2014 Eulogy of Captain Hayne Klinck

November 30, 2014 marks the 150th anniversary of the death of Captain Hayne Klinck during the battle of Franklin. On August 9, 2014, we honored Captain Klinck by dedicating his new headstone at Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis. The following eulogy was written and read by his 2 x great grand niece, Kristin Klinck Petersen.

Son Hayne Irby Klinck was the second born and eldest son of John Graham Klinck and Sarah Henderson Irby.  Born in his mother’s home town of Laurens, SC in 1835, Hayne soon moved with his family to Memphis where he spent the rest of his life until the outbreak of the Civil War. Husband & Father At 21, he married Margaret Ann Robertson. Their daughter, Emma, was born two years later, in 1856. Four years after that, a son, whom they called John Graham Klinck, Jr, was born in 1860. Sadly, John was one of the city’s many yellow fever victims: he succumbed in 1873 when he was only 13 years old. Police Officer When he was 25, Hayne was nominated to the Day Police by the Memphis City Council. He spent several very busy years protecting the city, mostly with his partner, John Dyer. During their tenure together, Klinck & Dyer rid the streets of counterfeiters, dray-tipping ruffians, abolitionists, and even garroters! In 1861 he was elected as Captain of the Day Police, a title he held until the city fell to the Union. See Dixie Roots Series, Hayne Klinck: Super Cop	Tennessee Marriage License for Hayne Klinck and Mary Robertson
Detective The next chapter of Hayne’s life is arguably the most intriguing and exciting. Unfortunately, it’s also the story I’m the least confident in retelling – especially standing over his grave! So I’ll tell you what I think I know … About a year ago, ironically while looking for records on someone else, I tripped into a treasure trove of documentation on Hayne’s role as a special agent for the Confederacy. The 50+ pages of payment invoices and letters offer a very rare glimpse into the almost daily life of a Confederate agent. In September of 1862, Hayne was a member of a guerilla band that captured Uniontown, KY. They overtook the 43rd Indiana Regiment, sacked the town, captured at least 200 muskets, and commandeered a steamer! Reportedly, in addition to burning the ship’s 200 bales of cotton, the Rebels also “confiscated the contents of the bar.” Unfortunately, the fun ended there. Not long after, Hayne was captured and sent to the notoriously grotesque Union military prison in Alton, Illinois. There, overcrowding, poor nutrition, harsh weather, and inadequate clothing led to dysentery, pneumonia, small pox, and rubella. See Dixie Roots post, Aiding and Abetting the Rebels Thankfully, by March of 1863, he was free and had made the journey to the capital of the Confederacy in Richmond, VA. There, he was assigned to special service under Major General Arnold Elzey. See Dixie Roots post, Assigned to Elzey
Payment records show he was paid $4/day for un-specified “special services” rendered over the next six months, mostly in Richmond. In September, however, Hayne wrote a letter to his superiors from Charleston explaining difficulty he had carrying out his duty. His mission seems to have been to round up and arrest draft dodgers, however local city police did not recognize his authority to do so and threatened to bring his actions to the attention of the mayor. Hayne wrote, “As we have no military prison, an order should be delivered to the mayor to receive all prisoners arrested by myself or any other authorized officer or agent of yours. I have not and will not … violate any civil law, but it seems to be the opinion of the mayor and all civil officers that no citizen should be arrested by any military officer. I have noticed in all places there are sure to arise some little jealousies between government and civil officials. This I have always avoided and never had any trouble or misunderstanding until now.”	Copy of Page 2 of Hayne's letter dated  4 September 1863
A few months later, in December of 1863, Hayne wrote to his superiors again, this time asking for permission to leave Charleston for a few days to travel through Georgia. He requested that Captain E. Pliny Bryan escort him and that he be granted transportation and a sum of $600. Although I haven’t been able to research this mission yet, there are a few standout points to the story. First, his request was written on December 19th. According to the invoices, it was approved and the check was cut on the very same day! Second, the man Klinck requested to accompany him, Pliny Bryan, was no slouch. An army officer and state legislator before the war, Bryan became fairly-well known as a Confederate spy, constantly dipping into and out of enemy territory for intelligence, reporting on troop movements and river traffic, and even successfully blowing up two boats. A letter to Jefferson Davis about his intelligence-gathering called him, “bold and intelligent and well worthy of any recognition reward you may deem suitable.” The request for Bryan to accompany Klinck was also granted. As was the $600 – almost 6 months of Klinck’s salary – or, according to one inflation calculator – about $11,000 today! My current records show nothing more about this mission.
