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Letter from S. Burbank, Lt.
Col, Thirteenth Infantry, Commanding, Alton, Ill., to
Col. Bernard G. Farrar, Provost-Marshal-General, Saint
Louis, Mo., March 11, 1862:
Herewith inclosed please find a list of the prisoners
who have petitioned for release on condition of taking
the oath of allegiance and giving security. It will be
observed that many of the petitioners are those taken at
Fort Henry. I do not understand General Halleck's order
to apply to others than those taken in Missouri, but I
may be mistaken in this. Several of the names may be
repeated, arising from the fact of a different spelling
and the names being handed in by friends who did not
know that others had done the same thing. Those noted as
having been "received March 3" are those who came with
Colonel Freeman, no place being mentioned on the list.
Those noted on the list as "unknown" are those who place
of residence is unknown. The whole number of bona fide
petitioners is about 300. Respectfully, your obedient
servant, S. Burbank.
Letter from H. W. Halleck,
Major General, Saint Louis, to Col. J. A. Mulligan,
Chicago, March 18, 1862:
When medical officers, prisoners of war on parole, fail
to do their duty to their own sick, they will be put in
close confinement and their names reported to me in
order that I may send them to the military prison at
Alton or to Fort Warren. No such medical officer will be
released on parole or exchanged. H. W. Halleck.
Letter from H. W. Halleck,
Major General, Saint Louis, to D. L. Phillips, U. S.
Marshal, Springfield, Ill., March 22, 1862:
Escaped prisoners of war
should be arrested and placed in confinement at Alton.
Letter from Richard D. Cutts,
Colonel, U. S. Army and Aide-de-Camp, and John J. Key,
Major, U. S. Army and Aide-de-Camp, Saint Louis, Mo., to
Maj. General H. W. Halleck, Commanding Department of the
Mississippi, April 3, 1862:
In obedience to Special Orders, No. 62, we have examined
the condition of the prisoners at Alton, as also the
cases of the prisoners arrested in Illinois for
assisting in the escape of a prisoner of war, and beg
leave to make the following report:
Number and character of
prisoners: The total number of prisoners under the
charge of Lieutenant-Colonel Burbank is 791, of
which 58 are officers, as follows: Colonels 5,
Lieutenant-Colonels 2, Majors 3, Chaplain 1,
Captains 18, Lieutenants 22, Surgeons 7. Of these,
one Captain (Carey of Missouri) and the seven
surgeons are on parole, restricted to the town of
Alton. The prisoners are those taken at Pea Ridge,
459 in number; those taken at Fort Henry and its
vicinity 130, and the balance composed of prisoners
captured at Milford, of bridge-burners, soldiers
arrested for pillaging, and disloyal citizens.
Quarters: The quarters
of the officers, privates and citizens were found to
be excellent, certainly equal if not superior to
those at Camps Butler, Douglas and Morton. About 300
are quartered in the penitentiary proper - not in
the cells, but in the wide passage-ways running
around the three different tiers of cells. The bunks
are double and amply sufficient for two persons. The
others are lodged in the different outbuildings, in
large and well-ventilated rooms heated by stoves,
and in reply to our numerous inquiries in regard to
their quarters, bunks and bedding we heard but a
single complaint. That was made by Colonel Stone,
and referred to the absence in many cases of straw
for bedding and to the fact that the blankets of
some of the prisoners had not been brought on from
Rolla while en route from Arkansas to Alton. These
wants, however, are now being supplied, as the
commanding officer has directed the straw, blankets
and clothing to be distributed according to the
respective necessities of the prisoners. The
prisoners are divided into twenty-six squads of
thirty men in each. Two squads are daily detailed
for police purposes, and the cleanliness of their
quarters depends upon their own care and taste.
While the quarters generally were in a clean and
healthy condition, as demanded and exacted by the U.
S. officer in charge, it was very evident that some
were better kept and in neater order than others.
The officers were quartered together in a large
hall, well-ventilated and with abundance of room. In
the cells there are confined twenty-four prisoners,
part of whom have been sentenced and the others
committed under serious criminal charges. None of
these, however, are properly speaking prisoners of
war.
Subsistence: Rations are
issued at stated intervals to the prisoners in the
same manner and to the same amount as to troops in
the service of the United States. These provisions
(bread instead of flour) are delivered to the squad
detailed permanently as cooks and in charge of the
kitchen; are cooked by them and served in a large
dining hall by the squad detailed for that
particular duty. Fresh beef is supplied every day
for dinner. The hall accommodates 300 at one sitting
and the hours for meals (two each day) are fixed by
the prisoners themselves. The kitchen well supplied
with ranges and all the appliances for cooking. The
dining hall and the different quarters were all
inspected, and to our repeated inquiries as to the
quality and quantity of the provisions allow them
every one with a single exception expressed
themselves entirely satisfied and had not the
slightest complaint to make. The exception was
Colonel Stone, who thought that the fried pork for
breakfast was too salty and that the coffee was too
weak. It was suggested that these evils might be
somewhat remedied by complaining to their fellow
prisoners, the cooks.
Hospital: There are in
the hospital about seventy-five sick, some two or
three in a precarious condition. The diseases
prevalent are pneumonia and diarrhea brought with
them, or on generally by exposure previous to their
arrival at Alton. Their own surgeons have charge of
the hospital. The two whom we found in attendance
seemed to be intelligent men and tolerably careful
in their attention to the sick. They said that their
patients had everything that they needed; indeed one
of them volunteered to say that he had been
surprised to hear contrary statements, and had
denied emphatically to sympathizing visitors that
the sick were not as well cared for in every
particular as they could be anywhere else. The
hospital hall is large, well ventilated and not
crowded. All of the sick were not confined there,
many with colds, &c., preferring their own quarters.
In conclusion, we would report that so soon as the
straw for bedding shall be more generally distributed
and a few blankets supplied here and there (all of which
we understood was done last evening), the condition of
the prisoners at Alton will be entirely comfortable and
beyond the reach of reasonable complaint. The quarters
are far from being crowded; the provisions are sound and
abundant and the grounds for airing and for exercise
amply extensive, and these facts are sustained by the
almost unanimous confession of the prisoners themselves.
The wants of each squad are presented every day in its
morning report, and these are supplied either from the
public stores or from funds deposited by relatives and
friends to the credit of the different prisoners.
Six Illinoisans, under charge of assisting prisoners of
war to escape: These six men (W. P. Brooks, N. T. Books,
A. C. Gish, W. S. Hutton, W. G. Nabb and William
Richardson) are citizens of Auburn, Sangamon County,
Ill., and were arrested for extending aid and comfort to
an escaped rebel prisoner of war, and they are now
confined in separate cells in the Alton Penitentiary and
have been so confined for the last two weeks. Charge:
They are charged with giving money varying in amount
from 50 cents to $2 to a rebel prisoner who acknowledged
that he had escaped a short time previous from the cars
while en route from Camp Douglas. Defense: The prisoners
have each presented a statement of their interviews with
the rebel soldier. They confess that they gave the
money, but say that it was done unthinkingly and on the
assurance of the soldier that he was a Union man; that
he would return home and tell his friends of the false
stories circulated at the South in regard to Northern
people, and that he would report himself to the proper
military authority. They, moreover, say that they are
loyal men, and to this effect also five petitions have
been received at headquarters of the department from 165
citizens of Auburn. Some of these petitioners have been
guaranteed as sound Union men by the Governor of
Illinois. Recommendation: It is not believed that the
State courts of Illinois could take cognizance of the
charge against these six citizen prisoners. Complaint
could be made to the U. S. district attorney at
Springfield and the charges investigated and tried by
the U. S. circuit court in Illinois. Considering
therefore, that the publicity already given to this case
of assisting a rebel prisoner to escape has had its
proper effect, that the prisoners are loyal men who
acted without thought or disloyal intention, and that
they have been kept two weeks in solitary
confinement, we recommend that they be released on
taking the oath of allegiance and giving bail of $1,000
in each case for their appearance before the U. S.
circuit court, whenever called upon to so appear. Very
respectfully, your obedient servant, Richard D. Cutts.
