Brigadier General Justin Dimick

Brigadier General Justin Dimick

“Photographic History of the Civil War”

Quick Facts

Significance:

Colonel, Commander of Fort Warren, Georges Island

Place of Birth:

Hartford, CT

Date of Birth:

August 5, 1800

Place of Death:

Philadelphia, PA

Date of Death:

October 13, 1871

A seasoned veteran, Colonel Justin Dimick took charge of Boston’s Fort Warren on Georges Island in 1861. During his two years commanding the Confederate prisoner-of-war camp, Dimick was known for his just treatment of prisoners.

Colonel Justin Dimick’s long career in the military began when he was commissioned as an artillery officer following his graduation from West Point in 1819. Dimick had a long and illustrious early career, serving in the Mexican-American War, on the Canadian frontier, and in Florida. At the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, Col. Justin Dimick commanded Fort Monroe, in Virginia, though Major General Benjamin Butler soon took command of the fort in May. In October 1861, Col. Dimick received orders to move to Fort Warren on Georges Island.¹ 

Dimick arrived on Georges Island only a few days before the first prisoners arrived from New York. Fort Warren had not yet been established as a prison. Initially told to expect one hundred prisoners, Dimick faced the unexpected arrival of 600 confederate prisoners and 155 political prisoners on October 31. Most prisoners spent their first night at Georges Island, still aboard the ship that transported them—USS State of Maine. Once allowed off the boat, prisoners faced an uncomfortable first few weeks at Fort Warren, with limited food and bedding. An outpouring of aid from the citizens of Boston ensured the prisoners were fed. Most prisoners received beds and blankets; wealthier inmates even had the ability to make arrangements with caterers for food.² 

Dimick remained lenient in the treatment of prisoners and treated them with kindness. Both soldiers and prisoners under his command respected him. Dimick afforded prisoners many leniencies including the ability to walk around the parade grounds and play sports. On one occasion, Dimick joined Confederate officers listening to a prisoner from Fort Donelson sing.³ Dimick also allowed for visitors in the presence of a guard if the government approved the person visiting.⁴  

Dimick’s long military service meant that he might have known some of those he imprisoned. For example, Dimick had been friends with Confederate General Simon Bolivar Buckner, a high-level prisoner. When Buckner arrived on Georges Island after surrendering at Fort Donelson, Dimick received orders to keep Buckner in solitary confinement. It is said that Buckner had to console Dimick as he carried out this order. Buckner resided for six weeks in a room that had previously been home to one of Dimick’s daughters. Later, Buckner gained the privilege of walking the grounds with armed guards, though he remained in solitary confinement until his release in July 1862.⁵ 

Dimick had four daughters and one son who survived childhood, and some lived with him during his tenure at Fort Warren. His son, Lt. Justin E. Dimick, graduated from West Point in 1846 and served for a time at Fort Warren under his father. Prisoners respected Col. Dimick so much that when it became time for Lt. Justin E. Dimick to return to the front line, prisoners at Fort Warren penned a letter for him to take into battle. The letter requested his good treatment should he be captured. Unfortunately for the Dimick family, Lt. Justin E. Dimick died of wounds sustained in the Battle of Chancellorsville, without ever having used the letter.  

In 1863, Colonel Dimick requested a transfer due to ill health, recommending Major Stephen Cabot as his replacement. Dimick left his command at Fort Warren in November 1863. Sworn in as a Brevet Brigadier- General before his retirement in 1865, Dimick died of consumption in 1871.⁶ 

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Footnotes 

1. Shurcliff & Merill, Landscape Architects, "History and Master Plan Georges Island and Fort Warren Boston," (Boston: Metropolitan District Commission; - Parks Division, 1960), 20-23; Minor Horne McLein, "Prison Conditions in Fort Warren, Boston, During the Civil War," (unpublished dissertation, 1955), https://open.bu.edu/ds2/stream/?#/documents/101766/page/1.
2. Christopher Klein, "The Light in a Dark Harbor," New York Times, October 30, 2011.
3. McLein, "Prison Conditions in Fort Warren, Boston, During the Civil War," 22, 181.
4. McLein, "Prison Conditions in Fort Warren, Boston, During the Civil War," 95-183.
5. Shurcliff & Merill, "History and Master Plan Georges Island and Fort Warren Boston," 20-23.
6. McLein, "Prison Conditions in Fort Warren, Boston, During the Civil War," 90-93; Sarah Kay Bierle, "Lieutenant Justin E. Dimick: “Accomplished Artillery Officer, Truest Soldier," last modified May 4, 2019, accessed April 2023.