Mann William Barrow, 1838-1920

IN FEBRUARY 1861, WILLIAM B. MANN ANXIOUSLY AWAITED the results of his final exams. The twenty-two-year-old medical student at the University of Buffalo had worked the last five years to get to this moment. He shared his tensions in a letter to one of his instructors, Dr. Horace Clark, a physician who understood the rigors of study firsthand. Clark replied in a humorous vein, "I suppose if you are rejected you will either fall in love join the army or blow your brains out. Clark's army reference evoked the storm clouds of war that loomed over New York and the rest of the country. South Carolina and six other Southern states had seceded from the Union, captured federal arsenals, and threatened other military instal lations. President-elect Abraham Lincoln, of whom Mann was a staunch supporter, was on his way to Washington to take the helm of the disunited states of America. Mann ultimately passed his exams and graduated with a medical degree. He had plans to go into private practice. But after the bombardment of Fort Sumter, he decided to join the army- making his instructor's words somewhat prophetic. Mann promptly applied for a surgeon's commission from the state Adjutant General's Office. He received it on May 1, 1861. But finding a regiment in which to serve proved a challenge. The surgeon general of New York wrote to Mann on June 6: "The volunteer force is I believe all supplied with surgeons- unless a new call is made by the President, we shall not need more surgeons. You are not the only one disappointed, and it is very creditable to see with what alacrity and enthusiasm our young men present themselves," Mann then applied to the Board of Naval Surgeons, which was sorely in need of medical men. The board approved him as an assistant surgeon, and he received a commission in September 1861. He was soon assigned to a new gunboat, the Miami, a side wheel steamer equipped with rudders on the bow and stem Known as a "double-ender," she and others of her class were designed to navigate narrow waterways without having to turn around. The Miami, with Mann as the senior medical officer, participated in operations along the Mississippi River, including the Siege of Vicksburg. In late 1863, the Miami transferred to the Atlantic coast and was stationed along the North Carolina Outer Banks to enforce the Union blockade and prevent Confederate military activity. The rebels responded by constructing ironclad warships. The Miami engaged one of these vessels, the ram Albemarle, during the Battle of Plymouth. Before dawn on April 19, 1864, the Miami and another wooden warship, the Southfield, were chained together to increase their firepower. The commar of Miami, Charles W. Flusser," drove the two ships straight at the Albemarle. The prow of the rebel ram ripped into the Southfield, and she began to sink rapidly. The crew of the Miami poured shot and shell from its heavy guns into the Albemarle as she extricated her prow from the doomed Southfield. Flusser personally fired the first three shots from one of the Miami's nine-inch Dahlgren guns. A fragment or fragments from the third shot, a 73.5-pound shell, ricocheted off the sloped side of the Albemarle and killed Flusser. Mann could do nothing to save his commander, who was the only man killed on the Miami. He did however attend to eleven other officers and crew who were injured. The Miami withdrew from the scene with some of the survivors of the South field. The Albemarle fired two shots at the Miami but did not pursue. Mann left the navy in May 1865 and returned to New York. He settled outside Buffalo in the village of Brockport, the home of his instructor, Dr. Clark. Mann married Clark's daughter, Evelyn, and they started a family that grew to include six children. Dr. Mann entered into private practice as he had planned be fore the war. Friendly and lovable, he was widely trusted and respected by his fellow villagers. He became known as the "Grand Old Man" of Brockport after his retirement, in 1902. Active in the Grand Army of the Republic, he served as surgeon of his local post. He had lasting memories of his Civil War experience. According to one report, "His commission, signed by Abraham Lincoln and Gideon Welles, secretary of the navy, was delivered to him while at sea and since has held a high place among his war-time treasures." Mann lived until 1920, dying at age eighty-two. His passing was mourned by a large group of family, friends, and former patients.