Letter from J. C. Kelton,
Assistant Adjutant-General, Saint Louis, to Lt. Col. S.
Burbank, Commanding at Alton, Ill., April 15, 1862:
According to the terms of an agreement entered into by
General Curtis and General Price, the prisoners named on
the accompanying roll will be returned within the lines
of the Confederate Army and released. I desire to know
if all these men are under your charge, who are absent
and where, in order to arrange the release at once. The
officers and men captured from our army have already
been released. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. C. Kelton.
Letter from S. [Sidney] Burbank, Lt.
Col, Thirteenth Infantry, Commanding Alton, Ill., to
Assistant Adjutant-General, Saint Louis, Mo., May 3,
1862:
I received this morning two copies of lists of prisoners
of war said to have been exchanged for others taken by
General Price. One of these lists embraces the names of
those who are now or have been confined at the military
prison in Alton, and the other the names of those on the
exchange list who have never been at Alton. Also, a copy
of the agreement for an exchange of prisoners by
Generals Curtis and Price, a copy of a letter from
General Schofield to General Ketchum and a copy of a
letter from General Price to General Halleck. As no
orders or instructions accompany these papers, I can
take no action in reference to them, and I do not know
as it is expected I should. Very respectfully, S.
Burbank.
Letter from J. C. Kelton,
Assistant Adjutant-General, Camp on Corinth Road, Miss.,
GENERAL ORDERS No. 27, May 15, 1862:
....Those prisoners in Missouri and at Alton Prison, who
are not liable to be exchanged and who have not been
guilty of offenses triable before a military commission
may be released on oath and bond at the discretion of
the provost-marshal-general. In all cases where the
civil law can be administered by loyal courts, he will
deliver offenders to the civil authorities. By command
of Major-General Halleck: J. C. Kelton
Letter from S. Burbank, Lt.
Col, Thirteenth Infantry, Commanding Alton, Ill., to
Assistant Adjutant-General, Saint Louis, Mo., May 18,
1862:
Herewith I have the honor to transmit a list of
prisoners received, released, &c., from the 1st to the
10th of May, 1862. The next and thereafter this report
will be made weekly. It has been made monthly heretofore
because such were my instructions. I respectfully
recommend that no more prisoners be sent to this prison
until the smallpox has abated. There are now about
twenty cases, and though not severe, it is probable some
will terminate fatally. Last evening a squad of
twenty-six prisoners arrived on their way to Chicago. It
was discovered when they got here that there is no train
on Saturday evening for Chicago, a fact that could
readily have been ascertained at Saint Louis. There is
no other place to keep them but the prison, and there is
some risk of their taking the smallpox and transferring
it to other places. I will send you a list of the Pea
Ridge prisoners in a day or two, as soon as it can be
prepared. No list of these prisoners was ever sent here
and all the information we have we obtained from the
prisoners themselves. The exchanged prisoners left
yesterday morning. There were 199. The three officers
from Columbus did not arrive to go with them. Very
respectfully, your obedient servant, S. Burbank.
Letter from Assistant
Adjutant-General, Saint Louis, Mo., to Brig. Gen. James
Totten, Jefferson City, Mo., May 21, 1862:
By direction of the general commanding, I have the honor
to say in reply to your favor of the 20th that owing to
the fact that smallpox is prevailing to some extent in
the Alton Prison, it is deemed advisable not to send any
more prisoners there at present and desires that you
keep them at Jefferson City. Very respectfully, Asst.
Adjutent-General
Letter from Jno. B.
Villepigue, Brigadier-General, Command at Fort Pillow,
Tenn., to Capt. C. H. Davis, Commanding Western
Flotilla, Mississippi River, May 20, 1862:
On yesterday evening, while temporarily absent from my
headquarters, the second in command, Col. A. Jackson,
Jr., through inadvertence or carelessness, received at
this post 202 Confederate prisoners of war just from an
infected prison at Alton, Ill., with two or three cases
of smallpox among them, in exchange for the same number
of U. S. prisoners turned over to your authorities some
time ago free from infection. While I do not presume that you are in any way
responsible for so barbarous an act as sending released
prisoners to communicate to my command the loathsome and
infectious disease of smallpox, I demand that your
Government disown the act by receiving these prisoners
back into its lines and caring for them until every
symptom of the infection has disappeared from their
midst. I am, captain, with high respect, your obedient
servant, Jno. B. Villepigue.
Letter from C. H. Davis,
Captain, Commanding Western Flotilla, Mississippi River,
to Brig. Gen. John B. Villepigue, Commanding Fort
Pillow, Tenn., May 21, 1862:
Your letter of 20th instant has been received. I have
not a sufficient knowledge of the circumstances of the
case - as for example, the condition of the building at
Alton, Ill., in which the prisoners referred to have
been confined, the health of the prisoners at the period
of their release or the possible change of health they
may have undergone on their way to this place - to
render it worthwhile for me to enter into the details of
the subject. In order, however, to remove any grounds of complaint
and to make a suitable provision for an unexpected
emergency, I propose that a temporary neutral hospital
be established for the benefit of the prisoners
suffering from smallpox. The place for this hospital may
be determined by Captain Dove, the bearer of this
letter, acting for me and such officer as you may
designate on your part. I have the honor to be, general,
very respectfully, your most obedient servant, C. H.
Davis.
Letter from Jno. B.
Villepigue, Brigadier-General, Commanding at Fort
Pillow, Tenn., to Commodore C. H. Davis, Commanding
Western Flotilla, Mississippi River, May 21, 1862:
I construe your reply to my demand of yesterday's date
to be a refusal to take back the persons who were sent
here on the 19th instant from an infected prison under a
flag of truce. As it would be exposing the three persons
upon whom the disease has actually broken out to
unnecessary risk and exposure to again remove them I
will decline doing so. I am, commodore, very
respectfully, your obedient servant, Jno. B. Villepigue.
Letter from Jno. B.
Villepigue, Brigadier-General, Commanding at Fort
Pillow, Tenn., to General Beauregard, May 22, 1862:
The transaction is no myth, but from what the prisoners
say looks very much like an attempt to communicate the
smallpox to my command. They were taken at Pea Ridge and
are just from an infected prison at Alton, Ill. They
were received by the second in command while I was
reconnoitering. I endeavored to get Flag-Officer Davis
to take them back, but he refused. Will send by first
boat all the papers and correspondence. Jno. B.
Villepigue.
Letter from Henry E. Peyton,
Assistant Inspector-General, Headquarters, Western
Department, Corinth, Miss., to General G. T. Beauregard,
May 24, 1862:
In compliance with your order to make an official
synopsis of the accompanying papers relating to the
exchange of 200 Confederate prisoners captured by the
enemy at the battle of Pea Ridge, I have the honor to
submit the following:
On the 26th of March, 1862, Major General Price, of the
Confederate Army, and Major General Curtis, of the
Federal Army, signed a written agreement for an exchange
of prisoners. This paper stipulated that the prisoners
held by General Price should be immediately escorted
beyond the lines of the Confederate Army, provided with
enough rations to subsist them until they reached
Fayetteville, Ark.; that they were to be kept on parole
until General Curtis shall have sent an equal number of
Confederate prisoners to Van Buren, or some other
military post within our lines. The agreement closes
with this paragraph:
If any of the prisoners
held by Major General Curtis and named in the
annexed list cannot for any cause be delivered as
agreed, others actually in the service - military
service - of the Confederate States shall be sent in
their stead without unnecessary delay.
