ENTRY

Isaac H. Carrington (1827–1887)

SUMMARY

Isaac H. Carrington served as provost marshal of Richmond during the American Civil War (1861–1865). Born in Richmond to an influential family, Carrington practiced law in Pittsylvania County before the war. He served in various staff and administrative positions in the Confederate army before, in 1863, the Confederate Congress appointed him a commissioner of prisoners in Richmond. The next year the secretary of war named him Richmond’s provost marshal with responsibility for issuing passports to all persons leaving the city. Just prior to the Union occupation of Richmond in 1865, Carrington set fire to military stores in the city, but despite taking precautions, the fire spread and destroyed much of the capital. He was later exonerated on charges of misappropriating funds sent by the U.S. government for prisoner relief. After the war Carrington practiced corporate law, served on the University of Virginia board of visitors (1873–1875), and served as president of the Richmond Bar Association (1886–1887). He died in 1887.

Early Years

William H. Cabell

Isaac Howell Carrington was born on March 7, 1827, in Richmond at the residence of his great-grandfather, Robert Gamble. He was the son of Paul S. Carrington, a Charlotte County planter, and Emma Catherine Cabell Carrington. Well connected to the influential families of Virginia, he was a grandson of William H. Cabell, a former governor and then judge of the Virginia Court of Appeals, and of Paul Carrington, a Speaker of the Senate of Virginia and judge of the General Court. Carrington was raised in Charlotte County and studied in local schools before attending the University of North Carolina from 1842 to 1844 and the University of Virginia, where he studied law, from 1845 to 1846. He read law with James M. Whittle in Pittsylvania County and practiced with him until the Civil War began. On April 19, 1853, Carrington married a cousin, Mary Claiborne Coles. They had two daughters and two sons. One of Carrington’s sons was stillborn, the other drowned as a child, and his wife died of liver disease on March 8, 1860.

Civil War

On June 12, 1861, Carrington was commissioned a major in the 38th Virginia Infantry Regiment and was mustered into Confederate service on the same day. The regiment arrived too late to participate in the First Battle of Manassas and saw little action before going into winter quarters. Carrington was ill and absent from January 13 to the end of February 1862, but he was present in April when the regiment was posted to the Middle Peninsula. At the election of officers on May 12, 1862, Carrington was not reelected. He served as chief of staff to Brigadier General John B. Floyd for several months and then late in May 1863 applied for a position as a judge of the courts-martial established under a recent act of the Confederate Congress. On June 16, 1863, Carrington was appointed assistant quartermaster with the rank of captain to date from May 29, but soon thereafter he declined the position.

Military Prisons in Richmond

On July 14, 1863, the Confederate secretary of war appointed Carrington a commissioner of prisoners in Richmond and instructed him to report as well on persons suspected of disloyalty to the Confederacy. The health of the prisoners of war provoked censure from Carrington’s counterparts in the U.S. Army and from the U.S. Sanitary Commission. Carrington reported in November 1863 that the prisoners were being properly provided with food and shelter, but throughout the war prisoners died, and criticism continued. The condition of the prisoners remained a subject of intense debate long after the war ended.

In March 1864 the secretary of war appointed Carrington provost marshal for the city of Richmond with responsibility for issuing passports to all persons leaving the city. He signed such a pass on June 15, 1864, for President Jefferson Davis. Carrington also tried to monitor the actions of suspected deserters, spies, stragglers, and other people who might threaten local security. In mid-February 1865 his commanding officer, Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell, ordered him to make plans to destroy the cotton, tobacco, and military and naval stores that might be in danger of capture. On April 2, 1865, Carrington was also appointed superintendent for recruiting African American soldiers for the Confederate States Army, but on that same day the Confederate government abandoned Richmond, leaving the city undefended.

The Fall of Richmond

Carrington prepared to burn the warehouses and posted guards to prevent interference. He notified the city fire chief and requested that firefighters and equipment be ready to prevent the flames from spreading. Unfortunately, the wind began to blow soon after the first warehouses were set ablaze. Aided by disorderly residents and soldiers, who were drinking the capital’s alcohol supply as city officials tried to destroy it and who even chopped up the fire hoses, the flames spread unchecked during the night. Much of the business district of Richmond was destroyed in the fire and accompanying riot.

