Cahaba Prison

[debwallsmith]

Does anyone know if there are any visible remnants of Cahaba Prison?

 

[archieclement]

Looks as if maybe a chimney.

Cahaba or Castle Morgan Civil War Prison - Old Cahawba, Alabama

Cahaba Civil War Prison, also known as Castle Morgan, stood at the famed Alabama ghost town of Old Cahawba and held as many as 3,000 Union prisoners of war. The site of the Confederate prison is now preserved at Old Cahawba Archaeological Site.

www.exploresouthernhistory.com

 

[redbob]

Cahaba is a ghost town which was a former capital of Alabama and is a very interesting place to visit. As for the prison, not much remains except maybe a few bricks. A book that is well worth reading on the subject is William O. Bryant's Cahaba Prison and the Sultana Disaster.

 

[debwallsmith]

Looks as if maybe a chimney.

https://www.exploresouthernhistory....ome of the Millen POW were imprisoned there.

http://

 

[nc native]

I had never heard of Cahaba before but with only a two percent death rate among the prisoners who stayed there it seems to be one of the more humanely and well run prisons for captured combatants during the Civil War.

 

[TerryB]

I had never heard of Cahaba before but with only a two percent death rate among the prisoners who stayed there it seems to be one of the more humanely and well run prisons for captured combatants during the Civil War.

Sadly, many of these men survived the camp only to be crammed onto the Sultana. There was an incident in which my friend the late Bill Bryant wrote of in his book on the prison and the Sultana disaster. The camp CO had a lot of trouble with a Union officer whose name I forget. The guy was some sort of scout and would often be the one to stand up for his rights and those of the prisoners. He was "disappeared." I later read that a gravesite well away from the others had been excavated and emailed the museum if they thought it was this "trouble-maker." They answered that they couldn't be sure, but he had officer's buttons and they believed in all likelihood it was him.

 

[debwallsmith]

I had never heard of Cahaba before but with only a two percent death rate among the prisoners who stayed there it seems to be one of the more humanely and well run prisons for captured combatants during the Civil War.

I don't think the death rate indicates more humane treatment because a lot of prisoners were sent to Andersonville from Cahaba. Additionally, prisoners had access to shelter - a cotton warehouse, and there were far fewer prisoners held there.

 

[debwallsmith]

Sadly, many of these men survived the camp only to be crammed onto the Sultana. There was an incident in which my friend the late Bill Bryant wrote of in his book on the prison and the Sultana disaster. The camp CO had a lot of trouble with a Union officer whose name I forget. The guy was some sort of scout and would often be the one to stand up for his rights and those of the prisoners. He was "disappeared." I later read that a gravesite well away from the others had been excavated and emailed the museum if they thought it was this "trouble-maker." They answered that they couldn't be sure, but he had officer's buttons and they believed in all likelihood it was him.

There were also lots of men who had be sent from Andersonville to Millen to Blackshear to Savannah to Thomasville to Albany and back to Andersonville who also ended up on the Sultana.

 

[lelliott19]

I had never heard of Cahaba before but with only a two percent death rate among the prisoners who stayed there it seems to be one of the more humanely and well run prisons for captured combatants during the Civil War.

For most of Cahaba's operation (July 1863-1865), Colonel H. A. M. Henderson was the commandant and Dr. Richard H. Whitfield was the surgeon in charge. The prison had the lowest death rate of any prisoner of war camp - North or South. The low death rate was mainly due to the efforts of Henderson and Whitfield to provide clean water and proper sanitation. More than half of the 2000 ex-prisoners on board the Sultana were from Cahaba.

In 1883, Colonel H. A. M. Henderson, the former commandant of Cahaba, was then a Methodist minister of the church where Ulysses S Grant's mother was a member. At the specific request of President Grant, HAM Henderson delivered the eulogy at the funeral of Grant's mother, Hannah Simpson Grant.

She adorned her profession by living in "godly simplicity," endeared herself by her quiet graces to the congregation, and died in faith, without a shadow upon her name. She had strong characteristics blended with feminine grace. Domestic in her inclination, simple in her tastes, averse to ostentation, sweet and simple in her manners, she devoted her matronly gifts and graces to the training of her children, and sought no honor but that which came from God. Adversity could not crush her nor prosperity elate her. While she rejoiced in the distinctions conferred by a grateful country upon her son, she was "of boasting more than of a tomb afraid." She shrunk from the public gaze, and like a Barzillai of old, when invited to the palace, preferred the shades of private life, and a quiet home with her daughters, to the honors that would have waited upon such a Matriarch at the White House....

 

[TerryB]

There were also lots of men who had be sent from Andersonville to Millen to Blackshear to Savannah to Thomasville to Albany and back to Andersonville who also ended up on the Sultana.

The really sad thing for the Cahaba POWs was that their release was speeded up by the CS authorities or they would not have been put on the Sultana.

 

[mjoslinjm]

I recently published a historical novel that follows soldiers from the 18th Michigan Infantry through training, an intense battle at Athens, Alabama that led to their capture, the hazardous trip from Athens to Cahaba, onboard the Sultana which ended in disaster, and how the families back home were affected. In the chapters about Cahaba (Castle Morgan), I wrote about Lt. Col. Samuel Jones, who was co-commandant with Col. H.A.M. Henderson. Jones was the antithesis of Henderson. He was not only cruel but is suspected to have committed the murder of the leader of a mutiny in the prison compound. After the war, Jones seems to have dropped off the face of the earth, his fate unknown. I did extensive research on Jones, which I wrote about in the Newsletter section of my website, www.jmichaeljoslin.com. I am writing to you all with the hopes that someone has knowledge of what became of Jones, his wife, and his child. If someone has the answer to this mystery, I hope you will contact me. Thank you.

