THE HERMIT OF THE WABASH
by Don Arnett

John Brown was born in Connecticut in 1800. His family moved to Ohio in 1805 and he grew up working as a tanner, surveyor, and farmer. He even tried being a congregational preacher at one point. Actually he wasn't very successful at anything - unless you consider that he fathered 20 children.

In 1849, Brown became active in an anti-slavery campaign. He moved his family to North Elba, NY where they lived in a community of poor, free blacks. He bought a little farm there in the Adirondack mountains for a dollar an acre and was involved in developing a black community. It was here that he developed strong ideas about the evils of slavery and became convinced that it would be necessary to use force to overthrow the system.

In 1855, he and five of his sons moved to Kansas Territory to help anti-slavery forces gain control of this area. He hoped it would be admitted to the Union as a free state. He along with 4 sons and 2 other men deliberately murdered five pro slavery men living on the banks of the Pottawattamie River. In this he asserted he was an instrument in the "hand of God". Later his home was burned and one son was killed. Wasn't this enough? Why not quit and go home?

The question of Kansas' status was still not decided. At the election, ballot boxes were stuffed, people were killed, and property was destroyed. A vote for pro-slavery was sent to Washington. The House passed it but the senate did not. When another vote was taken in Kansas, it was against slavery and it was admitted as a free state in 1861.

Brown had left Kansas in 1859 to go to a place he rented near Harper's ferry. He used it to recruit others sympathetic to his cause, and they planned the first skirmish of the civil war. Oct.16 of that year, 20 men captured the poorly guarded arsenal at Harper's Ferry Virginia, now West Virginia, without firing a shot. They held it for only 1 day. A detachment of 80 US marines, led by Col. Robert E. Lee, battered down the door and recaptured the arsenal. Ten of Brown's men, including two of his sons, were killed; five escaped and five were captured, including John Brown.

Another officer from Virginia, Robert A. Caskie, a close friend of Robert E. Lee was placed in charge of the prisoners. Caskie told Brown, "Sir, you have very few friends here. I know you will ask nothing incompatible with my duties. I would like to be of service to you and supply you with anything you need except your liberty."

Governor Wise of VA sent Caskie to New York to secure Brown's wife for the court martial. It was an honor for Captain Caskie to be chosen for this difficult mission. He informed Mrs. Brown that there was nothing to worry about. There had been no fatalities to civilians or US soldiers at the attack. He was very wrong because on Dec. 2, 1859, they hanged John Brown and four of his men. His dignified conduct and the sincerity of his calm defense during the trial won him sympathy in the North and led him to be regarded as a martyr. A song was written about him and it became a popular marching song for the Union Army.

John Brown's Body

John Brown's body lies a-mold'ring in the grave
John Brown's body lies a-mold'ring in the grave
John Brown's body lies a-mold'ring in the grave
His soul goes marching on.

Refrain:

Glory, Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory, Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory, Glory! Hallelujah!
His soul is marching on.

He captured Harper's Ferry with his nineteen men so true.
He frightened old Virginia till she trembled through and through
They hung him for a traitor, themselves the traitor crew
His soul is marching on.

Refrain

John Brown died that the slave might be free
John Brown died that the slave might be free
John Brown died that the slave might be free
His soul is marching on!

Refrain

The stars above in Heaven are looking kindly down
The stars above in Heaven are looking kindly down
The stars above in Heaven are looking kindly down
On the grave of Old John Brown

           Refrain

In 1860, a lady heard the soldiers singing this song as she sat in a buggy in Philadelphia. She liked the tune and composed new words for it and it became --- Trivia question #1 (Battle Hymn of the Republic). Her name was ---- (Julia Ward Howe)

Local historian, Ruth Eno Durham, daughter-in-law of Dr. John Durham of Graysville, wrote this article for the Sullivan Daily Times, July 26, 1959.

"In 1885 a small boat with a lone occupant came up the Wabash and landed at Merom. He was asked by a couple of men working on mussels what his name was. He replied, 'Well, it might be Smyth, Capt. Roland Smyth, S-m-y-t-h'. The men kind of snickered - he didn't look like a captain and couldn't spell or pronounce 'Smith'. He went up the ferry road, got some supplies and rowed on up the river. He eased into the mouth of Truman's Creek. He said 'Hello' to Dr. John L. Durham who was standing there and owned the land. They became good friends and Dr. Durham gave him permission to build a small hut at this location. He called it 'Solitude' and he would reside there over 26 years."

He later said that he was from Virginia and had been on the staff of Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. The more scholarly citizens of Merom beat a path to his door. He was a naturalist, a philosopher, a man of culture and refinement living a life of a mussel man, fisherman and outdoorsman. He became known as the "hermit of the Wabash".

Often he would travel to Merom on Sunday afternoon and people would gather around him. He was agreeable, affectionate and as picturesque a character as anyone would wish to meet. College professors asked questions and sought his advice. Chautauqua speakers conversed with him and knew a little about his earlier history. He was disliked only by the river men who hunted and fished too close to his "Solitude".

