Irving Block prison

In 1862, General Ulysses S. Grant appointed Stephen A. Hurlbut in charge of Memphis and the Irving Block prison.

Hurlbut had been instructed to crack down on Confederate sympathizers and the smuggling of cotton, but instead set up an extortion ring to profit from the turmoil in the city.

Hurlbut also began extorting money from Memphis merchants, imprisoning them in Irving Block on false charges of espionage and demanding exorbitant bond fees, then never calling the accused to return to court, keeping the bond or sometimes finding them guilty in absentia as an excuse to confiscate the rest of their property.

Williams was emboldened by their success, demanding ransoms from wealthy residents who sought to release captive soldiers from confinement at the prison.

As the war intensified, the situation grew worse, and some prisoners remained in chains for months at a time, receiving little food or medical attention.

He didn't find the generals, although one did manage to escape during the night with 500 other prisoners, and he was successful in influencing Union forces to return to Memphis from northern Mississippi.