On the 1st of May, 1862, General Halleck written from
Monterey to Brigadier-General Ketchum, ordering him to
have "the agreement between Generals Curtis and Price
carried out without delay;" orders the prisoners to be
conveyed by steamer down the Mississippi River and
turned over to Commodore Foote, who will have them
landed within Confederate lines; ample subsistence being
furnished. If those named on list cannot be furnished,
others are to be substituted.
On the 19th of May, Flag Officer C. H. Davis, U. S.
Navy, writes to Brigadier General Villepigue requesting
him to remove from steamer Kennett 200 prisoners ent
into the Confederate lines by order of General Halleck
in obedience to an agreement entered into by Generals
Price and Curtis for exchange of prisoners. Captain
Davis also asks for receipt of same written on the list
sent for that purpose.
General Villepigue writes Captain Davis March 20, that
whilst temporarily absent from his headquarters on the
19th, Col. Andrew Jackson, Jr., second in command,
through inadvertence or carelessness, received 202
Confederate prisoners of war just from an infected
prison at Alton, Ill., with two cases of smallpox among
them in exchange for same number of Federal prisoners,
free from any contagious disease. General Villepigue
demands the enemy disavow so barbarous an act by
receiving them again in their own lines and caring for
them until cured of smallpox.
Captain Davis replies to this letter 21st of May, that
he has not a sufficient knowledge of all the
circumstances in the case, such as the condition of the
building occupied by prisoners in Alton, their health at
the time released, &c., to enter into the details of the
subject. But to remove ground for complaint, he proposes
a temporary neutral hospital be established for the use
of the infected. The location he leaves to Captain Dove
and General Villepigue to determine.
General Villepigue replies May 21 that he construes the
above letter into a refusal to take back the prisoners
and declines the proposition of Captain Davis. The two
prisoners already broken out with smallpox would be
exposed to unnecessary risk and discomfort to be again
removed.
Paper numbered 7 is a letter from General Villepigue to
General Jordan stating the facts in the case and
commenting severely upon the "barbarous" conduct of the
enemy in the affair. He holds Captain Flag Officer Davis
personally blameless, as the prisoners were sent
directly through from Alton, but from what he learns
from the prisoners themselves, he regards the
transaction as a deliberate attempt of our enemies to
spread the most loathsome disease among us. This he has
sufficiently guarded against. Colonel Jackson is stated
to have been ignorant of the prisoners' condition when
he received them.
Paper marked "8" is a letter from General Price, dated
Van Buren, March 26, addressed to General Halleck. He
calls General Halleck's attention to the fact that after
the battle of Lexington, he forthwith liberated more
than 3,500 prisoners, whilst he holds a large number of
officers and men of the Missouri State Guard and many
citizens of the State in close confinement at Saint
Louis and elsewhere, who are suffering greatly by such
unjust imprisonment. The hope is expressed that General
Halleck will imitate the example set by General Price.
This letter, though not bearing immediately on the
subject matter in these papers, is yet interesting as
illustrating the wide difference in the bearing and
action of our own and the Yankee commanding generals in
the whole history of this war. I have the honor,
general, to be, your most obedient servant, Henry E.
Peyton.
Letter from D. W. Vowles,
Headquarters, 1st Div., Army of the West, Camp Corinth,
Miss., to General Thomas A. Harris, May 20, 1862:
I wrote you some days since and sent it to Mobile to be
mailed. I did not in it communicate to you fully the
progress of affairs here, and cannot do so now as I
write you in a hurry, as we have just returned from the
field where we have been in line of battle for three
days. The Yankees are evidently afraid to attack us; in
other words, they show timidity.
Old Captain Robards, from Hannibal, reached our camp
yesterday direct from his home. He came by water to
Saint Louis, from there to Nashville, thence to
Chattanooga and here. He says my brother, the old
doctor, was sent to Alton in irons. He was chained very
heavily, as they thought him very vicious, says the
captain, Robards.
Doctor Foster is there (in Alton) in advance of my
brother and condemned to be shot. The sentence has been
approved by General Halleck. The charge was bridge
burning and railroad tearing up. I wish you would take
some action or have some action taken to mitigate this
penalty of our old friend Foster.
The boys are bushwhacking in Northeast Missouri. There
are no troops there now, except the Gamble militia or
home guards. He reports the boys are taking small
parties of Feds every day in that region; they take no
prisoners. No quarter is shown by either side. Gilchrist
Porter is on the bench. They are making an effort to
collect tax in that region, with what difficulty and
success you may well judge. Men are determined to
resist. General Rains, General McBride, Governor
Jackson, Colonel Coffee, Colonel Clarkson, Colonel
O'Kane have gone back to bushwhack. They are now in
Arkansas preparing to go up. General Curtis in Arkansas
with 10,000 men. Why is General Pike in command yet? I
write you in haste and will do so again soon and more
fully. I should like to hear from you. Address me in
care of Brigadier General Green. Your friend, D. W.
Vowles.
**************************************
Source: The New York
Times, February 28, 1862
Order by General Halleck,
Headquarters, Department of Missouri, St. Louis,
February 26, 1862
1. In consideration of the
recent victories won by the Federal forces, and of the
rapidly increasing loyalty of citizens of Missouri, who
for a time forgot their duty to their flag and their
country, the sentences of John C. Tompkins, William J.
Forshey, John Patton, Thomas M. Smith, Stephen Stott,
Geo. H. Cunningham, Richard B. Crowder, and George M.
Pulliam, heretofore condemned to death, are
provisionally mitigated to close confinement in the
Military Prison at Alton. If rebel spies again destroy
railroads and telegraph lines, and thus render it
necessary for us to make severe examples, the original
sentences against these men will be carried into
execution.
2. No further
assessments will be levied or collected from any one who
will now take the prescribed oath of allegiance.
3. Boards of Commissions
will be appointed to examine the cases of prisoners of
war who apply to take the oath of allegiance; and on
their recommendation orders will be issued from these
headquarters for their release. By command of
Maj.-Gen., Halleck. N. H. McLean, Ass't.
Adjt.-Gen.
**************************************
Source: Official Records of
the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the
Rebellion, 1910, page 100 (Not in Copyright)
Letter from Fort Pillow,
Tenn., May 20, 1862
Captain: On yesterday
evening, while temporarily absent from my headquarters,
the second in command, Colonel A. Jackson, Jr., through
inadvertence or carelessness, received at this post 202
confederate prisoners of war, just from an infected
prison at Alton, Ill., with two cases of smallpox among
them, in exchange for the same number of United States
prisoners, turned over to your authorities some time
ago, free from infection. While I do not presume that
you are in any way responsible for so barbarous an act
as sending released prisoners to communicate to my
command the loathsome and infectious disease of
smallpox, I demand that your Government disown the act
by receiving these prisoners back into its lines and
caring for them until every symptom of the infection has
disappeared from their midst. I am, captain, with high
respect, your obedient servant, Jno. B. Villepigue,
Brigadier-General, Commanding
Off Fort Pillow, May 21,
1862
General: Your letter of the
20th instant has been received. I have not a sufficient
knowledge of the circumstances of the case, as, for
example, the condition of the building at Alton, Ill.,
in which the prisoners referred to have been confined,
the health of the prisoners at the period of their
release, or the possible change of health they may have
undergone on their way to this place, to render it
worthwhile for me to enter into the details of the
subject. In order, however, to remove any grounds of
complaint, and to make a suitable provision for an
unexpected emergency, I propose that a temporary neutral
hospital be established for the benefit of the prisoners
suffering from smallpox. The place for this hospital may
be determined by Captain Dove, the bearer of this
letter, acting for me, and such officer as you may
designate on your part. I am, general, very
respectfully, your obedient servant, C. H. Davis,
Flag-Officer, Comdg. U. S. Naval Forces
****************************************
Source: Letter from W. M.
