Thomas Butler Gunn

Thomas Butler Gunn

Thomas Butler Gunn (15 February 1826 – 7 April 1904) was an English born illustrator and writer who spent fourteen years in America. His diaries of this period provide details of his life amongst the bohemian writers and artist in New York and his work as a newspaper correspondent during the American Civil War.

Early life

The Gunn family had been farming for several generations in the Banbury, Oxfordshire area of England. Gunn’s father, Samuel, (1785-1863) grew up on a farm but left to start a grocery business. In 1809 he married Sarah Arnold and they had two daughters before Sarah died in 1815. In 1822 the widowed Samuel married Naomi Butler. Their son, Thomas Butler Gunn, born on February 15, 1826, was the second of their six children.

The family moved to John Street in the St Pancras area of London in the 1830s. Gunn later recalled attending the sermons of controversial preacher, James Harington Evans, at the local John Street Baptist Chapel. The family next moved south of the river Thames to 10 Rodney Buildings, New Kent Road. During these early years, Gunn was articled to the architectural practise of Samuel Beazley in Soho Square and contributed illustrations to various publications.

America

In 1849 Gunn travelled to America from London on board the Bark Wenham with two cousins - Richard Gunn and George Bolton - arriving in New York on May 5. Initially Gunn stayed in New Jersey with Bolton whilst he tried to find work as an illustrator, later moving to Manhattan. His father provided some financial support during these early years, but Gunn became so short on funds that in 1850 he was forced to take a job as a draughtsman at an architect’s practice. He continued to look for freelance work but this was often poorly paid. For example, illustrations he created for Appleton’s, the publishers, took him 5 weeks to produce and he was only paid $12. He gradually obtained more work from periodicals such as New York Picayune, Pick, Diogenes hys Lanterne and others. The payments per illustration were still low, but by doing the rounds with his work, he began to establish a network of business and social contacts.

In 1850 he drew and designed a graphic novel call Mose Among the Britishers or The B’hoy in London. It featured the popular character of a Bowery b’hoy, said to be the legendary Mose Humphrey who was played on the stage by actor Frank Chanfrau.

Return to England

In 1854 Gunn returned to England to see his family and to propose to his childhood friend Hannah Bennett. She accepted but the couple did not marry at this time and kept the arrangement secret from all but a few trusted friends. Gunn returned to New York in 1855 and the couple did not see each other until 1863, although they corresponded.

Return to America

Gunn gradually became more involved with writing and in 1857 published The Physiology of New York Boarding-houses, based on his personal experiences, with illustrations by his friends Frank Bellew (pen-name Triangle) and Alfred Waud. This concept of analysing normal life in literature began in Paris and had been used in the 1840s by Albert Richard Smith in Punch Magazine, with works such as Physiology of the London Medical Student and Physiology of London Evening Parties.

In 1852 Gunn made acquaintance with Thomas Powell (1809-1887), who had been editing the Diogenes hys Lanterne (Lantern). Powell was an Englishman who knew many of the famous authors of the period including Dickens, Wordsworth, Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. He started to sell off autographs and works by these and others, but the authenticity was questioned. To avoid the risk of prosecution for fraud he fled to America where he restarted his career. He had used some of Gunn's drawings whilst he was editing the Lantern but he was always reluctant to pay for them. For this and other reasons, Gunn took a dislike to him and some years later wrote a satirical work on the life of Powell called Paul Gower, a Rationalistic Story of English and American Life.

War correspondent

In 1860, as the country moved towards civil war, Gunn was sent to Charleston, South Carolina as an artist-reporter by John Bigelow, editor of the New York Evening Post. A subterfuge was required to prevent Gunn being identified as a despised New York newspaperman – which could have resulted in him being tarred and feathered. He obtained a British passport - so that he could say he was reporting for a London paper - and agreed with the editor in New York that his reports would be filed under the name of Edgar Bolton. Copies of some of the reports he sent back were pasted into his diaries; in one he predicts the attack on Fort Sumter. Gunn returned to New York on February 16, 1861 and the attack on the Fort started April, 12.

When the Civil War began, Gunn tried to get a posting as a war correspondent and was eventually engaged by Charles Anderson Dana of the New-York Tribune. In March, 1862 he left New York for Alexandria, Virginia, via Washington where he joined General Heintzelman's military camp. He reported on the battles of both Yorktown and Williamsburg. Gunn’s editor, Charles Dana, had left the Tribune by April of that year and was replaced by Sydney Howard Gay. For some reason Gunn was submitting his reports late; because of this Gay was forced to copy stories out of the rival newspaper the New York Herald. He wrote to Gunn explaining the situation and telling him to speed things up. The letter fell into the hands of a Herald journalist who promptly published it, much to the anger and embarrassment of the connections at the Tribune. Gunn finished his assignment in June, 1862, and returned to New York. Whilst away he learnt of the death of his friend and fellow writer, Fitz James O'Brien, who had died from complication after being injured in a skirmish with Confederate troops.

Shortly after his return, Gunn accepted another assignment from the Tribune, this time to Port Royal, South Carolina. He arrived at Hilton Head and travelled to Beaufort. His intention was to get to James Island where he had heard rumours that the Union forces were due to mount an attack. However, news came through of the defeat and setback for the Northern forces (see article Battle of Secessionville). Gunn visited the Island soon after the battle and filed his report with the Tribune. A two-page copy was also pasted in his diary. Gun returned to New York in September, 1862, after visiting Fort Pulaski, St. Augustine and Key West.

Gunn’s last assignment for the Tribune as a war correspondent was with the forces of General Nathaniel Prentice Banks, who sailed to New Orleans from New York in December 1862 with 31,000 troops. Banks planned to attack Port Hudson and stationed his troops at New Orleans and Baton Rouge whilst preparations were made. Gunn, who had received letters from Hannah Bennett in England with news of his father, returned to New York in late March, 1863, before the attack on Port Hudson took place.

Return to England

Gunn's father had been ill for many years but the end came in November 1863. By this time Gunn was home with his family in England and he was also planning his marriage to Hannah Bennett. They married on December 29, 1863 and lived in a village on the outskirts of Banbury called Wardington. Gunn continued to write for newspapers in New York. He died in hospital in Birmingham on April 7, 1904 and is buried in the Southam Road Cemetery, Banbury. His wife, Hannah, died September 12, 1906 aged 78 and is buried in St Mary Magdalene Church, Wardington.

Bohemians of New York

Thomas Butler Gunn's name is associated with the bohemian set of writers and artist of New York who often frequented Pfaff's beer cellar. In Gunn's diaries he mentions many of them and describes their lives, often in terms of gossip. His diaries of this period have been transcribed by the Missouri History Museum.