DOCSLIB.ORG

Fall 2011 Volume 2, Issue 3 Project Phases: Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation—Latest News

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Fall 2011 Volume 2, Issue 3 Project Phases: Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation—Latest News Camp Douglas News Committed to the Preservation of Chicago History Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation Chicago, Illinois Fall 2011 Volume 2, Issue 3 Project Phases: Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation—Latest News Awareness and Support: ALDERMAN WILL BURNS SEEKS DRAPER AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM CIVIL WAR ROUND 2010-2011 KRAMER SUPPORT TABLES Fourth Ward alderman Will Burns has The Foundation has received financial Site Location and Site opened discussions with Draper and Kramer support from the Chicago Civil War Round Table Planning: 2011 which will hopefully lead to D & K’s support of and the Salt Creek Civil War Round Table. the archaeological investigation planned in We are extremely grateful for these generous Fund Raising: 2010-2012 2012. donations for the work of the Foundation. SCOTT DEMEL ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK Gallery Development: 2011 Scott Demel, Northern Michigan University, CAMP DOUGLAS RESTORATION FOUNDATION has conducted remote sensing on the SE corner PIN NOW AVAILABLE Construction: 2012 of the site. He is making permit application to Order your commemorative Camp Douglas the City of Chicago for a confirming excavation. Foundation Pin for only $4.00 at We are in contact with Professor Demel and www.Campdouglas.org. Opening: Winter 2012 hope to add him to our archaeological team. MARY SURRATT RE-TRIAL RESULTS The retrial was held on September 23, 2011 Return to Chicago & in the Pritzker Auditorium at Chicago’s Harold Washington Library sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum. Camp Douglas Judge James B Zagel, United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, presiding. Before the war John B. Miller, After sharp examination of Mrs. Surratt by SOMETHING NEW...VIRTUAL CAMP DOUGLAS later Captain John B. Miller, Karen Conti, for the defense, and stinging cross With the inspiration of www.vbi.lakeforest.edu. CSA, operated a soda fountain examination by Dan Webb, for the prosecution, and the assistance of Davis Schneiderman of Ed Genson’s impassioned closing argument on and saloon on Lake Street in Lake Forest College, we are developing a project Chicago. As his whiskey enter- behalf of Mary countered the demands for that will lead to a virtual Camp Douglas that can retribution by Michael Monico for the State. be overlaid on Google Maps®. Adding video, prises faltered, John skipped Broadcast journalist Bill Kurtis managed the town after amassing substantial photos and other visual aids, virtual Camp voting from the audience/jury finding Mary Douglas can be an important educational tool Surratt not-guilty by a vote of nearly 4 to 1. debts. He returned to Camp for the foundation. Watch for future up dates. Douglas as a prisoner in Febru- ary 1862. While he was in no position to repay his debts, his More About Colonel James Mulligan creditors were able to gloat over his confinement. Col. James Mulligan’s, 23rd doctors, for the sick and injured. Illinois “Irish” Regiment was While allowing civilian access to the Among the prisoners in 1862 patrolled at Harpers Ferry by prison, Col. Mulligan was unable to Stonewall Jackson. Col adequately control escapes and was a young lad who in 1857 Mulligan became the Camp sanitary conditions remained well went South to make his way in Douglas commander when the below acceptable standards during the world. His elderly mother first Confederate prisoners his tenure. Col. Mulligan was not located him at Camp Douglas arrived in February 1862. the most competent prison commander; but, he was in no way sobbing “Oh, dear boy, you have Mulligan, not known for his a tyrant. He did the best he could been the subject of many pray- record keeping ($1,450 of the for the prisoners, under the ers, and you are not past pray- Prisoner’s Funds were missing circumstances. ing for yet.” Prison authorities after his unit returned to the immediately initiated the release war), was faced with the Col. Mulligan and the 23rd daunting task of managing over returned to the war in June 1862. of the prodigal son. 7,000 