Smyth's previous history began to unfold when his wealthy and influential children and friends discovered where he lived.

A well dressed woman who claimed to be his daughter came to Merom and tried to persuade him to return to VA. She was unable to convince him to leave 'Solitude'. Dr. Durham received a letter from a close relative of Gen. Pickett. He asked the Dr. to try to persuade Capt. Smyth to return to the land of his nativity and live according to his heritage.

There is a story (Sullivan Daily Times or Sullivan Union 2-17-55 and 2-24-55) by William Truman concerning his brother, Ross, and a Jerome Nees of Graysville. The river was flooded in the middle of winter. Ross heard a rifle shot one morning from the direction of Solitude. He knew the captain was in trouble and he and Jerome decided to check it out. The ice in the backwater was sometimes only 1/2 inch thick. (If you are like me you would be skeptical of a man walking on ice that is 1/2 inch thick.) I read an article which said that if the river is on a rise , it will put enough pressure under the ice to support a man). They cut poles about 10 feet long and took off. They found Capt. Smyth in the attic and the little home about ready to be washed away. He didn't want to leave but they insisted. They got him out and took him the Dr. Durham's house.

In 1905 he made a trip to Terre Haute to meet a son. While there he saw his first gasoline powered vehicle and got his first store-bought haircut in 10 years. He preferred to return to Solitude rather than leave with his son.

As mentioned earlier, some of the Chautauqua speakers knew of him and his people. These incidents of his past were related in different newspaper articles:

1. He was a graduate of the University of VA.

2. His father was visited by the son of Queen Victoria.

3. His sister-in-law was a sister of Theodore Roosevelt's Mother.

4. He was the Best Man at the wedding of the daughter of Governor Wise of VA.

5. He was a Lt. Co on the staff of General Robert E. Lee at the close of the civil war.

6. After the civil war his home was written up in fashion magazines.

7 He was the biggest wholesale distributor of tobacco in Virginia. The market went bad and he lost a lot of money. He wouldn't accept money from his wife.

In 1910, the Hermit of the Wabash was persuaded to spend the winter with his son in New York City. The next summer he joined another son and daughter in Paris, France. He was probably over 80 years old at this time.

Just before he left Merom for good, he gave this picture to Dr. Durham and his wife. The script surrounding the picture says,

"Solitude" Nov.25, 1910. Yesterday you expressed a desire for a portrait of Capt. Roland Smyth, 'The Hermit of the Wabash'. I send it with this note. You and Mrs. Durham for many years extended to Capt. Smyth, the fisherman and recluse, uninterrupted courtesy and kindness. You have done for him all that one man can do for another. When I was sick you ministered unto me. When I was in trouble you comforted me. When I was naked, you clothed me. When I was hungered, you gave me to eat. When I was without a shelter you took me into your home. All of these things you did for Capt. Roland Smyth, the Hermit of the Wabash. Read your bible and see what Jesus of Nazareth says of such a man. [Matthew 25] Dr., my heart is full of love and gratitude for you and yours. (Signed) Col. Robert G. Caskie"

After he left Merom, Capt. Smyth didn't write and didn't return. He left two documents: a letter to the state asking for preservation and protection of fish and wildlife around Solitude, and the following prayer.

THE HERMIT'S PRAYER

     "Here in the solitude, in the wilderness, by the gently flowing river, our heavenly father, we thank Thee for Thy goodness.
     We thank Thee for the sun that gives warmth and light and life to all things.
     We thank Thee for the grass that grows green over our hills and valleys.
     We thank Thee, our Heavenly Father, for the flowers that carpet our woods and meadows and beautify and make cheerful our homes.
     We thank Thee for the leaves that whisper in the breeze.
     We thank Thee for the storm for its lightning and thunder that refreshes the drooping vegetation.
     We thank Thee for the moon that beautifies the night and makes our river a river of silver with ripples of gold.
     We thank Thee also for the night that brings to us sleep, refreshing both body and mind.
     And we thank Thee, our Heavenly Father, more than all, that there will be the eternal sleep, from which we shall awake in a happier and better world, when there will be naught to worry or trouble.
     And now, our Father, we pray Thee to grant Thy blessing to those who dwell in the wilderness of houses, where the multitude hurry to and fro anxious with their cares, and weighed down with their burdens of life.
     And we pray Thee to grant Thy blessings to those who live in that other wilderness, where there is naught to hear but the singing of the birds and the voices of the woods, where but seldom is heard the voice of a human being. Amen"

Researched by Don Arnett, 2001

From the May 4 1906 Hutsonville Herald

Captain Smyth, the recluse, who lives at Truman's Creek, has been sick at the home of P G Bradbury in Robinson for a month past. He is now able to again take up his abode at "Solitude".

The hermit of the Wabash is more than a hermit - he is a rare old character - a pleasant recollection of the "good old days" in the South. His story reads like fiction. All of it is not known and probably never will be known. He was not only a colonel in the Confederate Army, but it is said that he was close to General Lee. The wife of a confederate cabinet member, in her letters published in one of the magazines recently, referred to the home of the Caskies.