W. of 3d Reg. La. Vol., Memphis, Tenn., May 27, 1862;
printed in the New York Times, June 8, 1862
....I deem the course they
pursued at Alton the one natural to their instincts, for
the prisoners there are almost entirely Missourians, and
they consider the State of Missouri a conquered
province. Time will probably enlighten them as to this,
and then, as I remember the haggard look and deep set
eyes of some of the very first men of the State that I
saw in close confinement, both at Alton and St. Louis, I
almost shudder at the dark depths of the vengeance most
certainly in store for the foul tyrants who oppress
them.
***************************************
The War of the Rebellion: A
Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies, Series II, Volume IV, by the United
States War Department, 1899
(Not in Copyright)
Letter from W. Hoffman, Col,
Third Infantry, Commissary-General of Prisoners, to
Commanding Officer, Military Prison at Alton, Ill., June
25, 1862:
Will you please furnish me for the War Department with a
list of all prisoners of war who have been or are now in
confinement at the Alton Prison and please furnish a
duplicate of the same for this office. Citizens and
soldiers should not be entered on the same list. I will
send you blank rolls for this purpose by express, and
also blank monthly returns of prisoners, with the
request you will furnish a return monthly to this
office. The roll called for above will take the place of
those required in General Orders, No. 54, of May 17,
from War Department, and if other rolls have been called
for, you need not furnish them till you have further
instructions. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
W. Hoffman.
Letter from W. S. Rosecrans,
Brigadier-General, to Col. J. C. Kelton, July 13, 1862:
General Ord has sent some prisoners to me who are
described as wishing to be exchanged. If it be the order
of the commanding general that an exchange of only these
prisoners should be made, I will go to the trouble and
exchange, but if not, I desire orders to send them up
for transportation to Alton. W. S. Rosecrans.
Letter from J. M. Schofield,
Brigadier-General, Headquarters District of Missouri,
Saint Louis, to Col. John C. Kelton, Asst. Adjt. Gen.,
Dept of the Mississippi, Corinth, Miss., July 13, 1862:
There are in the military prisons of Saint Louis and
Alton several prisoners sent here from portions of the
department not in my command, chiefly from Arkansas,
Kentucky and Tennessee. They are not prisoners of war. I
am in doubt whether I have the same authority to dispose
of them as in case of prisoners take in my own district,
or whether they are simply to be held subject to orders
from the commanding officer of the district from which
they were sent, or of the commanding general of the
department. I respectfully request instructions on this
subject. I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient
servant, J. M. Schofield.
Letter from Ferd. E.
DeCourcy, First Lieut., Thirteenth U. S. Infantry, Actg.
Asst. Qmr., U. S. Army, to Col. William Hoffman,
Commissary-General of Prisoners, Detroit, Mich., July
24, 1862:
Requisition for clothing and camp and garrison equipage
for the use of the prisoners of war at Alton
Penitentiary, at Alton, Ill., for two months, commencing
August 1, 1862 and ending September 30, 1862:
Commissioned officers,
non-commissioned officers and privates' flannel
shirts:
Required, August 1, 1862
1,000
On hand, to be deducted
0
To be supplied
1,000
I certify that the above requisition is correct and the
articles are necessary for the public service, rendered
so by the following circumstances: For the use of the
prisoners of war at Alton, Ill.
Letter from W. Hoffman, Col,
Third Inftry, Commission-General of Prisoners, Detroit,
Mich., to General L. Thomas, Adj-General U. S. Army,
Washington, D. C., July 31, 1862:
I have the honor to inclose herewith a report of Maj. F.
F. Flint concerning the escape of thirty-six prisoners
of war from the military prison at Alton, Ill. Nothing
is said to show that all proper precautions were taken
to discover the preparation of the means of escape, nor
is it explained how so many men could pass so near the
sentinel without detection. Very respectfully, your
obedient servant, W. Hoffman.
Letter from F. F. Flint,
Major, Sixteenth Reg., Commanding at Alton, Ill., to
Col. William Hoffman, Detroit, Mich., July 26, 1862:
I regret to report the escape of some thirty-six
prisoners from this prison last night. They effected
their escape through a hole or long trench dug under the
wall on the west side and coming to the surface some six
or eight feet from it, and not far from the end of the
sentinel's post. The hole was first discovered by the
sentinel at daylight. A thorough examination was made of
the interior of the prison to find the opening on the
inside. No place in the vicinity of the wall could be
found. At length, upon examining the interior of the
buildings, sheds, &c., the opening was discovered on top
of an old pile of brick masonry, some twenty inches or
two feet beneath the roof of the shed, which has been
used as a washhouse by the prisoners. There was no dirt
or other indications of the digging visible on entering
the shed, and the hole was found by climbing upon the
masonry, where the dirt was packed away closely between
the top and the roof of the shed. The trench is some
fifty or sixty feet in length and must be several feet
below the surface to pass under the foundation of the
wall. The work has probably been progressing for many
weeks. Large knives were found at the outside hole,
which appear to have been used in digging through the
clay and loam. Among the prisoners who have escaped are
Colonel Magoffin and his two sons, Colonel Murrell and
Captain Sweeney, a one-armed man. I have sent out
several parties to scour the country in the vicinity
with the hope that some of them will be captured. Many
have undoubtedly crossed the river at this place, as
several skiffs are missing. I have telegraphed the
provost-marshal-general at Saint Louis and the
commanding officer at Saint Charles, Mo. I am, sir, very
respectfully, your obedient servant, F. F. Flint.
Letter from John Stirling,
Clerk to Commissary-General of Prisoners, Detroit,
Mich., to Maj. F. F. Flint, Commanding Alton Prison,
August 19, 1862:
By direction of Colonel Hoffman, commissary general of
prisoners, I send you today rolls of prisoners of war at
Alton to be used for the purpose of exchange. These
rolls are as full as the records received from you at
this office furnish the material, but from a return
received from Colonel Farrar, provost-marshal-general at
Saint Louis, it would appear that a number of prisoners
have been sent since July 19 from Saint Louis to Alton,
of which no particulars have been received at this
office. It will be necessary to add to the rolls sent to
you today those names which have been received since the
return and rolls you forwarded at the first of this
month. Very respectfully, John Stirling.
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Col., Third Infantry, Commissary-General of Prisoners,
Saint Louis, Mo., to Col. L. B. Parsons, Asst. Qtrmstr,
Supt. of Transportation, Saint Louis, Mo., September 2,
1862:
The Confederate prisoners of war at the military prison
at Alton and at Camp Butler are about being transferred
to Vicksburg, Miss., for exchange, and I have to request
you will direct the necessary transportation to be
provided by rail to Alton and thence by steamboat,
stopping at Cairo to Vicksburg. There will be about
3,000 in all, and they will take with them rations to
serve them to Cairo where their supplies will be
renewed. They will be divided into parties of 1,000
each, and at Cairo they will be delayed to collect
several boats together (other parties are moving from
Chicago) that they may have convoy beyond that point.
They will take cooked rations for as many days as
possible, but it will be necessary to make arrangements
with the boats to make their coffee and to allow some
cooking. The commanding officer at the above stations
will notify you when the prisoners will be ready to
leave. Very respectfully, W. Hoffman.
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Col., Third Infantry, Commissary-General of Prisoners,
Saint Louis, Mo., to Col. B. G. Farrar,
Provost-Marshal-General, Saint Louis, Mo., September 2,
1862:
The Confederate prisoners of war are about being
transferred from the military post at Alton to Vicksburg
for exchange, and I wish you would have those who are
confined in this city ready to join them as they pass
down the river. Let them take cooked rations to Cairo.
Arrangements will be made with the boat to make their
coffee. Prepare duplicate rolls to accompany them, which
will be handed to the officer in charge of the guard. If
there are any belonging to the Confederate Army who wish
to take the oath of allegiance, administer it to them
and discharge them. Take it in triplicate - one for the
man, one for your records, and one for this office. Send
a roll of those who take the oath to the
Adjutant-General at Washington, and one to me at
Detroit. The commanding officer at Alton will let you
know when the prisoners will leave that prison. Very
respectfully, W. Hoffman.