prisoners who were sent Col. Mulligan was killed in action to Camp Douglas. Neither the July 1864 in the Shenandoah From: Rally ‘Round the Flag, Chica- War Department nor Camp Valley. go and the Civil War. Theo. J. Kara- Douglas was prepared for the task. He manski, Nelson Hall Publishing, managed the prison compound, added security, He is interred in Calvary Cemetery, Evanston, Chicago, 1993 and rallied medical support, including local IL. Camp Douglas Restoration Camp Douglas…,Why Forgotten then?...Why should it be Foundation Chicago, Illinois Remembered Now? www.campdouglas.org Camp Douglas operated demanded all of the city’s David L. Keller, Managing Director from September 1861 until energy to rebuilding for 1368 N. Mohawk 2S it was completely razed by the future, not the past. Chicago, IL 60610 December 1865. Over As the increasing need for 25,000 union soldiers housing and the impact of Tel: 312-751-1693 were received and trained the black migration and Mobile: 312-859-1940 there and approximately two World Wars left their [email protected] 30,000 Confederate mark on Chicago and prisoners were housed Bronzeville, there was no there. room for Camp Douglas to Camp Douglas was the be remembered. single most important and Today as we enter the prominent physical sesquicentennial of the reminder of the Civil War. Civil War, it is proper that Yet, in 1865 it was we remember our past and forgotten. Today no tell the story of Camp meaningful remembrance Douglas for all time. As a of the Camp remains. part of the history of Why was it forgotten? Chicago and Bronzeville, Why do so few Chicagoans future generations of even know of its existence? Americans and Chicagoans From 1865 until today need a permanent place to history has played an evil trick on the reflect on the past and interpret the history memory of Camp Douglas and those who of Camp Douglas, the Civil War, and the served and were incarcerated there. Initially contribution of African Americans to the Civil the devastation of the Civil War was to be War. relegated to the battlefields of the South. The Camp Douglas Restoration Best forgotten in the North. The unforgivable Foundation is dedicated to leading the way to loss of life in the Camp and the image of the telling this story that must be told. The “Andersonville of the North” was a source of foundation is “Committed to the Preservation A Chicago Story that shame in Chicago and perhaps, a source of of Chicago History” Needs to be Told potential retribution...best forgotten. As Help us develop the interpretive and Chicago became the fastest growing city in educational facilities on the site of Camp the world the insatiable need for land for Douglas. For more information see Join us at: expansion left no room for memorials to the www.campdouglas.org. www.campdouglas.org camp. Then the great Chicago fire of 1871 Medical Dates of Significance Lincoln Quiz A. Lincoln Medical treatment in the Civil War and at Camp Following are seven quotes from A. Lincoln during Douglas was at best rudimentary. However, it is the Civil War. Can you guess when he said it, to or important to place this treatment in context with about whom and the circumstances. (answers below) the history of medicine. 1. “The hen is the wisest of all animals in creation, because she never cackles until the egg is laid.” Anesthetics were used during the war. The 2. “It is called the Army of the Potomac but it is South used ether (first used in 1842). Ether only ______’s bodyguard.” unfortunately was highly flammable! The North 3. “I can’t spare this man, He fights.” preferred chloroform, around since the 1830’s. 4. “…like an ox jumped half over a fence and is Even with the availability of these two liable to be torn by dogs, front and rear, without compounds, amputation was often done with a fair chance to gore one way or kick the other.” little or no anesthetics and no sanitary 5. “Your military skill is useless to me, if you do precautions. not do this.” 6. “The fat is all in the fire now and we shall have Well after the war, in the late 19th century, with to crow small…” Your Score: the development of the controversial germ theory 7. “The people are impatient; Chase has no money 7- Lincoln Scholar by Louis Pasteur and its subsequent application and he tells me he can raise no more; the Gen- 5-6- You know the Civil War to surgical sterility by Joseph Lister, surgeons eral of the Army has