John C. Carter
POW's
Wed Sep 27 15:43:20 2000


Pat...my ancestor, a member of the 9th Alabama, was captured at the Battle of Sayler's Creek in April of 1865, just before Appomattox. He was sent to Point Lookout Prison (in Maryland) where he stayed until he was paroled in June, 1865. Many of his fellow prisoners who had been captured in late 1863 or in 1864 had been at the prison since their capture- prisoner exchanges had been stopped by then. Conditions at all of these prisons were horrible (both sides)- poor food, exposure to the elements, poor sanitation. The hospital at Point Lookout had the reputation of "if you went in you didn't come out." Fortunately my ancestor proved that part wrong. The prison was also known for its "trigger-happy" prison guards, most of whom had never been in battle themselves.

It seems that most Confederate prisoners were paroled around the first week of June and the prisons closed shortly after that. Most prisoners were keptlong after Appomattox until the war was comletely over. The interesting point for some of the prisoners was how they got home after the war. Some actually walked back to Alabama from northern prisons.

John Carter