Civil War Prison Camps

Below is a partial listing of some of the most famous, or infamous as the case may be, Civil War Prison Camps, both Union and Confederate.

Confederate Camps

Andersonville, or Camp Sumter as it was officially known, was one of the largest of many Confederate military prisons established during the Civil War. It was built early in 1864 after Confederate officials decided to move the large number of Federal prisoners kept in and around Richmond, Virginia, to a place of greater security and a more abundant food supply . During the 14 months the prison existed, more than 45,000 Union soldiers were confined here. Of these, almost 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure to the elements.

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Salisbury Prison – North Carolina

Located in Salisbury, NC on 16 acres purchased by the Confederate Government on November 2, 1861. When purchased, the complex consisted of an old cotton factory building, a large house, six brick tenement buildings, a large house, a blacksmith shop as well as an assortment of smaller buildings. Salisbury Prison was the only Confederate Prison located in North Carolina, in use from 1861-65. The first prisoners at Salisbury were Union soldiers captured at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas). The very first POW of the war was held in Salisbury Prison and when first established, life was rough, but prisoners had a large yard with plenty of room to move about. One of the favorite activities before the prison became overcrowded was baseball. Southern political prisoners, along with deserters from both sides joined the swelling ranks of prisoners inside the walls of Salisbury Civil War Prison. Salisbury Prison was designed to hold 2,000 men, at one point however, it held over 10,000 people.

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Camp Ford – Texas

Camp Ford was the largest Confederate Prisoner of War Camp west of the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. At its peak in July 1864, over 5,300 prisoners were detained there. Camp Ford had not always been a prison. It was established early in the war as a training facility, a muster point for conscripts from all over northeastern Texas to be inducted into the Confederate army. With a built-in garrison, early in 1863 Camp Ford was a convenient stop-over for occasional small groups of Federal prisoners, as they made their way to the exchange depot on the Red River at Shreveport, Louisiana. However, in July 1863 the first permanent prisoners arrived at the camp, creating a regular population of seventy-two inmates. The camp finally closed on May 19, 1865.

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Libby Prison – Richmond, Virginia

Along with Andersonville, Libby Prison was one of the most famous prisons of the Civil War. It was located in Richmond, Virginia, on the western half of a block bounded by Cary and Dock Streets at 20th. It consisted of three tenement (loft style) buildings, each 110x44 feet, 4 stories high. Captain Luther Libby leased the west building on 3 year terms from the Enders family and erected the now renowned sign, L. LIBBY & SON, SHIP CHANDLERS. Libby a native of Maine, closed down operations with the outbreak of war, since most of his business was with Northern ships. He continued to maintain the lease that had started in 1854. Libby Prison was almost exclusively used for officers, although it was a receiving depot for enlisted prisoners of war, prior to being sent off to one of the other Confederate prison camps.

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Belle Isle – Richmond, Virginia

Beautiful Belle Isle, in the James River at Richmond, became a Confederate prison after the First Battle of Bull Run, confining Union noncommissioned officers and enlisted men. No barracks were erected; Belle Isle and the Union prison at Point Lookout, MD, were the only major Civil War prisons that were made up of clusters of tents. Although Belle Isle Prison was intended to hold only 3,000 men, with tents provided t house that many, its population swelled to double that number and more. The island's location in the rapids of the James River made escape very perilous. Many of the men who tried it drowned before reaching safety.

Union Camps

Alton Prison – Illinois

The Federal prison at Alton, Illinois became one of the largest military prisons in the St. Louis area. It received its first military prisoners February 9, 1862. They were transferred there from Gratiot Street Prison in St. Louis, which was located on the northwest corner of Eighth and Gratiot. In 36 months during which official reports were made, 11,764 Confederate prisoners passed through Alton's gates with an average of 1,261 housed there in any given month. Hunger, scurvy, and anemia were the lot of all the prisoners. However, Alton had no food shortage. The rich farmlands of surrounding regions had already made the city as important a produce and livestock center as St. Louis.

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Elmira Prison – New York

This camp became infamously known as “Hellmira”, partly due to the fact that almost 25 percent of the 12,123 Confederate soldiers who entered the 40-acre prisoner of war camp at Elmira, NY, died. This death rate was more than double the average death rate in other Northern prison camps, and only 2 percent less than the death rate at the infamous Southern prison at Andersonville, GA. The deaths at Elmira were caused by diseases brought on by terrible living conditions and starvation, conditions deliberately caused by the vindictive U.S. commissary-general of prisoners, Col. William Hoffman. The conditions were inexcusable; the North had more than enough food and materials for its armies, population, and prisoners. A stockade was built around an unused Union army training camp to create Elmira Prison in June 1864. The prison contained 35 barracks and was intended to house as many as 5,000 prisoners. On July 6 the first 400 arrived, and by the end of the month there were more than 4,400 prisoners, with more on the way. By the end of August almost 10,000 men were confined there, many of them sleeping in the open in tattered clothes and without blankets.

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Camp Douglas – Illinois

Camp Douglas was the largest training camp in Illinois, built on land provided by estate of Stephen A. Douglas in 1861. In 1862 the west side of the camp was used as a prison camp. It was then that the first prisoners arrived, approximately 8,000 from the capture of Fort Donelson. During the course of the war the prison held over 18,000 men (more than 12,000 at one time). Some of the most famous prisoners include; Sam Houston, Jr. and famed African Explorer Henry M. Stanley.

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Point Lookout – Maryland

Point Lookout, Maryland, located in Saint Mary's County, Maryland on the southern tip of the peninsula was deemed the largest and worst Northern POW camp. Point Lookout was constructed of fourteen-foot high wooden walls. These walls surrounded an area of about 40 acres. A walkway surrounded the top of the walls where Negro guards walked day and night. It is reported the guards were brutal in their treatment of prisoners. No barracks were ever built and the Confederate soldiers were given tents to sleep in until overcrowding became so bad, there were not even enough tents to go around. About 50,000 Confederate enlisted men were contained within the walls of Point Lookout Prison Camp during its operation 1863-1865. Prison capacity was 10,000 but at any given time, there would be between 12,000 and 20,000 soldiers incarcerated there. The extreme overcrowding, Maryland's freezing temperatures, shortages of firewood for heat, and living in tents took its toll and many lives were lost due to exposure. Estimates report that over 14,000 prisoners died while imprisoned at Point Lookout but the cemetery is known to hold 3,384 soldiers in a mass grave with no evidence to back up this massive figure. The Confederate soldiers' bodies have been moved twice and have found their final resting place in Point Lookout Cemetery.