Mrs. Caskie was of as good blood as her husband. Why he ever left his family and plunged into the wilderness is not yet quite certain, but it seems in came through financial reverses in the tobacco industry which followed the close of the war and on his return from Europe, it is said, he was too proud to fall back on his wife's means.

For 22 years he disappeared from his family as completely as if the earth had opened and swallowed him. It was more than 10 years before any member of his family knew where he had gone, or if he was alive.

It happened, however, that he carried a life insurance policy and after his disappearance he continued to pay the premiums. Finally he was traced to the banks of the Wabash River through that clue. One of his daughters followed the trail and one day found him.

He was living then in a shack along the river, and this daughter, a member of the wealthy inner social circles of New York, found him cooking a meal on his broken-down stove. There was a pathetic scene. She sat on the river banks pleading his return to 'civilization" and plenty with her. It was then he declared that the "wilderness of houses" and the cramped life held nothing out to him. "I will stay near to nature and live with her," he declared. He had gained that close relationship with nature that is natural with the Indian, and he felt then, as he often expresses it now, that the close habitations of artificial life of man would be confinement to him.

Strange life this for a man who has the blue blood of the proud Old Dominion flowing in his veins. whose forefathers dwelt in Mansions on the James and were part of that aristocracy that produced Presidents. Strange life this for a man who himself by marriage, is a relative of the President. Strange life this for a man who, educated within the walls of classic old William and Mary College, was a leader of men in the days when war settled down over the Old Dominion. Strange life this for a man who was colonel of one of the finest regiments in the Confederate Army. Strange life this, for a man so proud that he would not humble himself by swearing allegiance and who, like many others, left the American continent rather than become a citizen again of the United States of America.

Strange life this for a man who had spent years in all the great capitals of the world enjoying the life that charms. Strange life this for a man who at one time was one of the best known tobacco wholesalers in this country. Strange life this for a man who has a daughter who is a member of the 400 in New York, who has a son that is one of the most prominent attorneys in that city, who has still another daughter who lives in England, another son who is prominent in Mexico, and another son who is head of a theatrical organization. Strange life this for a man whose name in war history is Col. Robert A Caskie of the Virginia volunteers.

1. The Hermit was still living at Solitude when this article was written in 1906. He didn't leave until 1910. (Don Arnett)

2. One condition of Lee's surrender was that all confederate troops must swear allegiance to the Union or U.S. Government. Caskie would not do so. He went to Europe for 10 years. While he was there, the tobacco market failed and he lost most of his money. (Don Arnett)

Below is the latest newspaper article discovered about the hermit. It is the most recent article found to date concerning the hermit.
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Mr. and Mrs., Ralph  Mathew and  daughter of near^- Bloomington were  here today enroute  to Mrs. Mathews former home at Merom for a visit at Mrs., Mathew's former home who is  a daughter of the late Robert  White of  Merom,  and  was  reared there and attended the old Union Christian College.

Mrs.  Mathew was well acquainted with Captain Roland Smythe, the hermit of the Wabash, who lived at the mouth of  Turmans creek for many years. She stopped while here at the Union office to inquire as  to the  former hermit of the days of several  years ago.  Captain Smythe whose real name was Robert Caskey was a southern gentleman and was highly  educated, but he lived the life of a recluse on the  river for many years and gave out no information as to his former residence or identity.

After he became too old stand the rigors of the river he came to Sullivan and lived for several. years here with Ed Salee and family.  He was known to have children who were prominently connected and they supported him during his residence at the Salee home.

He had always  refused to leave here to  reside with his children.  Several years ago the Salee family moved to Indianapolis to reside and Captain Smythe went with them to that city. He, remained there for several years. Several years ago a gentleman, who claimed New York  as his home and a son of the  Captain, came to Indianapolis and returned to New York  with his aged father.  This was the last that was ever heard of the old hermit of  the Wabash by the  Salees or anybody^- in this community. Captain Smythe was advanced in years when he left the Wabash and it is not likely that he is now living.

Reprinted from The Sullivan Union, Sullivan Indiana June 4^th, 1931. 

My thanks to Donna Adams of the Sullivan Public Library for having such a wealth of material; to the Crawford County Historical Society for displaying the Hermit's picture; to Ruth Eno Durham and William Turman for having the foresight to preserve this information by writing articles for the newspaper; to my wife, Mary for her research and typing; to Curtis Bond for making the web page; and to Robert Brown for the Hermit's war records. Don Arnett, Sullivan, Indiana, 2003

Don Arnett is a life long resident of Sullivan County. He is a retired High School Teacher, Teaches Sunday School at Kingsley Memorial UMC, and is a Historian of the Merom area. His hobbies include lecturing about the Hermit, stamp and recipe collecting, traveling the world, and yarn spinning.  You can usually find him at McKinney's Restaurant in Merom bending his elbow and spinning a tale or two. When he is not there he likes to tend to his garden.  He and his wife Mary have three children and are very active in community affairs.