Tag Archives: prisoners-of-war

3 March 1865: “With regard to the prison stations at Andersonville, Salisbury and other places south of Richmond[…] We are satisfied that privation, suffering and mortality, to an extent much to be regretted, did prevail among the prisoners there, but they were not the result of neglect, still less of design on the part of the Confederate government.”

Item description: Report, dated 3 March 1865, of the Joint Select Committee appointed to investigate the Condition and Treatment of Prisoners of War. [Note: The image above is only the first page of the report. Click here to see a complete … Continue reading

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28 February 1865: “SALISBURY* you’ve left behind you, and the dead line and stockade! You have suffered great privations–they can never be repaid!”

Item Description: A poem written by George G. B. DeWolfe, known as “The Wandering Poet of New Hampshire,” for Union soldiers recently paroled from the Confederate prison at Salisbury, North Carolina. Item Citation: DeWolfe, George G. B. “Lines for the … Continue reading

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29 July 1864: “some Yankee is making money, as he charges ten cents for every one that wishes to see the rebels.”

Item Description: Diary entry, dated 29 July 1864, written by Louis Leon, a Confederate soldier in the North Carolina Infantry.  At this point in the war is a prisoner of the Union Army and recently moved to a new prisoner … Continue reading

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10 March 1864: “This is certainly a time requireing true repentance & soberness with a sincere desire to be guided by the Holy Spirit in the path of righteousness.”

Item Description: Letter, 10 March 1864, to Joseph S. Espey from his sister Margaret. Joseph was a member of Company D, 65th Georgia Volunteers stationed mainly in Tennessee and Georgia. Joseph’s brother James H. Espey also served in the war, but … Continue reading

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8 November 1863: “I am afflicted with the scurvy, chronic diarrhœa and fever. These are the prevailing diseases here…”

Item description: Entry from a diary kept by Willard W. Glazier, who enlisted as a private in the “2nd Regiment of N. Y. Cavalry (Harris Light)” early in the war. He was captured by soldiers of the Confederate Army on … Continue reading

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7 October 1863: Drawing of Johnson’s Island Prison, Sandusky Bay near Sandusky, Ohio

Item description: Drawing, dated 7 October 1863, by Joseph Mason Kern, a member of the 13th Virginia Regiment, C.S.A.  The illustration depicts Johnson’s Island Prison in Sandusky Bay, Ohio, where Kern was imprisoned. Item citation: From folder 2 of the … Continue reading

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4 October 1863: “The revival in our Brigade is still going on and there are a good many converts every day and almost everybody is becoming serious.”

Item description: In this letter, 4 October 1863, James Augustus Graham, an officer in Company G (Orange Guards), 27th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, wrote home to his mother, updating her on his travel back to camp near Gordonsville, Va. He … Continue reading

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26 September 1863: “He snatched for the book but she clung to it and insisted upon keeping it…”

Item description: Diary entry, 26 September 1863, of William H. Tillson of Company E, 84th Illinois Infantry Regiment, United States Army. Tillson was captured by Confederate troops while foraging for water on 21 September 1863, the day after the Battle … Continue reading

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18 September 1863: “I received your most welcome letter… it is the first intimation I have that I have been heard from at home.”

Item Description: Letter, 18 September 1863, From Julius S. Joyner to his mother Julia Joyner, updating her about himself and his fellow prisoners. During the Gettysburg campaign, Captain Joyner was captured and sent to Johnson’s Island near Sandusky, Ohio. Captain Joyner … Continue reading

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26 July 1863: “…if it had not been for the warning of the slave he know doubt would have been captured perhaps murdered.”

Item identification: Diary entry by Levi Fritz, dated 26 July 1863.  Fritz discusses troop movements around Warrenton, Virginia, and recounts the story of a Union soldier being warned by a slave about an imminent ambush. Item citation: From folder 1 … Continue reading

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