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Episodes tagged "prison": 1 through 5 of 5

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  1. Alfred Bell’s letter to his wife of 23 November 1863
    date November 23, 1863map OTTAWA, Ohiotags Civil War, prison

    Captain Alfred Bell was ailing in late November 1863.  Too sick even to write to his wife, Capt. Bell had his friend G.F. Wilson transcribe a letter for him on 23 November 1863.  Bell and Wilson were both prisoners of war (POWs) at Johnson’s Island, Ohio during this time, and this wasn’t the greatest of periods for Captain Bell.  Aside from the obvious misfortune of being imprisoned, Bell was...

  2. The Legacy of Andersonville Prison; Who is to Blame?
    date February 27, 1864 to April 9, 1865map SUMTER, Georgiatags prison, Health/Death, Military, Civil War

    The concept of enemy prisoner of war camps was a new idea at the time of the American Civil War. Previously soldiers that surrendered on the battlefield were often paroled. These soldiers were expected to return home and lay down their arms. However, often these men would return home then reenlist and fight the enemy again. Armies recognizing this problem placed punishments on soldiers who were captured...

  3. An assistant surgeon reports on gangrene
    date January 1, 1865 to December 31, 1865map SUMTER, Georgiatags Civil War, prison, Health/Death

    Andersonville's prison had a hospital crowded with patients, due to the bad living conditions in the cells. The prison was overcrowded with prisoners crammed in rooms, inactive and secluded from society, lacking food, exercise and fresh air. The atmosphere was so polluted that people could hardly breathe. The promiscuity made sickness spread in a heartbeat, and in the winter of 1865, the prison witnessed...

  4. Jefferson Davis Finds a Friend in Prison
    date May, 1865 to December, 1866map MONROE, Virginiatags Civil War, prison, Reconstruction

    Around May 10 1865, federal troops captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis fleeing in Georgia and sent him to be confined in Fortress Monroe, Virginia. Davis was held prisoner for two years from May 1865 to May 1867, six months of the time confined in a casemate under heavy guard. According to a war memo excerpted in a New York Times article, he was not arraigned upon any indictment or formal...

  5. Jeannie Coues: Describes Friendly Fire Casualties
    date April 16, 1869map BEAUFORT, North Carolinatags friendly fire, prison

    In February of 1869, Jane Augusta McKinney Coues and her husband, Dr. Elliot Coues were stationed at Fort Macon, a small island fort off the coast of Beaufort, North Carolina. Dr. Coues was a well known surgeon and naturalist, and was stationed at the fort to serve the troops that occupied it; Jane lived with him at the Fort. During her stay there she kept in close contact with her sister in the...