 

[TennesseeZ4]

Just returned on a multi-locale trip to do some investigation on my GG grandfather's brother who was in the 3rd Tennessee Mounted Infantry. Stopped by the Sulfur Trestle location where he was captured, and then on down to Cahaba, site of his internment at the prison there. Cahaba is a most interesting place, a true archeological site. About 1500 years ago it was the site of indigenous culture, with a large mound near the river; later it became the first Capital of Alabama, and during the Civil War, a Confederate prison.

Now simply a 'town' of dirt roads, open fields, some ruins of brick construction, it's location on the Cahaba and Alabama Rivers, provides some access, but this was a rather desolate locale. I spent most of the afternoon there, walking the area near the river where the prison once stood. There is also a visitor's center as well as a Church which had been removed from Cahaba in 1877, since returned and in the process of restoration. You would have to imagine that the prisoners were quite shocked to be herded into the stockade in this swampy area; and later endure the flooding from the rivers rise. Yet most survived, some to later die on the Sultana; my GG grandfathers brother survived both. Here are a couple of photos you might find of interest. The Church; a knotty tree that had a beam of light shining down through a knot hole, into the center of the tree; general area of the prison, with a chimney standing apart; that chimney is not attributed to the prison structure.

 

[debwallsmith]

Just returned on a multi-locale trip to do some investigation on my GG grandfather's brother who was in the 3rd Tennessee Mounted Infantry. Stopped by the Sulfur Trestle location where he was captured, and then on down to Cahaba, site of his internment at the prison there. Cahaba is a most interesting place, a true archeological site. About 1500 years ago it was the site of indigenous culture, with a large mound near the river; later it became the first Capital of Alabama, and during the Civil War, a Confederate prison.

Now simply a 'town' of dirt roads, open fields, some ruins of brick construction, it's location on the Cahaba and Alabama Rivers, provides some access, but this was a rather desolate locale. I spent most of the afternoon there, walking the area near the river where the prison once stood. There is also a visitor's center as well as a Church which had been removed from Cahaba in 1877, since returned and in the process of restoration. You would have to imagine that the prisoners were quite shocked to be herded into the stockade in this swampy area; and later endure the flooding from the rivers rise. Yet most survived, some to later die on the Sultana; my GG grandfathers brother survived both. Here are a couple of photos you might find of interest. The Church; a knotty tree that had a beam of light shining down through a knot hole, into the center of the tree; general area of the prison, with a chimney standing apart; that chimney is not attributed to the prison structure.

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Was your ancestor transferred to Andersonville from Cahaba?

 

[Norman Dasinger Jr]

Cahaba is one of the best historical sites in the South. I have led tours there for 20 years. LOTS of history at Cahaba. And it is just outside Selma - and there is A LOT of history in Selma.

 

[Pollaco]

I wish more people would read that article about how the Northern Prisons had a 3% higher death rate over the Confederate Prisons. One can probably blame "Hollywood".

 

[TennesseeZ4]

Was your ancestor transferred to Andersonville from Cahaba?

No, James Scott was captured at Sulfur Trestle, and then moved to Cahaba. One of his other brothers, Robert, was captured at Rogersville TN, sent to Belle Isle, then to Andersonville where he died; #776 in the register.

 

[gjpratt]

One of the most brilliant legal minds I ever knew was Dan Meador. He had deep family roots to Cahaba and somehow found time to write a family history of Cahaba from the civil war through its demise, including his own personal reminiscences. I received the book as a gift from a classmate and started reading it as a courtesy to Prof. Meador. But It absorbed me quickly. Very good historical information. I suspect @Norman Dasinger Jr knows all about this book and Dan Meador.

At Cahaba: From Civil War to Great Depression: Meador, Daniel J.: 9781934980828: Amazon.com: Books

At Cahaba: From Civil War to Great Depression [Meador, Daniel J.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. At Cahaba: From Civil War to Great Depression

www.amazon.com

 

[Norman Dasinger Jr]

One of several books that explain the RICH history of Cahaba

 

[gjpratt]

One of the most brilliant legal minds I ever knew was Dan Meador. He had deep family roots to Cahaba and somehow found time to write a family history of Cahaba from the civil war through its demise, including his own personal reminiscences. I received the book as a gift from a classmate and started reading it as a courtesy to Prof. Meador. But It absorbed me quickly. Very good historical information. I suspect @Norman Dasinger Jr knows all about this book and Dan Meador.

At Cahaba: From Civil War to Great Depression: Meador, Daniel J.: 9781934980828: Amazon.com: Books

At Cahaba: From Civil War to Great Depression [Meador, Daniel J.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. At Cahaba: From Civil War to Great Depression

www.amazon.com

I should add he did all this with a total blindness disability.

 

[DixieRifles]

I don't think the death rate indicates more humane treatment because a lot of prisoners were sent to Andersonville from Cahaba.

I thought it was the other way. When they shut down Andersonville, they transferred the prisoners to another camp. Maybe it was Florence?