Most prisoners following the battle of Gettysburg were sent to Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island in the middle of the Delaware River between Delaware and New Jersey about 30 miles south of Philadelphia. They were held there until exchanged for Union POWs (probably most of the Gettysburg POWs were back in the South by 1864). The fort was considered among the better and more humane in the Union prison system, though that's not saying a great deal, given that disease ravaged the POWs there as much as it did anywhere during the war. The POWs who died during confinement were interred at a cemetery on the Jersey side.
The Fort is now a tourist attraction that has several large reenactment events each season, and is worth the visit since one of the POW barracks was reconstructed several years ago. The POWs were NOT kept inside the Fort (except for the officers, who received superior treatment), but instead lived in barracks outside the walls (all were lost long ago because of storm damage and scavenging for lumber by locals). While hardly luxurious, the facilities were certainly better than the conditions at the CS prisons, especially the notorious Libby Prison and, of course, Andersonville (where conditions were so bad that the camp commander was hanged after the war).
Fort Delaware is serviced by a ferry that continues on to the New Jersey side for those wishing to visit the cemetery. The Fort Delaware Society keeps detailed records and can be contacted at
http://www.del.net/org/fort/
For information about the Fort, go to:
http://www.destateparks.com/fdsp/fdsp.htm
Bill Cross
----- Original Message -----
From: Paul Drake
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2004 8:40 PM
Subject: Re: POW captured Battle of Gettysburg .....
There were quite a number of prisons, and he doubtless was sent to whatever facility had space and was closest to G'burg. So you will need to identify his regiment, if you can. The records of that regiment almost surely will be the quickest way to gain your answer (search Google for, example, "15th VA Infantry" You will find SOME results from that search, I am sure. Failing that, you should gain his service record through the <NARA.gov> website, where you will find simple and printable forms to fill in and submit for his "veterans records". In a large majority of those records, SOME imprisonment details will be given. After that, you can find on the net many studies of almost all the prisons. You will also find a world of material concerning "Civil War prisoner exchanges". Search to your heart's content. It should be fun for you. Good luck. Paul
----- Original Message -----
From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2004 7:23 PM
Subject: POW captured Battle of Gettysburg .....
Recent info on my husbands 2 ggrandfather [b. Halifax County, VA] states he
was captured at the Battle of Gettysburg and was released nearly a year later
in " prisoner exchange".
Anyone have any idea where the POW's were kept?
TIA for any info......
Dottie Blackwell
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