Letter from E. D. Townsend,
Asst. Adjutant-General, Washington, Special Order No.
207, August 26, 1862:
By direction of the President, a court of inquiry will
assemble at Alton, Ill., the 3d day of September 1862,
to inquire into the circumstances of the escape of
thirty-six prisoners of war from the military prison at
Alton, on or about the 25th day of July last. The court
will make a report and give an opinion in the matter,
and will consist of Maj. Edmund Underwood, Eighteenth U.
S. Infantry; Capt. Alfred Gibbs, Third U. S. Cavalry;
Capt. V. R. Hart, Nineteenth U. S. Infantry. The junior
member will act as recorder.
Proceedings of a court of
inquiry:
Alton, Illinois, September
3, 1862
The court met at 10 a.m., pursuant to the above order.
Present: Maj. Edmund Underwood, Eighteenth U. S.
Infantry; Capt. Alfred Gibbs, Third U. S. Cavalry; Capt.
V. K. Hart, Nineteenth U. S. Infantry, recorder of the
court of inquiry. The court then proceeded to the
business before it and was duly sworn by the recorder
and the recorder duly sworn by the president of the
court. The recorder here stated that his proper name was
V. K. Hart instead of V. R. Hart, and it was directed to
be so entered upon the minutes. The recorder requested
that the court would adjourn until the next day to allow
him time to prepare the case, summon his witnesses, &c.
The court then adjourned until the 4th instant at 9 a.m.
The court having ascertained that it was determined to
send the Thirteenth Regiment of Infantry on active
service the next morning at 9 a.m., reassembled at 2
p.m., and in view of the exigencies of service,
determined to reconvene at 8 p.m. on the same evening.
The court accordingly met at that hour, pursuant to
adjournment. Present: Maj. Edmund Underwood, Eighteenth
U. S. Infantry; Capt. Alfred Gibbs, Third U. S. Cavalry;
Capt. V. K. Hart, Nineteenth U. S. Infantry, and called
first Capt. Charles C. Smith, Thirteenth U. S. Infantry,
who being duly called and having heard the order read
was duly sworn by the judge advocate and testified as
follows:
About the morning of the
25th July last, I was informed that some of the
prisoners of war had escaped from the military
prison, among whom was Colonel Magoffin, under
sentence of death. I went up with another officer
whose name I do not recollect, to the rear of the
prison, whence we understood they had escaped. I saw
at the end of post No. 5, who is stationed at the
west end of the prison, a hole out of which I was
informed some prisoners had escaped, among whom was
Colonel Magoffin. The hole was just large enough for
the egress of a man, about four feet from the
outside of the wall. We went thence to the inside of
the prison proper to try and find out where the hole
was started. We searched the prison in what we
supposed to be the vicinity of the hole, the cells,
&c.; sounded the flag-stones and found nothing. We
then went outside the prison proper, but inside the
walls and were unsuccessful. Eight of the escaped
prisoners were afterwards recaptured.
Dorus E. Bates, first lieutenant, Thirteenth U. S.
Infantry, being duly sworn, deposes:
I was officer of the day
on or about 25th of July at the military prison.
There was nothing unusual happened to my knowledge
during the first part of the night. About 12 or 1
p.m. the sentinel on No. 5 gave the alarm; called
for corporal of the guard. I went around with the
corporal and the sentinel said - his beat is at the
end of an alley surrounded by a low fence - he saw
two men lying outside the end of the fence. He
challenged them and snapped his piece at them when
they escaped. I examined on the sentinel's post, but
found nothing. I remained at the guardhouse over
night, and next morning at daylight the sentinel
reported the fact of the hole (to the corporal) and
he to me. I placed a sentinel over the hole, but
could not find the entrance to the hole on the
inside before I was relieved, but kept searching for
it from daylight till guard-mount. I reported the
fact to the commander of the prison, Lieutenant
Irvine, as soon as I could have the rolls of the
prisoners called.
Javan B. Irvine, first lieutenant, Thirteenth
Infantry, being duly sworn, deposeth:
I was acting adjutant of
the military prison. I came up to the office on the
morning of the 25th of July about 7 a.m. and soon
after Lieutenant Bates, the officer of the day, came
in the office. I asked him if things were all right.
He said that they were bad; that a number of
prisoners had escaped and asked if I could tell him
how many. I told him not until the morning reports
were brought in. I asked him how and where they
escaped. He said he could show me the hole where
they came out but that was all. I went and looked at
the hole outside. I thought they must have raised a
flag-stone in the corridor and dug under the wall,
as they had once before done in May. I examined the
location and found that it was untouched and
remained as before. When the rolls came in, I took
down the names of the absent. The chief of Colonel
Magoffin's squad reported him missing. I was much
surprised and ordered the officer of the day to take
the key to Colonel Magoffin's room and go and see if
he were there. He went up and came back and reported
him missing, and reported that the padlock to
Colonel Magoffin's room was unlocked, but was shut
too and seemed to be locked. After I had gotten
about twenty-eight names, I gave them to the
commanding officer. He ordered me to go and try and
discover the entrance to the hole. I did so, and
after looking at the hole on the outside, I took the
range to find the entrance. We went round to the
rear of the prison where there was a range of ovens
covered with a shed, with a roof sloping from front
to rear, about eighteen inches or a foot from the
top of the oven in rear. There was a space of five
or six feet in front of the ovens where the
prisoners washed their clothes. After looking both
front and rear and finding nothing, Lieutenant
Griffin stepped up on a bench and looked up and
said, "Here's the place." We then got up on top the
oven and found the entrance to the excavation they
had made. A hole had been cut down through one oven
and the dirt thrown on top the two. The ovens had
never been used for the prisoners. We could find no
other trace of where the earth had been placed that
was taken out. I examined the main excavation and
found that the diameter was about eighteen inches.
The commanding officer ordered the ovens to be
demolished and the trench filled up. The wall is at
least twenty-five feet high and at least three feet
thick at bottom. The hole was cut through this wall
underground and the stones carried out.
First Lieut. Justus A. Boies, Thirteenth Infantry, being
duly sworn deposed:
Am in charge of
prisoners of war at the military prison. On learning
that the prisoners had escaped, I took a lantern and
went through the whole of the prison with the
provost-marshal; examined the corridors, &c. I then
went round to the ovens and the wash rooms in front
finding nothing. I went back to where the excavation
had been attempted once before, but found nothing. I
had frequently before examined the prison ovens, but
had not got up on top until the hole was discovered
by Lieutenant Griffin. In the top was found one of
the police spades, some of the old clothes they had
used in digging, and much soiled. I used regularly
to inspect for the police of my command. It was
extremely dark that night, and having been a good
deal of rain, was cloudy.
First Lieutenant
Griffin, Thirteenth U. S. Infantry, being duly
sworn, deposeth:
The morning after the
prisoners escaped, when I heard how many had
escaped, I was astonished and asked the officers if
they knew how they had gotten out. They said not. In
searching the washroom, I saw that the prisoners
were astonished. That made me think I had hit the
place. I then jumped up on the wash bench in front
of the ovens. As soon as I did that, I saw a spade
and some old clothes and some caps. I then jumped up
and went in. To get in, I had to crawl, when I
discovered the hole where they went in. I was the
first person who discovered the hole. They dug at
least forty-five feet, to the best of my knowledge.