Carrington left the city soon after dawn on April 3, surrendered in Danville, and was paroled as a prisoner of war on May 4, 1865. He escaped blame for the Richmond fire, which fell on Ewell, but he was accused of complicity in the improper use of thousands of dollars in U.S. funds and gold that Union prisoners of war in Richmond had turned over after their capture. The army arrested Carrington on May 12 after his return to Richmond and investigated the fate of the money sent for relief of the prisoners. Exonerated, he was released on June 29 and took the oath of allegiance on the following day. Carrington then applied for a pardon and enclosed documents indicating that he had been cleared of suspicion in the misappropriation of the prisoner funds. On September 20, 1865, he received a presidential pardon.

Later Years

Robert Ould

On November 7, 1865, Carrington married Anne Seddon Smith at Glen Roy in Gloucester County. They had three sons and four daughters, but death struck his second family as it had his first. Only two sons and two daughters lived to adulthood. Carrington resumed the practice of law in partnership with the Richmond attorney Robert Ould, the former Confederate agent for prisoner exchange, who also had been arrested during the investigation of the prisoner fund. They earned a high reputation in the emerging field of corporate law. After Ould’s death in 1882, Carrington practiced law with Edward Henry Fitzhugh for several years. A member of the board of visitors of the University of Virginia from 1873 until 1875, Carrington became president of the Richmond Bar Association in February 1886 and was holding that office at his death.

In August 1886 Carrington suffered an attack of Bright’s disease and died in Richmond on January 30, 1887. He was buried in the city’s Hollywood Cemetery.

RELATED CONTENT
MAP
TIMELINE
March 7, 1827
Isaac H. Carrington is born in Richmond.
1842—1844
Isaac H. Carrington attends the University of North Carolina.
1845—1846
Isaac H. Carrington studies law at the University of Virginia.
April 19, 1853
Isaac H. Carrington and Mary Claiborne Coles marry. They will have two daughters and two sons.
March 8, 1860
Mary Coles Carrington, the wife of Isaac H. Carrington, dies of liver disease.
June 12, 1861
Isaac H. Carrington is commissioned a major in the 38th Virginia Infantry Regiment.
January 13—February 28, 1862
Major Isaac H. Carrington is ill or absent from the 38th Virginia Infantry Regiment.
May 12, 1862
Major Isaac H. Carrington is not reelected an officer of the 38th Virginia Infantry Regiment.
June 16, 1863
Isaac H. Carrington is appointed assistant quartermaster but declines the position.
July 14, 1863
The Confederate secretary of war appoints Isaac H. Carrington a commissioner of prisoners in Richmond.
March 1864
The Confederate secretary of war appoints Isaac H. Carrington a provost marshal for the city of Richmond.
Mid-February 1865
Confederate general Richard S. Ewell orders Isaac H. Carrington to make plans to destroy the cotton, tobacco, and military and naval stores that might be in danger of capture in Richmond.
April 2, 1865
Isaac H. Carrington is appointed superintendent for recruiting African American soldiers for the Confederate States Army.
May 4, 1865
Isaac H. Carrington is paroled as a prisoner of war.
May 12, 1865
The U.S. Army arrests Isaac H. Carrington on charges of misappropriating U.S. funds intended for Union prisoners in Richmond. He will be exonerated.
June 29, 1865
Isaac H. Carrington takes an oath of allegiance to the United States.
September 20, 1865
Isaac H. Carrington receives a presidential pardon.
November 7, 1865
Isaac H. Carrington and Anne Seddon Smith marry in Gloucester County.
1873—1875
Isaac H. Carrington serves as a member of the University of Virginia board of visitors.
1886—1887
Isaac H. Carrington serves as president of the Richmond Bar Association.
January 30, 1887
Isaac H. Carrington dies in Richmond and is buried at Hollywood Cemetery.
FURTHER READING
  • Salmon, Emily J. “Carrington, Isaac Howell.” In the Dictionary of Virginia Biography, Vol. 3, edited by Sara B. Bearss, et al., 39–41. Richmond: Library of Virginia, 2006.
CITE THIS ENTRY
APA Citation:
Salmon, Emily & Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Isaac H. Carrington (1827–1887). (2020, December 07). In Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/carrington-isaac-h-1827-1887.
MLA Citation:
Salmon, Emily, and Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "Isaac H. Carrington (1827–1887)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 29 Nov. 2023
Last updated: 2021, December 22
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