Sent Up River in 1863

[Tom Hughes]

My Confederate ancestor was in the 4th Mississippi Cavalry and was captured on December 14, 1862 "near Natchez, MS". The next entry on the muster records show he was listed as a Prisoner of War forwarded from Vicksburg, Miss to Cairo, Ill on December 18, 1863. No mention of when he was released. But he did make it home after the war. I'm assuming he was somewhere in Mississippi as a prisoner of war until he was transported north to Cairo. Was there a Prisoner of War camp in Cairo, Ill?

 

[bayouace]

This may help. Camp Morton was in Indianapolis, and received CSA prisoners sent from Cairo. Initially it was the most humane POW camp. Cairo had Camp Defiance and Camp Smith, but they housed Union troops.

"Camp Morton was useful as a POW camp because of its accessibility via the rail transportation network in the old Northwest. The Illinois Central transported 4,400 Confederate prisoners captured east of Vicksburg [the battles of Champion Hill or Baker's Creek on May 16th and Big Black Bridge on May 17th in 1863] from the Mississippi River port at Cairo, Illinois to Camp Morton in June 1863. From Camp Morton, POWs could be easily transferred to other camps around the country. Most of the 4,200 enlisted men in this June 1863 shipment were transferred by rail through Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, thence downriver via river steamer to Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island in the middle of the Delaware River 4 miles south of Wilmington."

 

[Borderruffian]

Cairo was a river port but did have some POW holding many were sent Cairo to Camp Douglas in Chicago and Gratiot Prison in St Louis

 

[Borderruffian]

Cairo was a river port but did have some POW holding many were sent Cairo to Camp Douglas in Chicago and Gratiot Prison in St Louis

They were also sent to Alton Illinois across the River from St Louis.