The last major event in my special service records is the most compelling, but also the bit I know the least about. So I’ll simply read you Hayne’s desperate letter from Charleston, dated March 11, 1864: Copy of original letter	Transcript of original letter
Although I don’t yet know how he came to be arrested, how long he was imprisoned, or what circumstances lead to his release, by late May, high-ranking Confederates and lawmakers begin writing letters to congress requesting his immediate promotion. A quote from one of the letters is on your ceremony cards. It reads in full: “Mr. H.I. Klinck, a citizen of Tennessee and a skillful policeman in the city of Memphis, has been in the service of the Confederate States as a detective from the beginning of the war. Mr. Klinck has been faithful in the discharge of his duties and has displayed skill, courage, and ability as a detective. Being cut off from his home by the invasion of the enemy’s occupancy, Mr. Klinck and his family are totally dependent on his office for support.” His promotion was granted and a raise to $5/day was instilled – including back pay to the beginning of 1864.
Soldier The short time left to Hayne is a bit of a mystery. His special service records end with the documentation on his promotion. What remains we learned from witness testimony given in support of his widow, Margaret’s, pension application. The first witness, Senator Thomas B.Turley (whom a section of this cemetery is named for), reported that he remembers first seeing Klinck around the first of November in Florence, Alabama. He testified that, “While the [154th Senior Tennessee] Regiment was camping at Florence Alabama, a man named Klinck who was a tall man with dark hair and was well built, but not fleshy, joined the regiment as a private. He remembers that a good many of the members of the regiment recognized Klinck and seemed well acquainted with him … Turley remembers because it created considerable comment that a man from Memphis should come to the regiment that late in the war and join as a private.” The second witness testimony comes from J.R. Flippin, quartermaster of the 154th In addition to remembering that Klinck joined up only a few weeks before the Battle of Franklin, Flippin reported speaking to Klinck, saying: "Klinck thought that while [I] was acting quartermaster, I would be much less likely to be killed than any member of the command engaged in active hostilities.” He was right. While Flippin survived, neither Hayne nor his new regiment fared well in this battle. If he was sent to the front line as he feared, Klinck was likely part of Major General Patrick Cleburne’s division, which fought in the heat of the battle and advanced into the enemy works. Not only was Cleburne himself one of the five generals killed at Franklin, but his division suffered the largest percentage of casualties of any of the Confederate units in the battle. They entered the field with 3,500 men and lost 1,540. Flippin recalled the rest of their conversation: “A short time before the battle of Franklin, Klinck came to [me] impressed with a presentiment that he might not survive the engagement. He entrusted [me] with a fine gold watch, a diamond ring, and some money, consisting of gold, green-backs, and Tennessee bills. .. He entrusted me to take them, should he be killed, to the city of Memphis and deliver them to his widow.”	Witness testimony of J.R. Flippin
Although it’s unclear what circumstances caused Hayne to vacate his position as a special services detective and join a regiment as a private, his final request shows one thing quite clearly: As Captain Klinck – a man of not yet 30 who had spent his entire adult life in the service of his city and his country - approached what he knew would be his certain death on the front lines of battle, the well-being of his family was first on his mind. Related Links: Captain Hayne Klinck Headstone Dedication Ceremony - Part 1 Captain Hayne Klinck Headstone Dedication Ceremony - Part 2

E. Pliny Bryan Sources: 

• Maple Leaf as a Union Army Transport, Toward and Witt, 2001.
• History and Origins of the Bryan/Brian Family of Southern Maryland, Williamson.