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Prisons/Prisoners
Locations
"Thousands of our boys in blue were prisoners of war and suffered privations, in southern prison pens, that form the darkest chapter in the history of the great rebellion. Occasionally there were attempts at escape, but rarely did these breaks for freedom succceed." - Francis J. Hosmer, "A Glimpse of Andersonville and Other Writings", (Loring & Axtell, Springfield, MA., 1896), 1.Webmaster's Note: Not all soldiers taken prisoner ended up in Southern prisons (for example, the entire 9th Infantry Regiment was captured at Harper's Ferry, but almost immediately paroled.
The Principal Confederate Prisons, and Where They Were Located
Andersonville (Sumter County, GA), Belle Isle (Richmond, VA), Blackstone, SC, Castle Morgan (Cahaba, AL), Castle Pickney (Richmond, VA), Castle Thunder (Richmond, VA), Charleston, SC, Charlotte, NC, Camp Ford (Tyler, TX), Camp Sorghum, Columbia, SC, Danville (Danville, VA), Florence (Florence, SC), Goldsborough, NC, Libby (Richmond, VA), Camp Oglethorpe (Macon, GA), Camp Latwon (Millin, GA), Camp Davidson (Savannah, GA), Salisbury (Salisbury, NC).
- Abbott, A. O. Prison Life In The South At Richmond, Macon, Savannah, Charleston, Columbia, Charlotte, Raleigh, Goldsborough And Andersonsonville. New York: Harper And Brothers, 1865. Note: Abbott includes the date and place of capture in his listings.
CT - Connecticut Prisoners of War Books, listed by year.
GL - Glazier, Willard W. " The Capture, the Prison Pen, and the Escape, giving a complete History of Prison Life in the South Principally at Richmond, Danville, Macon, Savannah, Charleston, Columbia, Belle Isle, Millin, Salisbury, and Andersonville." Hartford CT: Case, Lockwood & Brainard, Hartford, Conn. 1868
Photograph of Libby Prison, 1865 - Putnam, George Haven. "Prisoners of War: A Soldier's Narrative of Life at Libby and Danville Prisons." The Outlook March 25, 1911, p 697.
Francis J. Hosmer, A Glimpse of Andersonville and Other Writings, (Loring & Axtell, Springfield, MA., 1896)