-This is a guest post by Candice Buchanan, a reference librarian in the History and Genealogy Section.
— Editor’s note: Due to an editing error, the original headline on this story omitted the question mark. This story has been updated to reflect reports of the Confederate soldier Martin Van Buren Bates and others. We’re writing another post about Bates, so be sure to check back on the blog.
William Patterson Bane, the Greene County Giant, one of the tallest soldiers in the Civil War, earned an almost mythical place in popular culture of late 19th-century America. He fought for the Union.
Martin Van Buren Bates, aka the Kentucky Giant, who fought for the Confederacy, was equally legendary and may have been even taller.
At a well-documented 6 feet, 9 inches (but sometimes reported as 7 feet 4 inches or “over 8 feet,”) Bane was a cheerful, blue-eyed Pennsylvania native appeared otherworldly. Clothes never fit Big Pat. His feet came out of his shoes. Crowds swarmed. Children ran and laughed and gaped. He led parades. Fellow soldiers, particularly at reunions, gawped and guffawed.
“A continuous shout ran along the line as the giant of Pennsylvania moved by,” wrote the Daily Public Ledger in Maysville, Kentucky, in September of 1893, recounting Bane’s progress during a parade of Union Army veterans.
“…groups of children and their elders, too, gathered about him to gaze up into his face and ask him strange questions of how it felt to be a giant,” reported the Montpelier Examiner of Idaho, picking up a story from across the country.
I learned a good bit about Pat — a modest farmer and shingle maker by trade — in my work as a genealogist, as he hailed from the same southwestern Pennsylvania counties of Washington and Greene that my ancestors called home.
He was born in Washington County but lived much of his life in Greene. He served during the Civil War in the Company A, 22nd Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment (Ringgold Battalion), apparently not seeing close conflict and being mustered out after the conflict ended. He’s buried beneath a simple marker in the veterans section of Washington Cemetery.
But by no means was he just a local hero. He was a newspaper darling, inspiring headlines nationwide for decades. No one knows for sure if he was, to a degree of scientific certainty, actually the tallest soldier in the Civil War. In the hunt for the title, you’ll come across names like Bates, Henry Clay Thurston, Thomas Marshal Jones, Mahlon Shaaber and several others. Since they never all lined up side by side, or had apples-to-apples measurements, there’s little way of documenting who was actually the tallest.
Bates, meanwhile, fought for both Kentucky and Virginia during the Civil War, ending the conflict at the rank of Captain. He later toured as a circus act sideshow and was popular as such in Europe. He doesn’t seem to have the same medical documentation as Bane, perhaps in part because as a Confederate, he was not eligible for a military pension after the war. But as an adult he was most often reported being anywhere from 7 feet 2 inches to 7 feet 11 inches. The Guinness Book of World Records lists him at both 7 feet 9 inches and 7 feet 11 inches and as being the half of the “Tallest Married Couple Ever.” Anna Haining Swan, his wife, was listed as 7 feet 11 inches. They toured as a circus act, both together and apart.
The complication?
While reports of Bane, Bates and others were often clearly exaggerated, Bane’s pension records document his height at several times by different doctors. Once Bates entered the circus world, reports of height were more likely to be overstated for commercial purposes. Guinness does not list their source for his height; we’ve reached out to them for documentation.
So, how tall was Big Pat exactly? It depends on who was doing the telling, and this gives us a glimpse into how unreliable all such reports were during the era. One way to explore this issue is through the Library’s Chronicling America historical newspaper database, which, among other Library collections, enables modern researchers to peek into the life of this lofty cavalryman.
Most consistent are the medically detailed surgeon’s certificates that accompanied his postwar pension claims. These put him at the aforementioned 6 feet, 9 inches. His earlier enlistment and military records, though, put him at a mere 6 feet, 5 inches. (This may have been intentional, to get around Army medical regulations regarding height, or perhaps he just grew later. He was 20 when he enlisted.) The National Tribune in Washington, D.C, reported that he stood “exactly 7 feet.” The man himself listed that as his height in an ad seeking a spouse. Still, a widely reprinted news report of his death pegged him at 7 feet, 4 inches. Not to be outdone, The Day Book, a Chicago newspaper, authoritatively stated “He was over 8 feet in height.”
