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“Not afraid of any damned Yankee that ever breathed!”: A belligerent surgeon from Iowa

What causes men to stand up to authority?  This story suggests a few reasons, including a touch of liquor.

Patterson Venable (P.V.) Whicher, long-time resident of Muscatine, Iowa, was the son of a well-known U.S. District Attorney for Iowa.  P.V.’s father was a Connecticut Yankee, his mother a Kentucky belle.

Born in Kentucky or Ohio in 1827, P.V. was named after his mother’s family, the Pattersons and the Venables.  Family tradition states that the Venables sympathized with the South.

P.V. graduated from Tulane Medical School in New Orleans in spring 1851.  In between sojourns in Iowa, he entered Southern society.

Medical practice, marriage, and slaves

Three years after graduating, in 1854, he practiced medicine in Bayou Sara, Louisiana.  He married a Louisiana belle named Rosa Dashiell in 1857, in St. Francisville, near Bayou Sara.

P.V. acquired two slaves.  He tried to purchase more slaves at an estate sale, but this effort was challenged in court.  Rosa gave birth to a son in 1859.

P.V. Whicher compiled Confederate service record
P.V. Whicher compiled Confederate service record (National Archives)

Military doctor

After Ft. Sumter, P.V. became assistant surgeon in the Second Regiment, 8th Brigade, of the Louisiana Militia.  .

P.V. impressed Homer B. Sprague of the 13th Connecticut Infantry.  According to Sprague, on May 23, 1863, P.V. was arrested in his buggy near Port Hudson, not far from Bayou Sara.

Cannon in Duryea's and Bainbridge's Batteries, 15th Arkansas, Port Hudson, Louisiana LOC
Port Hudson, La. (Library of Congress)

Sprague’s story

Sprague relates that P.V. was “evidently a man of some education and ability, a little under the influence of stimulants, and a perfect embodiment of chivalry.”  That is, until he was arrested.  P.V. had asked the names of regiments and brigades, and where the pickets were.

Soldiers escorted P.V. in his buggy to see their colonel.

“Who are you?” said the Colonel.

“What business have you to ask me that question?  [P.V. asked from the buggy.]

“I command this regiment, and I have a right to know who’s in my camp.  Your conduct has been very suspicious, and I demand to be answered, and answered in a respectful manner.”

“It’s none of your damned business.  I shall go to General Grover, damn you, and report your damned insolence,” replied Dr. Whicher.

“You are my prisoner, sir, and you need not try to intimidate me,” said the Colonel.

“I try to intimidate you!  I swear that’s a ___ ___ bright idea!  I try to intimidate you in the presence of the whole Yankee Army!  … ___ ___ you and your army!”

“You infernal puppy!”  said Colonel Warner, “you shut up your mouth.  Lt. Norman … take this man to the General … He refuses to disclose his name, and I suspect him of being a spy.”

“I’m not afraid to disclose my name.  My name’s Whicher.  I’m a surgeon of the Confederate line … I’m not afraid of any damned Yankee that ever breathed!  … I dare you to fight!  I’ll fight you with pistols, I’ll fight you with rifles, I’ll fight you with bowie-knives.”

Springing upon his feet in the buggy, Dr. Whicher struck his right fist violently into the palm of his left hand, gesticulating fiercely, defying us all and spitting out a torrent of curses.

The troops seized his horse and buggy, his roast chicken and corn bread, and his shirts.  Then they turned him over to the provost marshal.

The war ended, and P.V. died two years later, on May 10, 1867 at St. Francisville, Louisiana.

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David Connon

David Connon has spent nearly two decades researching dissenters in Iowa: Grinnell residents who helped on the Underground Railroad, and their polar opposites, Iowa Confederates. He shares some of these stories with audiences across the state through the Humanities Iowa Speakers Bureau. He worked as an interpreter at Living History Farms for eleven seasons. Connon is a member of Sons of Union Veterans, an associate member of Sons of Confederate Veterans, and a member of the Des Moines Civil War Round Table. His articles have appeared in Iowa Heritage Illustrated, Iowa History Journal, Illinois Magazine, and local newspapers in both states.

This Post Has 10 Comments

  1. Steve Sprague

    7 Jun 2016

    Thanks for this post. The Dr sounds like a brave man. Enjoyed you quote from Lt. Colonel Homer Baxter Sprague. He is a cousin on mine. He has living descendants in New England I’ll post this to them. Very nice image of the cannon. Best regards – Steve Sprague Marion, IA

    1. David Connon

      7 Jun 2016

      Hi, Steve. I’m glad to hear that you’re related to Lt. Col. Homer Baxter Sprague. Thanks for reading my blog!

      1. Steve Sprague

        7 Jun 2016

        Just checked the family tree – HBS is my 1st Cousin 3x removed. I have files of stuff on him. Where did you find his quote? I had not remembered seeing it.

        1. David Connon

          7 Jun 2016

          Hi, Steve. I found this P.V. Whicher’s story in History of the 13th Infantry Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers during the Great Rebellion, by Homer B. Sprague (Hartford, CT, 1867), pgs. 134-136. It’s located on Google Books.

    1. David Connon

      7 Jun 2016

      Hi, Daniel. Thanks for the chuckle.

    1. David Connon

      7 Jun 2016

      Hi, jdrhawkins.
      Thanks for your kind comment. Thanks, too, for inviting me to visit your blog.

  4. Kathleen Parsons

    16 Jun 2016

    The Union Army truly meant business when they arrested Whicher, since they also confiscated his food and his shirts before taking him in. I’d never separate a man from his food. The impression that you make is impressive; thank you for re-telling this bit of our earlier history.

    1. David Connon

      20 Jun 2016

      Hi, Kathy. I agree that the Union Army meant business with Dr. Whicher. Thanks for your kind words.

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