typhoid fever. The bottom 3-4- Good but, read more were able to operate with a substantially reduced is out of the tub. What shall I do?” 1-2- Get with it risk of infection. Lister began applying carbolic 0- Try another war acid to compound fracture wounds, and the mortality rate from amputation plummeted from 45 to 15%. Answers: Meigs C. Montgomery General Quartermaster visiting while Quote – 1862 January 7. Run Bull of battle first the of Lincoln Mary to Letter - 1862 The process of smallpox vaccination was 6. discovered by Edward Jenner in 1796. Used visit. the make not did Halleck To Henry Halleck in Lincoln’s request that he visit Gen Burnside. Burnside. Gen visit he that request Lincoln’s in Halleck Henry To - 1863 January widely in the Civil War infection from the 5. River nock To Joseph Hooker when Hooker suggested crossing the Rappahan- the crossing suggested Hooker when Hooker Joseph To – 1863 June vaccination was often worse than the prevention 4.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • On MONDAY, September 24, the Roundtable Welcomes MRRT Member Rufus K
    VOL. LII, NO. 9 Michigan Regimental Round Table Newsletter—Page 1 September 2012 Last call to sign-up for the October 27-28 field trip to the battlefields of First and Second Bull Run. Should you have the time and inclination to join the thirty one members slated to go, contact one of the trip coordinators. You can find their contact information and all other particulars on our website at: www.farmlib.org/mrrt/annual_fieldtrip.html. On MONDAY, September 24, the Roundtable welcomes MRRT member Rufus K. Barton, III. Rufus will discuss the “Missouri Surprise of 1864, the battle of Fort Davidson”. The crucial struggle for control of Missouri has been neglected by most Civil War historians over the years. Rufus will explain that while President Lincoln said he had to have Kentucky, the Union occupation of Missouri saved his “bacon”. The Battle of Fort Davidson on September 27, 1864 was the opening engagement of Confederate Major General Sterling Price’s raid to “liberate” his home state. The battle’s outcome played a key role in the final Union victory in Missouri. Rufus grew up in the St. Louis, Missouri area and his business opportunities brought him to Michigan in 1975. Rufus was also an U.S. Army Lieutenant and a pilot for 30 years. Studying the Civil War is one of his hobbies. The MRRT would like to thank William Cottrell for his exceptional presentation, “Lincoln’s Position on Slavery—A Work In Progress”. Bill presented the MRRT a thoughtful and well researched presentation on the progression of Abraham Lincoln’s thinking on the slavery question and how it culminated in action during his Presidency.
    [Show full text]
  • WN90N COUNT/, ALAZAMA MIL IZAOCBK Nbmlhiek
    ,1 WN90N COUNT/, ALAZAMA MIL IZAOCBK NBMlHieK lists: »s Sillssslssi siissSS si MARCH 2003 PRISON CAMPS Blue vs. Gray by Peggy Shaw The Civil War gave a new meaning to the term "Prisoner of War". Never before had there such a large number of soldiers held in an area; filled to such extreme over capacity. In 1861, the Confederate Army fired on Fort Sumter. Under the command of Gen. Pierce Beauregard, prisoners were paroled on their honor not to return to battle. He allowed the Union Soldiers to vacate Fort Sumter and take all the arms and personal belongings they could carry. He allowed paroled soldiers to give 100 gun salute to the American Flag before their departure. Gen. Beauregard had been a student of Maj. Anderson, commander at Fort Sumter, at West Point, and serving as Anderson's assistant after graduation. In July of 1862, Representatives Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill (Confederate) and Gen. Maj. John H. Dix (Union) held negotiations for prisoner exchanges. They agreed that first year officers would be allowed to return to their units. Officers were to be traded rank for rank and enlisted men exchanges were similar. Both incurred that all prisoners were to treated humanly, and the injured cared for just as those of the regular army. The war continued and the exchange system started to break down. Both sides began arguing with one another over alleged violations of parole agreements. Ulysses S. Grant stated, "Exchanging prisoners only prolongs the war. The war would be won only when the confederates could not replace their men as they lost them due to death, injury or capture".
