Avoiding the Grave at Andersonville: Three Young Men from Leopold, Indiana, Survive the Civil War Prison

Statues and shrines of Our Lady of Consolation can be found in thousands of cities around the world. Constructed of marble, wood, or other stone, these replicas hold a special aura about them. One such sculpture of Our Lady of Consolation, located in Leopold, Indiana, has a fascinating history entirely its own. July 4, 2002 marked the 135th year since the statue had reached the shores of America (Hackmann 1). As the result of a promise, the replica of Our Lady found its new home in southern Indiana. Following their capture and shipment to the horrid Civil War prison at Andersonville, four young men—Isidore Naviaux, Henry Devillez, Lambert Rogier, and Xavier Rogier—endured appalling conditions and made an oath to pay tribute to Our Lady of Consolation if one survived.
Naviaux, along with the others, did not know what he signed himself up for. Mustered into the 93rd Indiana Regiment, Company G on August 28, 1862, in Cannelton, Indiana, at the age of twenty-two, Isidore began to serve his country (Naviaux 3). For two years, the four men fought alongside each other safely. On June 10, 1864, the small Confederate army of General Nathan Bedford Forrest overtook the larger Union army of General Samuel D. Sturgis at the Battle of Brice’s Crossroads in Guntown, Mississippi. In addition to a total of 2,610 casualties, many Union soldiers became prisoners of war. (“Brice’s 1) Naviaux, Devillez, and both Rogier brothers—all from Perry County—were among those captured (Strahl 17). Their journey to Andersonville began here. Henry Devillez, prisoner at Andersonville, remembers their travels. “. . . we were taken to Mobile, Alabama, about three hundred of us. We stayed there in prison about three days. From there we were taken u...

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2 “Andersonville Prison.” Civil War. 2013 Civil War Trust. 03 Apr. 2014 .
“Brice’s Crossroads.” Civil War. 2013 Civil War Trust. 02 Apr. 2014 .
Devillez, Henry. “Reminiscences of the Civil War: Andersonville.” Indiana Magazine of History June 1915. 02 Apr. 2014 .
Gourley, Catherine. The Horrors of Andersonville: Life and Death Inside a Civil War Prison. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century, 2010.
Hackmann, Bonnie. “Andersonville: When Hell Was on Earth.” The Ferdinand News 03 July 2002: B1, B2.
Naviaux, Gene. Personal interview (e-mail). 01 Apr. 2014.
Strahl, Ernest. My Three Loves. Indianapolis: Criterion, 1994.