Hayne Klinck, Special Agent: Introduction

Stamp from many of Hayne's special service records

Probable (but unproven) photograph of Captain Hayne Klinck

About a year ago, ironically while looking for records on someone else, I tripped into a treasure trove of documentation on Hayne Klinck’s role as a special agent for the Confederacy. Before this discovery, I knew only that he’d acted as a detective for the Memphis Police Department pre-war and, that he later died in battle in Franklin, Tennessee. The 50+ pages of payment invoices and letters offer a very rare glimpse into the almost daily life of a Confederate agent. Beginning with a stint in a notoriously grotesque Union military prison and ending with his heroic death on the front lines, Captain Klinck’s story is one of our ancestry’s most intriguing! As we approach date of his long-awaited headstone installation and dedication ceremony – and the 150th anniversary of his death at the Battle of Franklin, I’ll share as much as I can gather about his activities between the fall of Memphis in 1862 and his tragic death two years later at age 29. Come back next week for the first installment: “Aiding and Abetting the Rebels.”