    [Show full text]
  • Confedera Cy
    TheThe SourceSource Teaching with Primary Sources at Eastern Illinois University Reasons behind war are complex and there is rarely only one issue causing conflict. The Civil War is no different, there had been disagreements between the North and South for years. Slavery is considered the main reason for the Civil War and while the major issue, it was not the only one. The North and South had different economies. The North was moving towards the industrial revolution where factories used paid labor.1 The South was based in agriculture where crops, especially cotton, were profitable. Cotton was sold to mills in England and returned to the United States as manufactured goods.1 The North was able to produce many of these same items and northern politicians passed heavy taxes on imported goods trying to force the South to buy northern goods.1 These taxes seemed unfair to southerners. In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was signed, allowing new states in the west to decide if they would be free or slave states. If either side could bring new states with the same beliefs, into the Union they would have more representation in government.1 Citizens of the southern states believed the rights of individual states had priority over federal laws. In 1859, at Cooper Union in New York City, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech outlining his policy at the time on slavery, “We must not disturb slavery in the states where it exists, because the Constitution, and the peace of the country both forbid us.”3 Lincoln opposed slavery and the prospect of the western states becoming slave states.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction & Historic Perspective
    CAMP DOUGLAS September 1861-December 1865 (A Chicago story that must be told) View of Camp Douglas, September 1864, looking Southwest. (Image courtesy of Chicago Historical Society) 12-13 “Some institutions exist, and pass away to be forgotten; others never die, but live eternally in the memory. They possess associations clinging around them, and entwined in every fiber of their existence, so closely allied to the interest of the community that time only serves to mellow the interest, and clothe them in everlasting importance. Of these, not the least in the minds of the citizens of Chicago is Camp Douglas.” I. N. Haynie, Adjutant General of the State of Illinois, 1865. Camp Douglas (1861-1865) –A Chicago Story that must be told The Chicago Story that Must be Told: Reconstruction of a portion of Camp Douglas, one of the most significant Union Civil War prison camps, is important to the history of Chicago. Camp Douglas was more than a prison camp. As the largest reception and training center for Union soldiers in Northern Illinois, Camp Douglas was the most significant Civil War facility in Chicago. In addition to training over 30,000 Union soldiers, Camp Douglas was one of the few Union camps that received and trained African American soldiers. Providing a place for young and old to see and touch our heritage is important to retaining a historic perspective. Giving an educational opportunity to our youth is critical to providing them with a sound historic foundation. Sharing with all the role of African Americans during the Civil War, as part of the Camp Douglas restoration, offers a unique opportunity to tell the story of over four-million slaves who emerged from the war to join Northern freemen in the quest for racial equality.
    [Show full text]
  • Ira B. Sadler, Private, Co. A, 7 TX Infantry, C.S
    Ira B. Sadler, Private, Co. A, 7 TX Infantry, C.S. 1841 June 20: Sadler was born. 1861 October 1: Enlisted in the C.S. Army in Marshall, TX. 1862 February 16: Captured at Fort Donelson. Sent to Camp Douglas, Chicago. March 12: Admitted to U.S.A. Prison Hosp., Camp Douglas, Chicago. Returned to “duty” on March 17th. July 9: Admitted to U.S.A. Prison Hosp., Camp Douglas, Chicago. Returned to “duty” on July 21st. August 1: Appeared on a roll of prisoners of war at Camp Douglas, Chicago, IL. September 6: Appeared on a roll of prisoners of war sent from Camp Douglas to Vicksburg to be exchanged. October 31: Company Muster Roll. Present. 1863 January to October: Company Muster Rolls. Present. November & December: Company Muster Roll. Present. Remarks “15 Rounds Ammunition.” 1864 January & February: Company Muster Roll. Present. Remarks “Reenlisted for the war.” April 19: Married Rebecca Chism in McLennan County, TX. April 28: Appeared on a roster of commissioned officers, Provisional Army Confederate States. Ira was listed as an Ensign. July 22: Wounded in the left hand during The Battle of Atlanta. July 24: Admitted to Ocmulgee Hospital in Macon, GA. August 15: Appears on a register of Floyd House and Ocmulgee Hospitals Macon, Ga.. Disease “G.S.W. left hand causing amputation of the thumb.” August 17: Furloughed till September 16. November 7: Appeared on a report of staff and acting staff officers serving in Cheatham’s Corps, Army of Tennessee in Tuscumbia Alabama. Remarks “Granbury’s Brigade” November 30: Fought in the Battle of Franklin under Granbury.
