Beall, John Y. (John Yates), 1835-1865

John Yates Beall (1835-1865), Confederate soldier and acting master in the Confederate Navy. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Beall joined Company G of the 2nd Virginia Volunteers. After accepting a naval appointment in 1863, Beall led a failed attempt to free Confederate prisoners on Johnson's Island in Sandusky Bay, Ohio. He was captured soon after, tried before a Union military commission for espionage and violating the laws of war, and hanged at Governor's Island, N.Y., on 24 February 1865.

John Yates Beall (1835-1865) was the son of George and Janet Yates Beall of Jefferson County, Va. He attended the University of Virginia to study law, then returned to Jefferson County to farm.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Beall enlisted in Company G of the 2nd Virginia Volunteers and served until wounded at Harper's Ferry, W.Va., in October 1861. In 1863, he accepted an appointment as acting master in the Confederate Navy. After leading a failed attempt to free Confederate prisoners held on Johnson's Island in Sandusky Bay, Ohio, Beall escaped, only to be captured later in Niagara, N.Y. Union officials imprisoned Beall at Fort Lafayette in New York Harbor and later at Fort Columbus on Governor's Island, N.Y. Tried and convicted by a military commission for acting as a spy and violating the laws of war, Beall was hanged at Governor's Island on 24 February 1865.