Maj. F. F. Flint,
Sixteenth Infantry, being duly sworn, deposed:
The guard on the morning
the prisoners escaped was about thirty-six men. The
number of prisoners was about 500 or 600. I
considered the guard sufficient as I knew the
convicts were guarded by a much smaller force. The
guard I had mounted was the same as that I found
when I assumed command, with about the same number
of prisoners. We estimated the distance burrowed
underground was about sixty feet. I do not think
that any assistance was afforded them in escaping by
working from the outside. The work was cut with
large knives, some of which were found outside the
hole. These knives were probably taken from the mess
kitchen. They are not allowed to carry anything of
the kind. There was a complete chain of sentinels
round the inside through the main prison and one on
the outside, where an attempt had been made to cut
the bars. This was the sentinel who first discovered
the hole. The prisoners had several times before
attempted to burrow out, and I had every precaution
taken to prevent it. The whole prison had been twice
inspected before the day the prisoner escaped by two
different officers.
Private Moses Peirce
[Pierce], Company B, Thirteenth U. S. Infantry:
I was on No. 5 post on
the outside of the military prison on the night the
prisoners escaped. Between 10 and 12 p.m. I heard a
noise at the upper end of my beat, and going down to
see what it was, I found a lot of cows. I could not
drive them off and they stayed there. This was where
the hole was afterwards found. While I was on post
between 4 and 6 a.m., about daylight I discovered
the hole about four feet outside my post. I then
called for the corporal of the guard. No one could
have passed out while I was on post the last time.
There being no further evidence to produce, the court
was then closed, and after a careful and minute
inspection of the premises, the grounds and the manner
in which the escape was made in company with the
officers above named, the court find the following to be
the facts:
That for some weeks prior to the escape of the prisoners
of war from the military prison at Alton, Ill., a
complete organization existed among them to escape,
carried out in the most secret manner and with wonderful
determination and fortitude. Ascending to the top of one
of the brick ovens, crawling through a place scarcely
large enough to admit a man, they first cut through the
brick archway of an oven, then through the masonry bed
to the depth of at least eight feet, placing the debris
in the vacant space round the oven, or else carrying off
the pieces and scattering and concealing them elsewhere.
Thence at a distance of three feet under ground, with a
spade and knives, they burrowed in ground full of
limestone rock and pebbles a distance of fifty feet an
excavation of about eighteen inches diameter, packing
the removed earth and stones to the depth of about two
feet on top of and behind the other ovens, securely
concealed from view by the shed that covered the others.
They then cut through the solid limestone wall under
ground, and awaiting a dark and cloudy night made their
escape one by one. From the examination of the
localities, it is easy to see how they should have
escaped the notice of the sentinel near the end of whose
post they emerged from the prison yard. The place he was
principally directed to guard was at the other end of
his post and his attention was principally called to
that. Taking advantage of this after the excavation was
made, all else was easy, and it is only to be wondered
at that more did not escape under the circumstances. On
examination of the place of confinement of Colonel
Magoffin, it was found that he occupied a room upstairs,
being sick. A sentinel was placed over him in front, and
the exit for necessary purposes was guarded by an iron
door fastened by a padlock, opening into the prisoners'
corridor. It was evident to the court that he escaped
from his cell by the picking of this padlock by
prisoners from the outside. Under these circumstances
the court came to the following opinion:
That the escape of the prisoners of war at the military
prison at Alton, Ill., on the night of 24th of July
last, was due to dereliction of duty, but to whom the
court is unable to say from the evidence before them.
Blame necessarily attaches to the officer of the day who
when the corporal of the guard was called, did not go to
the end of the post to examine further; but as that
officer, Lieutenant Bates, has been but little more than
a month in service, his laxity has some palliation. It
certainly appears that the cell of Colonel Magoffin was
insecurely guarded, inasmuch as the only exit from it
was fastened by a padlock and opened into a corridor in
which the prisoners had free access.
The court does not attach any culpability to Maj. F. F.
Flint, Sixteenth Infantry, as from the continued press
of business upon him, he was unable to give his full
attention to the prison and was necessarily obliged to
rely upon subordinates of short service and
inexperience. Ed. Underwood, Major, U. S. Army,
President, and V. K. Hart, Captain, Nineteenth Infantry,
Recorder of Court.
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Colonel, Third Infantry, Commission General of
Prisoners, Detroit, Mich., to Col. Jesse Hildebrand,
Commanding Prison at Alton., Ill., September 29, 1862:
Your letter of the 25th is received, and in reply to
your inquiries I have to say that my instruction of the
23d require you to discharge only those prisoners who
now belong to the Confederate Army, and who were in that
service when they were made prisoners of war. This, of
course, does not include any other class of prisoners -
no irregulars or State troops, nor citizens. Those only
are Confederate prisoners of war who are so designated
on your rolls and they are to be sent to Cairo for
exchange or discharged on taking the oath of allegiance.
W. Hoffman.
Letter from J. Hildebrand,
Colonel, Commanding Post at Alton, Ill., to Col. William
Hoffman, October 13, 1862:
The provost marshal general at Saint Louis, Mo., claims
entire control of not only the military force there, but
also the prison, and frequently sends orders to me to
admit ladies and gentlemen into the prison to see their
friends. He also orders me to make out the same rolls
and returns that you require. He wants returns made to
him every two weeks. Now, to undertake to live and act
under the rulings of two masters is more than I
contracted for, and more than I am willing to submit to.
When their orders conflict, everything is deranged
thereby. Please give this subject your immediate
attention and much oblige, J. Hildebrand.
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Colonel, Third Infantry, Commissary-General of
Prisoners, to Col. Thomas T. Gantt, Provost Marshal
General, Saint Louis, Mo., October 13, 1862:
I am informed by the commanding officer of the military
prison at Alton that he receives orders from you in
relation to his duties which are in conflict with those
which I have given him, and to avoid embarrassment from
contradictory orders and to promote the interest of the
service, which should be our first consideration, I wish
to call your attention to the orders from the War
Department, No. 32, of April 2, and No. 67, of June 17,
placing all prison camps or stations under my control,
and my circular of regulations of July 7, which I have
furnished to commanders of posts where prisoners are
held, and which I have directed to be closely adhered
to. Paragraph 12 of General Orders 32 says that my
duties do not extend to prisoners of state, but since
that time the charge of all political prisoners has been
placed in my hands. As far as practicable, it is
desirable that only such prisoners be sent to Alton as
will probably remain in custody some time, for under my
instructions none can be released from there without the
authority of the War Department. If this is not
practicable in your department, I wish you would make
such suggestions to meet the case as you may think
proper, and I will lay them before the Secretary of War.
The Gratiot Street Prison should be used for casual
prisoners and for such as have their cases under
investigation. All military prisoners should be sent to
Alton. In every case where prisoners are sent to Alton,
a full list should accompany them, giving all the
details required by the printed rolls with the charges
or sentences under the head of remarks. It is reported
to me that prisoners are sometimes received without even
a roll. Prisoners should be sent up to arrive during the
daytime, if possible. Visitors to prisoners are
prohibited, except under specified circumstances, and I
request you will give no permit for that purpose. The
admission of visitors to the prison is attended with
much inconvenience and leads to lax discipline. Very
respectfully, W. Hoffman.
Letter from Thos. T. Gantt,
Provost Marshal General, Saint Louis, to Maj. H. Z.
Curtis, Assit. Adjutant General, October 15, 1862:
I addressed Major General Curtis on the 13th instant on
the subject of the indefiniteness of the powers and
duties of the provost marshal general. The inclosed
letter from the commissary general of prisoners shows a
very inconvenient conflict between his authority and
mine, and illustrates the necessity of a definition of
doubtful powers. If there be anything which is essential
to the due administration of this office, it is the
control of the military prisoners within the district. I
cannot perceive how I can exercise any authority over
the prison at Gratiot street if I have no power over
that at Alton. Both are equally within my district.
Alton is as much within the Department of the Missouri
as is Saint Louis. There are many prisoners at Alton who
will be discharged on parole and bond - some on parole
alone and some unconditionally - as soon as their cases
can be reached and examined. If these persons are to be
retained until the Secretary of War can examine into the
cause of their detention, their case is very pitiable.