    [Show full text]
  • The Developmental History of Civil War Prison Camps in Illinois and Indiana
    THE DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY OF CIVIL WAR PRISON CAMPS IN ILLINOIS AND INDIANA A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS For the degree MASTER OF SCIENCE IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION By TRAVIS ALLEN RATERMANN ADVISER-FRANCIS PARKER BALL STATE UNIVERSITY MUNCIE, INDIANA MAY 2009 2 ABSTRACT THESIS: The Developmental History of Civil War Prisons in Indiana and Illinois. STUDENT: Travis Allen Ratermann DEGREE: Master of Science of Historic Preservation COLLEGE: College of Architecture and Planning DATE: May, 2009 PAGES: 126 Many Civil War properties still exist, though only one prison camp from the western theater is still interpreted and little in the way of research has been conducted on the built environment of these sites throughout the North and the South. Therefore, addressing how the Civil War Prison Camps in Illinois (Camp Butler, Camp Douglas, Rock Island, and Alton Penitentiary) and Indiana (Camp Morton) developed throughout their use by the United State War Department is essential for those studying about Civil War-era prisoner of war camps. Currently, this topic is hidden in published documents regarding the entire site and other stories that may involve the camp. There are only remnants of the built environment that still remain on the original sites such as the small cell wall from the Alton Military Prison in Alton, Illinois. It is interesting to note how the camp developed structurally, through the materials and labor used. This project has the ability to become significant to historians who question why these sites were dismantled shortly after the war’s end and why very few of the structures that were built during this time period remained after the end of the war, especially when dealing with certain construction materials and their lifespan in the open environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Boone's Lick Heritage Quarterly
    Boone’s Lick Heritage QuarterLy The Marmadukes: A Boonslick First Family A Family Divided by War The Marmaduke Children Coming of Age VoL. 17 no. 4 — Winter 2018 BoonsLick HistoricaL society PeriodicaL Editor's Page The Politics of Place and Family “The ‘Boonslick Country’ of central Missouri was in connections, but they were predominantly Southerners the early nineteen century the most fertile and popu- and slaveholders, who stood apart from the urban- lous area of the state. From 1821 to 1861, this region commercial interests of the state. This central Missouri dominated Missouri’s agricultural production, econo- structure supported [Thomas H.] Benton and his pro- my and its politics. The Marmadukes and their Sap- gram until the growing controversy over the slavery pington and Jackson relatives of Saline County near question split the party’s ranks.” notes historian Perry Arrow Rock McCandless, in constituted a his A History of powerful family Missouri, Vol- political dynasty. ume II: 1820- The patriarch 1860. of this family “To understand dynasty was Dr. their attitudes John Sapping- and roles in the ton.” war it is benefi- The lead para- cial to examine graph, a quota- their back- tion from this ground,” Dickey issue’s feature writes. article (page Complimenting 4) by historian this is the fol- Michael Dickey, lowing article, aptly sums up an excerpt from the importance a forthcoming of central Mis- biography of souri – the Meredith Miles Boonslick – and Marmaduke its patrician fam- (page 12) by ilies who played author Lee M. dominant roles Cullimore. He in the state’s presents an inti- economy and politics in the early to mid-nineteenth mate portrait of the children born to Meredith and wife century until torn apart by the polarization of the Civil Lavinia (Sappington) Marmaduke – three daughters War.
