Rare Id’d 1/4 Plate Tintype of Col. William Norris Commander of the Confederate Secret Service Bureau, a Unit within the CS Signal Corps

Rare Id’d 1/4 Plate Tintype of Col. William Norris Commander of the Confederate Secret Service Bureau, a Unit within the CS Signal Corps – This rare quarter plate tintype depicts Colonel William Norris, commander of the Confederate Signal Corps and its internal component, the Confederate Secret Service. Norris is shown in his full Confederate officer’s frock coat and slouch hat, with his sword belt and sword; the buttons on Norris’ frock coat are staff buttons, either Virginia or Federal officer’s staff buttons. The image is housed in a full case and remains in overall very good condition, with some apparent emulsion “rub” on the right side of the image.

William Norris

Born December 6, 1820

Baltimore County, Maryland

Died December 29, 1896 (aged 76)

Allegiance Confederate States of America Confederate States of America

Branch Confederate States Army

Service years 1861–1865

Rank Colonel

Commands Chief Signal Officer of the CSA

Commissioner of Prisoner Exchange

Conflicts American Civil War

Spouse Ellen Lyles Hobson

Children Richard Norris

William Norris (December 6, 1820 – December 29, 1896) was the Chief Signal Officer of the Confederate States Army and Chief of the Signal Bureau in Richmond. He is often confused with Dr. William S. Morris, president of the wartime Southern Telegraph Company. He is often referred to as Major, but he attained the rank of Colonel in the closing days of the war.

Early life

William Norris was born December 6, 1820, in Baltimore County, Maryland. He graduated from Yale College in 1840 at the age of nineteen and went to New Orleans to practice law. He headed to California during the 1849 Gold Rush. After his arrival he was appointed Judge Advocate to the United States Pacific Squadron.[1]

He sailed to Valparaíso, Chile in 1851 and on March 13, 1851, he married Ellen Lyles Hobson of Baltimore, a daughter of a former United States consul. After the wedding, Norris returned with his bride to the family estate, Brookland, near Reisterstown, northwest of Baltimore. He and his wife had a son, named Richard, in 1852. In 1858, he became the president of the Baltimore Mechanical Bakery, an ultramodern establishment on South Howard near Pratt Street.

Civil War

In the winter of 1860-61 pro-Confederate sentiment was strong in Baltimore. On the 18th and 19 April 1861, the Pratt Street Riot took place in Baltimore. Norris made no secret of his southern sympathies and with the outbreak of war he and his family left for Virginia. There he volunteered as a civilian aide on the staff of Brigadier General John Bankhead Magruder.

After Magruder sent Norris to learn signals in Norfolk under Captain Milligan, Milligan gave Norris a book of his system of signals and On July 18. 1861, Magruder gave Norris authority to establish a system of signals on the Peninsula and across the James River. Norris set up a network which employed flags and colored balls raised on poles. Due to his efforts on the signal system Norris was commissioned as a captain.

Norris also commanded the Secret Service Bureau, a unit within the Signal Corps. The Secret Service Bureau oversaw a communications network whose missions included the running of agents to and from Union territory and the forwarding of messages from Confederate officials in Richmond to contacts in Canada and Europe.[2]

William Norris finally achieved the rank of colonel on April 26, 1865, and became the Commissioner of Exchange (of prisoners of war) replacing Colonel Robert Ould. Within a week Norris was in Union hands. Norris was held in detention in Richmond but eventually cleared of charge. On June 30, 1865, Norris swore allegiance to the United States.

After the war

Norris and his family returned to Brookline near Reisterstown. After the war Norris considered going to Chile to set up a signal corps for the military there. In 1866 Norris wrote a letter to the lawyer defending John H. Surratt from complicity in the Lincoln assassination. Norris absolved Surratt of any involvement and offered to testify in his behalf. In 1874 his eyewitness account of the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia battle was published in the Southern Magazine.

Death

Norris died of a stroke on December 29, 1896, and is buried in the All Saints’ Cemetery in Reisterstown, Maryland.

Col William Norris (Veteran)

Birth

6 Dec 1820

Maryland, USA

Death

29 Dec 1896 (aged 76)

Reisterstown, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA

Burial

All Saints Episcopal Church Cemetery

Reisterstown, Baltimore County, Maryland

Col. Norris married Ellen Lyles (Hobson) Norris (6 Feb 1826 – 7 May 1901) on 13 Mar 1851 in Chile. She was born in South Carolina to George G. Hobson, the U.S. Consul.

Col. Norris died of a stroke at his home, Brookland, near Reisterstown. The original Brookland had burned down in 1890, destroying most of his papers and memorabilia.

Col. Norris was survived by his wife, and four children, Susan Fitzhugh Norris (c.1852 – 1922), Sarita M. Norris, Jefferson Davis Norris, and William Catesby Norris.

During the Civil War he was a Colonel with the Secret Service on the Confederate side.