Camp Chase Ohio

[rgtaylor61]

Curious to know more about how Confederate soldiers returned home from Camp Chase. I have an ancestor captured at Nashville and spent the remainder of the war in Louisville then Camp Chase Ohio. I know he made it back to West Tennessee but was wondering if there are records of how these men returned home. Did they walk? trains..assortment of ways?

 

[TerryB]

I have an interesting story. My g-g-grandfather was in the 25th/28th Tenn Inf. He was captured after being left behind when Bragg retreated to Chattanooga. He and his brother had just come back from a hospital in Atlanta and were too sick to march. Ed was sent to Camp Chase while his brother was told they would come back for him when he was well enough to travel to a POW camp. They eventually paroled him instead. Ed's health was broken at Camp Chase, a real hell-hole, and when he took the oath at the end of the war, they gave him a transportation voucher to ride the trains as far as Columbia, Tenn. He lived in White County and walked the rest of the way. The voucher had another man's name on it, and Ed was illiterate. I don't know how the other guy swapped with him, but when I finally was able to read his name, the guy's records showed him to be a pretty shady character.

 

[TerryB]

You can see how hard the name is to make out, and that the bottom has been torn off. He said all this in his pension app, but to no avail.

 

[rgtaylor61]

I have an interesting story. My g-g-grandfather was in the 25th/28th Tenn Inf. He was captured after being left behind when Bragg retreated to Chattanooga. He and his brother had just come back from a hospital in Atlanta and were too sick to march. Ed was sent to Camp Chase while his brother was told they would come back for him when he was well enough to travel to a POW camp. They eventually paroled him instead. Ed's health was broken at Camp Chase, a real hell-hole, and when he took the oath at the end of the war, they gave him a transportation voucher to ride the trains as far as Columbia, Tenn. He lived in White County and walked the rest of the way. The voucher had another man's name on it, and Ed was illiterate. I don't know how the other guy swapped with him, but when I finally was able to read his name, the guy's records showed him to be a pretty shady character.

Thats amazing history. MY ancestor was from Gibson County Tennessee and served in the 31st Infantry.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

Curious to know more about how Confederate soldiers returned home from Camp Chase. I have an ancestor captured at Nashville and spent the remainder of the war in Louisville then Camp Chase Ohio. I know he made it back to West Tennessee but was wondering if there are records of how these men returned home. Did they walk? trains..assortment of ways?

My great-great-grandfather in the 13th NC from Wilkes County, was captured on 4/2/1865 in Virginia. He was held at Hart Island, NY Harbor till mid-June. He was provided rail transport probably as far as Wilkesboro. He walked to his home in the Brushy Mountains.

 

[Rhea Cole]

One group of CSA prisoners that did not want to return to the war founded a town in Indiana. A particularly curious cohort of prisoners were the body servants of officers captured at Ft Donelson.

The 100 servants were a puzzle for the camp's commander. The Fugitive Slave Act was still in force. An officer could face ruinous judgements if he interfered with the return of a slave. The 'Fort Chase Servants' were given physicals. A surprising number of the body servants were freedmen. Even though an enslaved body servant was a privileged individual, they were much shorter & weighed less than the freedmen. They all were offered transportation to CSA lines. None of them chose to return to the Confederacy.

 

[16thVA]

You can access the prison records for free, but they are not organized or searchable. You have to join FamilySearch to access them, but it's free. Other prisons are also on the website.

Camp Chase Prison Records

 

[rgtaylor61]

You can access the prison records for free, but they are not organized or searchable. You have to join FamilySearch to access them, but it's free. Other prisons are also on the website.

Camp Chase Prison Records

Much appreciated

 

[TnFed]

Camp Chase has its resident ghost..the Lady in Gray..never saw her myself.