    [Show full text]
  • Dead Confederates at Gettysburg
    THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF COL. CHARLES DEMORSES’ 29TH TEXAS CAVALRY CAMP The standard “ Long Shall our Banner Brave The breeze - The standard of the free “ VOL.5…………………………………………………….……………Issue NO. 4 Charles demorse editor & Proprietor Van-Grand Saline, Texas Saturday, April 13, 2019 2018 TEXAS DIVISION FOUR STAR CAMP AWARD Saturday May 11, 2019 7:00 pm 29th Texas Cavalry SCV Camp # 2269 Page 1 THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF COL. CHARLES DEMORSES’ 29TH TEXAS CAVALRY CAMP Col. Charles DeMorse’s Col. Charles DeMorse’s 29th Texas Cavalry 29th Texas Cavalry Sons of Confederate Veterans Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp # 2269 Camp # 2269 EVERYONE WELCOME Commander Bobby W. Smith Adjutant Russell Volk 1st Lt Johnny M. Moore Chaplin Robert C. Huff Meeting every 2nd Saturday 7:00 pm Commander Bobby W. Smith Van Community Center, 310 Chestnut Street Van, Texas. Fellow Compatriot’s, As a new year begins, I would like to Newsletter Published Monthly http://www.5thbrigade.org/camp2269/ remind everyone that our purpose is to Always, Remember our Fallen Veterans. To Honor them Opinions expressed by individual writers are their with Pride and the Dignity they deserve. To own and do not necessarily reflect official positions preserve their memories. Veterans of the of the Col. Charles DeMorse’s Confederacy were AMERICAN’S also and 29th Texas Cavalry Camp # 2269. should be dignified as such. In these days of our History many people are trying to rewrite their Letters and articles may be submitted to: history, and take down their memorials. Not [email protected] st Only Confederate Veterans but even American ( Cut off for articles is 1 of the month.) History.
    [Show full text]
  • Mary Chesebro Lee Detached Tent #23, Delavan, Wisconsin
    APRIL 2017 DAUGHTERS OF UNION VETERANS VOLUME #6 ISSUE #4 OF THE CIVIL W AR , 1861 - 1865 MARY CHESEBRO LEE DETACHED TENT #23 www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wimclduv/ https://www.facebook.com/duvcwmaryclee THE NORTH’S ANDERSONVILLE! Most have heard of Andersonville, the Civil War prison camp in GA. Few are aware that the largest mass grave in our own hemisphere is located near Chicago, Illinois at the Civil War site known as Camp Douglas. Camp Douglas was known as the northern prison camp with the highest mortality rate of all Union Civil War prisons. With 4,200 known dead and 1,800 unknown dead, the story must be told. Guest speaker and noted author, DAVID KELLER will present a program on Camp Douglas at our April 25th meeting. Keller will share his knowledge and research regarding the largest military installation in Illinois. While Camp Douglas trained more than 40,000 Union soldiers, it also served as a horrendous prison camp for Confederate soldiers. DAVID KELLER Conditions at the prison were horrible. Guards’ punishments were unusually cruel. Soldiers starved to death and often died from exposure in the winter months. Prisoners were deprived of clothing to prevent escapes and it was reported that 1 in 5 died within the prison walls. “What remains of Camp Douglas, the prison camp story that was swept under the rug?” A monument containing bronze tablets was erected at Oak Woods Cemetery to commemorate the memory of 6,000 Southern soldiers who died in the Camp Douglas Prison between 1862-1865. Keller has been instrumental in establishing a foundation for the restoration of Camp Douglas.
    [Show full text]
  • Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} the Story of Camp Douglas Chicago's Forgotten Civil War Prison by David L. Keller Chicago’S Forgotten Civil War Prison Camp
    Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Story of Camp Douglas Chicago's Forgotten Civil War Prison by David L. Keller Chicago’s forgotten Civil War prison camp. When Chris Rowland’s co-worker told him that Chicago was once home to a Civil War prison camp, he almost didn’t believe it. But a bit of Googling led Chris to a name, Camp Douglas, and a location, Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. It also led him to the camp’s gloomy history, one that included dismal living conditions and a death toll that numbered in the thousands. Beyond that, though, Chris, a 36-year-old sales engineer at a South Side manufacturing company, found hardly any information about the camp. So he came to Curious City for help: Why was there a prison camp in Chicago during the Civil War and why did so many people die there? What happened to it? Camp Douglas was one of the largest POW camps for the Union Army, located in the heart of Bronzeville. More than 40,000 troops passed through the camp during its nearly four years in operation. What’s more — and this is where it gets gloomier — it’s been hyperbolically remembered by some historians as the “deadliest prison in American history” and “eighty acres of hell.” So the fact that Chris, despite his earnest attempt, didn’t find much on Camp Douglas interested Curious City, too. How could one of the deadliest Civil War prison camps virtually disappear from our collective memory? Answering this part of Chris’s question had us consider how a city acknowledges the darker parts of its past and the benefits, if any, of remembering them at all.