The one thing everyone agreed on was that his personality matched his size.
He liked to draw attention through his wardrobe, props and poses. A widely reprinted story about the Union Army parade in Pittsburgh in November 1894 noted (as in The National Tribune) that Bane “… is very slender, and always on dress occasions wears a high silk hat, which adds greatly to his elongated appearance.”
A longer version of the same story, reprinted in Wyoming in the Rawlins Republican, noted that as Pat led his veterans unit “… cheers greeted him everywhere. In fact, Pat received a genuine ovation, which he returned with a smile.” And: “His manners are affable, and in his nature there is a large vein of humor. He considers it quite a joke to stand beside as small a specimen of manhood as he can find and make him look as diminutive as possible.”
The Montpelier Examiner in Idaho later recounted his joy as he once was swarmed at a circus, and the Baltimore County Union remarked on his status as the tallest spectator at the inauguration of President Theodore Roosevelt, the fourth such event Bane traveled to witness.
One thing that eluded such a good-natured man, however, was a spouse. On Jan. 19, 1893, Bane advertised in the National Tribune for a wife. His request appeared alongside 11 others who “desire[d] correspondence with a view to matrimony.” Each of these hopefuls provided a name and address. The only one to include any particulars was Bane, whose line read, “William P. Bane, Nineveh, Pa., (lady must be six feet six inches in h[e]ight, no less).”
It did not get the results he wanted. Not only did he run a second ad on Nov. 9, 1893, but he also repeated his height stipulation and required a photograph. Most notably — perhaps revealing something about the responses he received to his first ad — he included a closing statement: “No foolishness.”
Entertained by these specifications, the New Dominion in Morgantown, West Virginia, chortled “Pat seems to have high notions.”
Though there are several allusions to Bane’s matrimonial aspirations in the media, as well as in his military pension correspondence and depositions, there is no evidence that he ever married.
He also had health issues. Late in life, he reported problems with bronchitis, first contracted while on picket duty during the Civil War. On March 17, 1898, a headline on the front page of the Freeland Tribune in Pennsylvania read, “Wants More Pension. Giant Pat, the Tallest Man in the Civil War. Alleges Disabilities Due to the Poor Fit of His Uniforms.”
The article diminished Pat’s military service as “not especially noteworthy” and questioned his eligibility for support, claiming his disabilities “do not prevent him from plying his trade of shinglemaker … or from traveling about the country as extensively as possible on the spending money paid him by Uncle Sam.” They summed him up as “a very tall and healthy man … whose only troubles appear to come from his tailor and his shoemaker.”
At the time, Pat was receiving a veteran’s pension of $12 per month. He tried to convince pension boards that should be upped to the maximum of $30, arguing that his disability was “contracted in the service,” but was not successful. It was later increased to $17, but this seemed more related to inflation than to any particular ailment.
On March 16, 1912, the ever-cheerful Pat Bane passed away in Washington County, Pennsylvania. He was 68. His death made news across the nation, as headlines from Connecticut’s Bridgeport Evening Farmer to South Dakota’s the Lemmon Herald declared that the Union’s tallest soldier had led his last parade.
In the county where he would be laid to rest, his height remained his defining characteristic — even if no one ever knew quite what it was. A local newspaper, the Charleroi Mail, wrote that “the coffin in which Pat will be buried … with full military honors will be the largest ever ordered from Washington, measuring seven and one half feet.”
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Comments (21)
I believe the tallest soldier of the war would be Henry Clay Thruston of South Carolina at 7 feet 7 1/2 inches. An officer saw him standing in the midst of a group of soldiers while in a battle area and hollered “hey fool, quit standing on that stump!” He replied something to the effect, “Sir, I ain’t no fool and I ain’t standing on no stump!”.
