Monday, March 12, 2007

Civil War POW Records

For those with Civil War ancestry, Melissa Slate, in her article, “Civil War POW Records,” has pulled together a number of resources on Civil War POW prison camps. Some of the prisons mentioned in the article had a familiar ring. My second-great-grandfather, serving for Confederacy, was captured in Missouri and imprisoned at Rock Island, IL Not long before the end of the war, as part of a prisoner exchange, he was transferred to Point Lookout, MD and then on to Richmond, VA where he was furloughed in March 1865.

I first learned of this through his military service record, ordered many moons ago from the National Archives. Later, with the advent of the Internet, I was able to learn more about Rock Island Prison, his regiment, and maneuvers that brought about his capture. The military record -- more readily available today -- is a good place to find the regiment numbers Melissa mentions in her article, to help you in locating your POW ancestor and learning more about his place of imprisonment.

One resource mentioned is the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, which allows easy searching for those serving on either side of the battle. It’s a credible resource, drawing on reliable sources and credible volunteers.It's a facinating search, and we are always happy as more and more of these collective records become available.

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