Under these circumstances, I solicit instruction from
the major general commanding as to the authority I may
exercise over the Alton Military Prison. I have the
honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Thos. T. Gantt.
Letter from Thos. T. Gantt,
Provost Marshal General, Saint Louis, to Col. William
Hoffman, Commissary General of Prisoners, Detroit,
Mich., October 15, 1862:
I have just received your letter of 13th instant. The
view you take of the control of the prisons within this
district will lead to much inconvenience. I have not
been furnished with the orders you mention from the War
Department, and was not aware of them, but an order
issued by Major General Halleck in July last expressly
placed all the military prisons within this district
under charge of this office. This district then included
Alton, as it still does. The same rule which would
exclude me from control of the Alton Military Prison
would deprive me of all authority over the Gratiot
Street Military Prison. There are now at Alton a number
of prisoners sent there merely because of the
overcrowded condition of the Gratiot Street Prison. As
fast as I can, I examine into the evidence against these
persons and in many instances find no cause for
detaining them, if they will give their parole and bond
for future good behavior. To detain these prisoners
until the War Department can act upon their cases will
be the occasion of very disproportioned imprisonment.
In no case have prisoners been sent to Alton from this
office without a full list setting forth the charge and
evidence, but numbers have been sent from Tennessee,
Kentucky and Arkansas directly in which as I learn this
has been neglected. I speak of this office only since it
has been under my charge. Of course, if it be determined
that the Alton Prison is not under my control, no
further permits to visit it will be given by this
office. On this head I shall seek the instructions of
the major general commanding the department, which
includes Alton. Very respectfully, your obedient
servant, Thos. T. Gantt.
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Colonel Third Infantry, Commissary General of Prisoners,
Washington, D.C., to Col. Thomas T. Gantt, Prov. Mar.
Gen. Dist., October 29, 1862:
Your letters of the 15th and 18th are received. To
obviate the inconvenience which would arise from your
not having authority to release prisoners from the Alton
Prison I will direct the commanding officer to release
on your order all such as may have been sent there by
you on charges, which on investigation prove to be
informal. To prevent the necessity of sending up
prisoners whose cases have not been decided on, I wish
as far as practicable, you would hold such prisoners at
the Gratiot Street Prison until a decision is had, and
then if they are not to be released, send them to Alton.
That this prison may not be so much crowded, I will
direct that prisoners be transferred from time to time
from there to the depot at Sandusky. I inclose herewith
Orders No. 142, announcing the cartel. You will perceive
that by the supplementary article prisoners of war are
to be sent with all reasonable dispatch (in the West) to
Vicksburg, where they will be exchanged or paroled. I
have already given orders for them to be sent from Alton
from time to time as the numbers justify it to Cairo,
where the commanding officer is directed to take charge
of them and forward them, and I wish you would send any
that may now be at the Gratiot Street Prison, or that
you may have in charge hereafter, to that point with
full rolls. I would not send less than ten at a time. A
larger number would be better. It is the direction of
the Secretary of War [illegible] Alton Prison.
Very respectfully, W. Hoffman.
Letter from J. Hildebrand,
Colonel, Commanding Alton Prison, to Col. W. Hoffman,
Commissary General of Prisoners, November 19, 1862:
Captain Freedley is here and informs me that I should
not release any prisoner by order of General U. S.
Grant, nor any provost marshal general, but make all
releases upon your standing or special order. And he has
advised me to write and ask you for such letter of
instruction, which I hope you will forward me as soon as
practicable and much oblige. J. Hilderbrand.
Letter from H. W. Freedley,
Captain, Alton, Ill., to Col. William Hoffman,
Washington, D. C., November 19, 1862:
Your letter of the 13th instant, today's telegram and
telegram of yesterday to Colonel Hildebrand, were all
received today. If the transportation is furnished, the
prisoners will be forwarded to Cairo on the morning of
the 21st instant. It requires some time to correctly
make out the rolls and to investigate their claims for
exchange. The rolls here are so obviously incorrect that
they are but little indication of the character of the
prisoners. Prison affairs here [Alton] are much complicated. It
will require time for investigation and to fully enforce
your instructions. If I had the authority, I would
assume the temporary command of the prison and would
soon enforce the reforms you desire. As I have neither
the rank, nor the position in your department, but
merely your agent, I cannot act but by your authority
and through the prison commander. While Colonel
Hildebrand apparently does all in his power, you cannot
imagine how provokingly tedious my instructions are
carried out, and the information I require is obtained.
Every direction I give I must personally enforce. All
information I require must be drawn out. There has been
a complete want of system, method and organization in
everything that relates to prison affairs. None of the
officers fully understand their duties and obligations. It appears that General Grant as well as General Curtis
has released and paroled prisoners here without your
authority or knowledge, and in opposition to your
regulations and oft-repeated instructions. With the
orders of the War Department, the circular from your
office, and your letters before him, the commanding
officer pleads want of information as his excuse. I am
investigating this matter and will inform you fully
tomorrow. Captain Mason, late adjutant, has been promoted to
major, for what peculiar merit I am unable to
understand. He has charge of money accounts, returns,
rolls, &c., and every return sent to your office has
been sent back for correction. He is now absent with
detachment of prisoners sent to Sandusky, and everything
in his office is in such confusion that I will be unable
to correct September and October returns until his
return to this post. He is expected back tomorrow. The
One hundred and twenty-sixth Illinois Volunteers,
stationed here, have been ordered South. Their services
are not required here. I am, colonel, very respectfully,
your obedient servant, H. W. Freedley.
H. W. Freedley, Captain,
Third Infantry, Alton, Ill., to Col. William Hoffman,
Washington D. C., November 20, 1862:
On Sunday night the prisoners set fire to the military
prison, but the building was but very slightly damaged.
During the night, which was exceptionally dark, four
prisoners escaped. They procured a wooden ladder and
reached the top of the wall and lowered themselves by
means of a rope ladder made of bedding. Culpable neglect
is shown by allowing a ladder to remain in the prison;
want of vigilance in the sentinels in allowing the
prisoners to lower themselves down within a few feet of
the post. If they could not have seen, they should have
heard them. General neglect is shown by the authorities
not being able to ascertain the names and number of
prisoners who escaped until several hours after their
escape was known. I inclose herewith a scrap from the
Alton Telegraph relating to their escape. Very
respectfully, your obedient servant, H. W. Freedley.
Today J. B. Paxton was
paroled from the military prison and ordered to
report to Col. J. G. Lane, at Wellsville, Mo.
Last night, about 11 o'clock, the room north of the
prison hospital was discovered to be on fire. The
room was used only to hold straw and must have been
set on fire, as there was no fire used in it. The
Alton fire engine was promptly on the ground and
extinguished the flames before much damage was done.
This morning about 6 o'clock this same room was
discovered to be on fire, but the flames were
immediately stopped. some time during the night
several prisoners (it is not known how many) made
their escape from the prison by the use of a ladder
and bed clothes torn into strips and made into a
rope. They passed over the south wall just west of
the big gate entrance by ascending the ladder and
letting themselves down by the clothes rope by tying
a stone to one end, throwing it over the walls, thus
making an easy and quick means of escape. There are
stationed here not less than 1,300 U. S. troops as
guards and there are but 522 prisoners in the
prison. We presume, indeed we know, that the
officers attached to the regiments are thoroughly
competent for their position, but we submit that
there is gross negligence somewhere; for prisoners
to have or get ladders and climb over prison walls
within ten steps of a sentinel certainly argues a
laxity of discipline which demands instant reform.
This is not the first nor second escape, but we hope
it will be the last. Alton
Telegraph.
Letter from Wm. S. Pierson,
Major Hoffman's Battalion, Sandusky, Ohio, to Col. W.
