According to family lore, during the Civil War, Charles Deignan and his brother, Francis James, were blockade busters, helping to move goods through Union blockades to the Southern states. Charles and Francis's support for the Confederacy may have cost the life of Charles's son, Francis Alexander. A ship manifest for the British schooner Wilton shows that Francis Alexander sailed from Nassau, New Providence Island, The Bahamas, arriving at Port Royal, S.C., on March 22, 1865. Three and one-half months later, Francis Alexander died in Charleston, S.C., of bilious fever, an anachronistic term for typhoid. According to Wikipedia, during the Civil War, Nassau served as a port for blockade runners making their way to and from ports along the southern Atlantic Coast for continued trade with the Confederacy. Apparently Francis Alexander shepherded goods being moved through Union blockades on behalf of his father and uncle. This explains why Francis Alexander did not serve in the Confederate military during the Civil War. It is likely that Francis Alexander contracted typhoid in Nassau or on board ship on returning to South Carolina. Typhoid, in addition to being known as bilious fever, was known as ship fever.
According to family lore, during the Civil War, Charles Deignan and his brother, Francis James, were blockade busters, helping to move goods through Union blockades to the Southern states. Charles and Francis's support for the Confederacy may have cost the life of Charles's son, Francis Alexander. A ship manifest for the British schooner Wilton shows that Francis Alexander sailed from Nassau, New Providence Island, The Bahamas, arriving at Port Royal, S.C., on March 22, 1865. Three and one-half months later, Francis Alexander died in Charleston, S.C., of bilious fever, an anachronistic term for typhoid. According to Wikipedia, during the Civil War, Nassau served as a port for blockade runners making their way to and from ports along the southern Atlantic Coast for continued trade with the Confederacy. Apparently Francis Alexander shepherded goods being moved through Union blockades on behalf of his father and uncle. This explains why Francis Alexander did not serve in the Confederate military during the Civil War. It is likely that Francis Alexander contracted typhoid in Nassau or on board ship on returning to South Carolina. Typhoid, in addition to being known as bilious fever, was known as ship fever.
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Born in Charleston.
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