Where did this POW die?

[grognard]

Looking for information on Paris Horney, who was 2nd Lt, Co. C, 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The regimental roster shows him "captured June 14, 1863 at the 1st Battle of Winchester, VA; died Nov 7, 1864 in Rebel Prison in Columbia, SC". Other online sources have him dying in Charleston, SC or even Andersonville, and there is a family legend that he died in Libby Prison.

Based on the dates and places involved, I think it's probable he was initially confined in Libby, then moved to Macon, GA; Charleston, SC; and finally Columbia (Camp Sorghum or possibly the jail) but I would like to be more precise if possible. His name is one of several engraved on a memorial tablet in the Beaufort, SC cemetery but bodies were moved there from multiple locations. From an auction site I found his wife received a "Prisoner's Letter" from Charleston, SC in August 1864.

Can anyone suggest other places to look for information? Are lists of prisoners available for any of the these camps?

 

[connecticut yankee]

I think you should zero in on any of the Beaufort, SC cemetery records that may exist. You are correct that the Union dead were moved to this National Cemetery from a variety of locations. But understand that the moving of the bodies was an incredible multi-year effort by the federal government and that meticulous records were undoubtedly kept (and I assume still exist) as to the locations the bodies came from. Such records of course would at least tell you where he last was a POW and where he died. Good luck in your search.

 

[John Hartwell]

According to his Find a Grave page, he is buried in Beaufort National Cemetery, having died in Camp Sorghum, Columbia, S.C. on 7 November 1864.

His widow's pension file (132 pages) is available at fold3.com. I have not searched through it for further details, but see that it corroborates that date and place "from official records."

 

[grognard]

Thank you both. As it happens I visited Beaufort National Cemetery last week and took photos of the memorial tablet. The gentleman in the office got out the index of names with grave locations (the one used to point visitors in the right direction) and his name was not listed. Apparently no one has taken the time to put the names on the tablet in the book. I did not ask to see their original records.

I'm a member of findagrave.com, and while it's a fine resource for many purposes, it's a bit like Wikipedia or ancestry.com in that it relies on individual contributions. It can't be considered authoritative unless backed up by other sources.

I found a copy of "Prisoners of War and Military Prisons" by Isham, Davidson, and Furness (ca. 1890) on Google Books. According to the authors, Lt Horney was one of 33 Federal officers known to have died in captivity between Feb 1, 1864 and the end of the War whose names were not on Confederate lists of the dead. This makes me less than optimistic that more records exist, but I'm open to suggestions.

 

[ErnieMac]

Copies of some of the Fold3 documents.

 

[grognard]

Thank you very much, ErnieMac! So it appears the Federal and State Adjutant General's offices had conflicting information about his date and place of death.

 

[ErnieMac]

Neither Charleston nor Columbia were usual locations to hold Federal POWs. I've attached a link that might explain his presence in Charleston as part of a contingent of Federal prisoners held in quarters known to be subject to bombardment by Union siege artillery. The Union command retaliated and the 600 or so Confederate prisoners were written about and gained a measure of fame as the "Immortal 600". The Federal prisoners received no such commemoration. As noted in the article the Federal prisoners were relocated inland in early October, 1864. It is possible that Paris Horney was held in Charleston and either died there or was relocated inland and died of disease in Columbia. This is speculation on my part, but the time frame is right.
https://www.historynet.com/immortal...ston-harbor-during-the-american-civil-war.htm

 

[grognard]

It's my understanding the Federal officers confined in Charleston were sent from Camp Oglethorpe, Macon, GA in July 1864. They had been sent to Macon from Libby Prison in May 1864 as Grant approached Richmond.

Your link goes to information on the First Battle of Manassas.

 

[ErnieMac]

It's my understanding the Federal officers confined in Charleston were sent from Camp Oglethorpe, Macon, GA in July 1864. They had been sent to Macon from Libby Prison in May 1864 as Grant approached Richmond.

Your link goes to information on the First Battle of Manassas.

Corrected, thanks.

 

[grognard]

Thanks again!

 

[Zella]

Just out of curiosity, did CSR have any notations about his death?

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

How do you do that, Ernie Mac? This thread is a little amazing. One page mystery novel, Agatha Christie would have been broke.

Sorry to go a little off thread. Were prisoners moved so frequently because the war was coming where they were? Keep seeing this, same man moved several times.