Hoffman, Commissary General of Prisoners, November 26,
1862:
I send you by this day's mail the roll of prisoners from
Alton......There was a guard of over 200 men came from
Alton. It will make a very heavy item if all [is] paid
at this post. Those prisoners from Alton were in
wretched condition. About fifty had to go to the
hospital at once, and without stopping to be accurate I
should think eight or ten have died, more than usual for
two months. Most of the deaths at this post have been of
those who came here to die, and would have died very
soon anywhere. Very respectfully, Wm. S. Pierson
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Colonel, Third Infantry, Washington D. C. to General S.
R. Curtis, Saint Louis, Mo., November 28, 1862:
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your
favor of the 22d instant yesterday. By the same mail I
received reports from my assistant, Capt. H. W. Freedley,
U. S. Army, who had been ordered to make an examination
into the state of affairs at the Alton Prison, which
represented the place in such an utter state of
confusion and disorder that I thought it absolutely
necessary to apply to the Secretary of War to have him
placed in command. I telegraphed to you today to this
effect and requested you to detail a guard of 300 or 400
men with no officer of higher rank than captain, so that
there would be no conflict of authority. The captain is
an energetic and reliable officer and you may rest
assured that the command will be well disciplined and
the prisoners well guarded and well cared for. Colonel
Hildebrand means well, I dare say, but he is wanting in
many things essential to such a command. Very
respectfully, W. Hoffman.
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Commissary General of Prisoners, Washington, to Capt. H.
W. Freedley, Indianapolis, Ind., November 28, 1862:
After performing the duty assigned to you at
Indianapolis, proceed to Alton and relieve Colonel
Hildebrand in the command of the military prison.
General Curtis will detail a guard. By order of the
Secretary of War, W. Hoffman.
Letter from Confederate
Officers held at Alton Military Prison, to General S.
Price, Commanding 1rst Division, C. S. Army, July 1,
1862:
We, the undersigned, members of the C. S. military corps
and citizens of the Confederate States of America,
respectfully ask through our Government to immediately
consider separately and collectively our situations as
prisoners of war, now held as criminals by the United
States Government and incarcerated in the Alton
Penitentiary for executing the orders of the Confederate
Government as directed by her commissioned officers. Our
treatment by the Federal authorities is and has been of
such a nature that we deem it absolutely necessary to
appeal to our Government to throw around us her
safeguard and relieve us from the horrors of a long
imprisonment and the execution of our sentences.
Subjected to great indignity, basely insulted by
fiendish outlaws, tortured by threats of death and
punished with a felon's decree, by being shut up in a
cell day and night for boldly assisting the Government
we love in resisting the encroachments of a
blood-thirsty mobocracy - after undergoing this fiery
ordeal we firmly believe we merit from the Confederate
States Government her fullest protection and that
cognizance should be taken of our cases at the earliest
possible moment. With the earnestness of much wronged
citizens and soldiers, we append to this the names of
Absalom Hicks, Captain; John C. Tompkins, James W.
Barnes, Jas. P Snedicor, Captain Recruits; T. M. Smith,
A. R. Tompkins, Lieutenants; George H. Cunningham, R. B.
Crowder, Matthew Thompson, Captain Recruits; Henry V.
Willing, Lieutenant; Owen C. Hickam, Thos. S. Foster,
Surgeon in Harris' Division, Missouri State Guard; John
W. Owen, James Stout, William J. Forshey, and John
Patton, Recruits
*************************************************
Source: The War of the
Rebellion, A Compilation of the Official Records of the
Union and Confederate Armies by the U. S. War
Department, Series II, Vol. VI, 1899
(Not in Copyright)
Letter from T. Hendrickson,
Major, Third Infantry, Commanding Alton Prison, to Col.
W. Hoffman, Commissary-General of Prisoners, Washington,
D. C., July 1, 1863:
I regret that I am obliged to report that the smallpox
still prevails to a considerable extent in this prison,
and will, I fear, continue to do so so long as new
subjects for it to work upon are sent here for
confinement. The usual preventive against the spreading
of this disease - vaccination - has been extensively
resorted to by the prison physician, but without the
effect thus far to rid this prison entirely of this
disease. There is but one way which at this time
presents itself to me by which we can hope to be rid of
this loathsome disease soon, and that is by not sending
here any more prisoners for a month or so, by which time
we will perhaps have gotten entirely rid of it. I have
the honor to be, sir, with much respect, your most
obedient servant, T. Hendrickson.
Letter from Jos. R. Smith,
Acting Surgeon-General (above letter referred to
surgeon-general for suggestions, July 8, 1863):
I recommend that this communication be referred to the
assistant surgeon-general at Saint Louis with the
request that he cause the proper steps to be taken to
put a stop to this disease in the Alton prison by
vaccination, cleanliness, isolation, and such other
means as his immediate presence or vicinity may suggest.
I am of the impression that isolation may be
accomplished without necessarily ceasing to send
inmates. In any event, the assistant surgeon general
would be able to act more understandingly in the matter
as to details to be pursued than any one at a distance.
If the Commissary General of Prisoners should desire it,
orders in the case will be issued from this office. Jos.
R. Smith.
Letter from T. Hendrickson,
Major, Third Infantry, Commanding Alton Prison, to Col.
W. Hoffman, Commissary-General of Prisoners, Washington,
D. C., July 13, 1863:
I have the honor to report that seventy-nine prisoners
of war, including four commissioned officers, were
received here yesterday from Memphis, Tenn. Rolls of
these men will be forwarded as soon as they can be
prepared. We have now in this prison about 1,500
prisoners, a number far too great for comfortable
accommodation during the warm weather. In reference to
this subject, the following is an extract from the
report of the medical inspector who inspected this
prison on the 29th of May last:
That the capacity of the
prison be considered as not greater than 1,000 and that
not more than that number be confined at one time.
I have the honor to be, sir, with much respect, your
most obedient servant, T. Hendrickson.
Letter from T. Hendrickson,
Major, Third Infantry, Commanding Alton Prison, to Col.
W. B. Mason, Seventy seventh Ohio Volunteers, Alton,
July 19, 1863:
I have information from a reliable source that the
Confederate prisoners confined in this prison have it in
contemplation upon the first favorable opportunity some
dark night to attempt their escape by overpowering the
guard or by some other means which may appear to them
most feasible. To guard against the possible success of
any such scheme on the part of the prisoners, I have to
suggest that the prison guard may be increased by the
addition of one subaltern and twenty-five men, to report
to the officer of the day at sundown this evening, and
that this increase to the guard may be continued so long
as the prison is full, as it is at present. I am your
most obedient servant, T. Hendrickson.
Letter from T. Hendrickson,
Major, Third Infantry, Commanding Alton Prison, to Col.
W. Hoffman, Commissary General of Prisoners, July 26,
1863:
I have the honor to report that 768 Confederate
prisoners of war from Vicksburg and points above arrived
here this morning, but on account of the crowded state
of the prison at this time, we could not receive them.
They were sent to Saint Louis to be provided for by the
provost marshal general of Missouri at that city. The
number of prisoners confined here is over 1,400. Two of
the female prisoners, Mrs. Nicholson and Mrs. Hyde, were
released today, the former by an order from Brigadier
General Hurlbut, commanding at Memphis, Tenn., remitting
unexpired sentence, and the latter by parole to
Nashville, Tenn., by order of General Rosecrans. I have
the honor to be, sir, with much respect, your most
obedient servant, T. Hendrickson.
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Commissary General of Prisoners, Washington, to Maj.
Gen. J. M. Schofield, July 29, 1863:
The surgeon recommends that no more than 1,000 prisoners
be held at Alton prison at one time. Prisoners of war
are not to be forwarded to City Point without order from
the War Department. W. Hoffman.
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Commissary General of Prisoners, Washington, to Maj.
Gen. J. M. Schofield, