone from the Cretaceous Greenhorn Formation. Inoceramid clams common to the Cretaceous Kansas seas can be seen on the monument itself and the steps leading to the monument. The monument area is about a half mile east of Road 791 on the south side of Key Road. No visible trace of the dugout is left, having been filled in or collapsed long ago. The site of the dugout was once marked by a sign, but it had been removed and was laying next to the monument when we visited. It is on private land, but can be accessed by gate. A walk to the top of the hill reveals a huge expanse of prairie, cattle and windmills. How much more Kansas could you get?
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| Please close the gates behind you. We want no wandering cattle. |
When the monument was built, two six-shooters were mounted into the concrete, but they, like Boston Corbett have since disappeared into the mists of time.
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| Space formerly occupied by pistols on Boston Corbett Monument |
Traveling is a lot more fun with a partner, especially when you can bore them to tears with your own interests. Through the years I have traveled with my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, cousins, friends, my wife (Nadienne) and sons (Christian and Benjamin). This time it was Nadienne's turn to wonder "Where in the heck is he off to now?"
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| Me and my travel buddy, my wife Nadienne. |
Getting There
The most common approach will be from I-70. Take US-81 North from Salina, KS for about 41 mi., then east (right) onto Key Road (Co. Rd. 374) for about 3.5 miles. The marker will be on the south (right) side of the road.
Waypoint: Latitude: 39.466263 N; Longitude: 97.598604 W
Street Address: 1718 County Rd. 374 (Key Rd.), Aurora, KS 67417
If the marker is still missing when you visit, here is a Google Earth view that shows where the sign was located in May 2014.
Further Reading
The most common approach will be from I-70. Take US-81 North from Salina, KS for about 41 mi., then east (right) onto Key Road (Co. Rd. 374) for about 3.5 miles. The marker will be on the south (right) side of the road.
Waypoint: Latitude: 39.466263 N; Longitude: 97.598604 W
Street Address: 1718 County Rd. 374 (Key Rd.), Aurora, KS 67417
If the marker is still missing when you visit, here is a Google Earth view that shows where the sign was located in May 2014.
Further Reading
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