    [Show full text]
  • The Letters of George F. Runyon, Confederate Prisoner of War
    "IF THIS WAR DOES NOT MAKE A MAN OF ME NOTHING WILL": THE LETTERS OF GEORGE F. RUNYON, CONFEDERATE PRISONER OF WAR Julie Doyle and John David Smith housands of men lived in military prison camps during the Civil War. While conditions varied from prison to prison, soldiers from both sides of the Mason-Dixon line endured high rates of illness and death almost comparable to the most heinous battlefield conditions. Problems of sanitation, overcrowding, and inadequate provisions for food and shelter generally characterized the Civil War prison-camp experience. In adtiition to physical deprivation, captive Union and Confederate soldiers experienced isolation from family and friends that generated as much distress as the physical discomforts of prison life. l The letters of Kentuckian George F. Runyon, a Confederate private and prisoner at Chicago's Camp Douglas for eighteen months, provide an insightful, personal view of life within a military prison. Writing to his family in Mason County, Kentucky, Runyon described camp JULIE A. DOYLE. MA, is Proeesslng Archivlst/Reglstrar at the Departmentof History and Records Management Services, Presbyterian Church (USA), Montreat, North Carolina. John David Smith, PhD, is Graduate Alumni Distinguished Professor of History at North Carolina State University. l Reid Mitchell, Civil War Soldiers: Their Expectations and Their Experiences {New York: Viking Penguin. 1988), 44. On Civil War prisons, see William B. HesselUne, Civil War Prisons: A Study In War Psychology (Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1930}; Hattie Lou Winslow and Joseph R. H. Moore, Camp Morton, 1861-1865, Indianapolis Prison Camp (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1940}; William B.
    [Show full text]
  • Harris Genealogy
    HARRIS GENEALOGY 87 my in the 14th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry; was taken a prisoner of war at Fort Donaldson, Tennessee, and sent to Camp Douglas at Chicago, Illinois. He made his escape from prison, succeeding in reaching his home at Columbus, Missis­ sippi. Soon after this his regiment was exchanged and sent into the field and he served with them until the close of the war in 1865. After the war he attended the Penn. Medical College at Philadelphia, Pa., and graduated in medicine in 1868. He located in St. Louis, Missouri, where he practiced his profession until the time of his death, January 17th, 1871. He never married. Mary Dowse Harris, fourth child of Colonel George H. Har­ ris and his wife, Mary W. Dowse, was born March 1st, 1844. She married Dr. Charles Sterling Price of Florence. Alabama, on December 18th, 1862. Their children are: Irene Price. She married Wm. Fewell of Meridian, Mis- sissippi. Mary Price. She married Caldwell Maxwell. Lulie Price. She married Edwin Carter. Charles Price, Jr. He married Francis Birdsong. They have one child, hene Price. Gideon Dowse Harris, son of Colonel George H. Harris and Mary W. Dowse, was born in Columbus, Mississippi, on June 9th, 1846. After finishing the High School in Columbus, Mississippi, in 1860 he entered the University of Georgia in 1861. In 1862 he laid down his books, with other students, and entered the service of the Confederate States as a ''Special Messenger'' in the Ordinance Department under Major William Richardson Hunt. His duties were to carry money, official pa­ per:> and arms and ammunition to points where they were needed by troops in the field.
    [Show full text]