Person

Alfred Gourdine

An illustration of a man with a mustache, bowler hat, and suit.
Alfred Gourdine's surname was spelled many ways including Gourdine, Gridiron, Gradine, or Gourdin.

Library of Congress

Quick Facts
Significance:
Freedom Seeker on the Planter
Place of Birth:
Charleston
Date of Birth:
Approximately 1824

“The old Engineer of the Planter”

In the early hours of May 13, 1862, as the crew of the Planter prepared for their daring escape to freedom, the old engineer of the Planter lit the fires of the boilers and made the ship ready for sea.

Alfred Gridiron was born around 1824 around Charleston, South Carolina.1 Almost nothing is known about his life until the fateful night of May 12, 1862, when he fired the boilers of the Planter in the Charleston Harbor, bound for freedom. By the next morning, he, along with 15 others, were free. Congressional reports of the incident indicated that Gourdine was the "old engineer of the Planter."2 So, he had likely been on the crew of the vessel for some time, along with John Smalls, the other engineer. The two men were responsible for operating the boiler and the engine. So, while Robert Smalls may have been in the captain's chair, it was Gourdine who kept the engines churning towards freedom.

The first record of Alfred Gourdine after the successful escape of the Planter and its crew comes from The Village Record newspaper of West Chester, Pennsylvania. It describes how after the crew of the Planter handed the ship over to the US Navy, Alfred Gourdine continued serving on the ship as the fireman alongside Robert Smalls.3 For the rest of the Civil War, the Planter was engaged in operations up and down the coast. They targeted Confederate supply lines along the Lowcountry rivers and supported Army actions around Charleston and Edisto Island. It is possible that Gourdine served aboard the vessel at least until the Spring of 1865. Freedmen’s Hospital records show an Alfred Gridiron being treated for indigestion in March of 1865, with his residence listed as Mitchellville on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.4  

Three different records give us a clue to what happened to Alfred Gridiron after the war. The first is Alfred’s Freedmen’s Bank records, from April of 1871. The record lists his wife as “Betsy in Charleston” as well as his 7 children. It also lists his residence on York Street Lane in Savannah, Georgia, working for a Capt. Dickson as a laborer.5 A list of registered voters in Savannah from 1867-1869 shows Alfred was living in Savannah during that period and was qualified to vote.6 The final document is a second Freedmen’s Bank record from Charleston, South Carolina (April 6, 1870).7 This one is for a Louisa Brown, his daughter. Listing her parents as Betsy and Alfred Gourdine and all her siblings as well. These two records are almost identical, apart from the spelling of their surname.

In the 1870 US Census for Charleston, South Carolina, there is a Betsy Gourdine living in Charleston’s 6th Ward without Alfred.8 The census lists her children as Joseph, Henry, Abraham, Manuel, Elizabeth, Louisa, and Rebecca. Almost identical to both Freedmen’s Bank records, with yet again a different spelling of the surname. Although on Alfred’s bank record in 1871 he lists his daughter Rebecca as deceased. City directories for Charleston list a Betsy Gourdine living on George St. in Charleston’s 6th Ward from 1910-1913.9 Death records show a Joe Gourdine buried at Laurel Grove Cemetery in 1914, and another birth record shows the birth of Henry Gourdine’s son Charles in Savannah in 1887.

How long Betsy and Alfred were married or lived apart from each other is unknown. Contemporary newspaper articles chronicling the escape of the Planter state Gourdine was married at the time. Although, the Freedmen’s Bank records show them in different cities in the 1870s, and Alfred is not listed in the Charleston City Directories with Betsy in the early 1910s. There is also no known record of Alfred’s death. Most records of Alfred state his birth in the late 1820s, making him in his 80s when Betsy was listed in the city’s directories, but only in his 30s at the time of the escape… rendering questions on his title as the “Old Engineer.” We know an Alfred Gourdine escaped on the Planter and continued to serve on her in some aspect during the Civil War. Possibly the same who lived apart from his wife for years after the war. Possibly laboring to provide for his wife and children, close enough for visits, but still apart. Maybe, this was the life of the “Old Engineer” of the Planter, but without more evidence it’s hard to say for sure.  

Ultimately, like most everybody else aboard the Planter that night, Gourdine's life is shrouded in mystery beyond that fateful night. Historical records are incomplete and often disjointed. There are possible hints in everything from census records to Freedman's Bank records. But thus far, virtually everything about Gourdine's life is circumstantial and speculative. Perhaps one day a source will emerge, not unlike how Gourdine himself emerged in an 1890s Detroit newspaper, with information that will allow his story to be definitively told.10

*Alfred Gourdine's name appears spelled a wide variety of ways throughout historical records. It is sometimes spelled Gourdine, Gridiron, Gradine, or Gourdin. For consistency we have used Gourdine throughout this article as it is most likely the correct spelling.

Resources

  1. Freedmen’s Bank, Alfred Gridiron in the US Freedmen’s Bank Records 1865-1874. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8755/records/60202597?tid=&pid=&queryId=d7e6c956-6769-44de-8f70-f7fd0c18268e&_phsrc=PBi3556&_phstart=successSourcein the U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874
  2. US War Department, Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion ser.1:v.12
  3. The Village Record, June 24, 1862.
  4.  Freedmen’s Bureau, Alfred Gridiron in the Freedmen’s Bureau Records, 1865-1871. U.S., Freedmen's Bureau Records, 1865-1878 - Ancestry.com
  5. Freedmen’s Bank, Alfred Gridiron in the US Freedmen’s Bank Records 1865-1874. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8755/records/60202597?tid=&pid=&queryId=d7e6c956-6769-44de-8f70-f7fd0c18268e&_phsrc=PBi3556&_phstart=successSource
  6. Georgia, U.S., Returns of Qualified Voters and Reconstruction Oath
  7. Freedmen’s Bank, Louisa Brown in the US Freedmen’s Bank Records 1865-1874. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8755/records/60202597?tid=&pid=&queryId=d7e6c956-6769-44de-8f70-f7fd0c18268e&_phsrc=PBi3556&_phstart=successSource
  8. US Census Bureau, Betsey Gourdin in the1870 US Census for Charleston Co. South Carolina. 1870 United States Federal Census - Ancestry.com
  9. Wals Directory Company, Walsh’s Charleston Directory 1910 (1911 & 1913 as well), Charleston, SC (1910). U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 - Ancestry.com
  10. “A Strike for Freedom,” Dretroit Free Press, December 17, 1893, pg. 30.

Reconstruction Era National Historical Park

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Last updated: July 24, 2025