Hi there,
Thanks for writing. I have seen the material on Thruston and he was a very tall fellow! Have you seen any medical documentation of his height? Like Bane, reports of his height varied widely. We based our report on his pension records, which included detailed medical records over many years by different doctors. (Media reports at his death put him at 300 pounds, for example, when a year before, a doctor recorded his weight at 190. The 300 number is clearly a fabrication.) It’s very difficult to sort out actual fact from myth at this remove — for ex, Bane for years told almost exactly the same “stump” story. Perhaps it happened to both, several or no soldiers. There’s just no way to verify.
All best,
Neely
If you are looking at tall Civil War soldiers you might tske a look at Capt. M. Bates of the CSA. He was close to 8 ft. and well documented.
Martin Van Buren Bates aka The Kentucky Giant, was reported to be between 7’9 and 7’11
There was a Confederate soldier who was 7’9″,and his height is documented. Martin Van Buren Bates.
A common statement among America’s political leaders is “we thank you for your service” it appears the words are empty. Prove it by given them extra ordinary financial compensation and health care second to none.
Enjoyed this story of Big Pat! Doing genealogy for an Ohio ancestor, I came across a story of Fremont’s Guard. It was a unit mustered by Gen. John C. Fremont to serve as his bodyguard when he took up command of the Western Union forces in Missouri. I believe they recruited men over 6 feet tall to serve as an imposing cavalry. Lincoln made Fremont disband them, fearing they might become a private army for the ambitious general.
No, the tallest was in a Confederate Kentucky regiment.
There was a Civil War Museum in Greenville SC that documented a family of Confederate Soldiers from SC that had 3 men close or over 7 feet. They had one of their boots in the museum. It was huge. Not sure on the name. Just came back from Normandy last summer. Medal of Honor recipient Deklopper was 7 feet tall. Died at La Fiere causeway.
Thank You.
The Honorable Undertaking to Oppose Slavery, to. Withstand the trenches, every humility of deprivation, and somehow survive and persevere, in and of those facts; is testimony that isn’t and shouldn’t be dismissed. Amen
As a veteran myself, I have the honor to serve around tall soldiers, but not so close to seven feet. I have noticed, that our military system is very tricky when is about paying for pension and military disability.
I sympathize with our giant when asking the service to increase his military pension do to his disability. Being that tall in any branch of our Armed Forces, it’s not an easy thing.
Shird Williis and his brother Jacob Willis of the 47th Georgia were both seven feet tall
Martin Van Buren Bates, the Kentucky River Giant, stood 7’9”. 5th Kentucky Infantry. His height is well documented.
His wife was taller than he was.
A celebrated couple.
Martin Van Buren Bates, the Kentucky River Giant stood 7ft 9inches tall. He was in the 5th Kentucky Infantry. His wife was taller than he was. A legendary couple who had a famous career after the Civil War
The tallest and biggest was Martin Bates “the Kentucky giant” He weighed 500 lbs and was 7’9″. How would you liked to see that rebel running at you with a bayonet. He once stabbed 3 yankee soldiers at once and picked them up off the ground.
Hi,
Thanks for writing! Do you, or anyone reading the comments, have and military or medical documentation for Bates’ height? There are several media stories mentioning his height, but none (at least so far) that document it. Bane, as the story mentioned, was listed as somehwere between 6 feet 5 inches and “over 8 feet.” We went with his medical pension records over several years by different doctors.
I do have to say that it to bad that this man couldn’t stand side by side with the president Abe Lincoln. And then we could tell who was the tallest man in the United States. And that would be a good thing.
Hello,
I believe Thruston was over 7 feet. He is buried in Mount Pleasant Texas. He is recorded to be the tallest Confederate Soldier.
How about a companion piece on the smallest soldier to serve? One of my ancestors, John Prince Williams, was said to be only 4’ 9 1/2”.
In his pension file is a letter suggesting an investigation as he was said to be the smallest man ever known to have served (in the 44th NY Volunteers) . The 44th was initially recruited with the stipulation that each soldier be at least 5’ 8”.
This is interesting!
My husband’s great grandfather was in confederate army. He wa 6’11 and weighed 350 lbs. The Yankees tried hanging him but he was so big that the rope broke. He ended up in a pow camp in Mississippi and went home after the war.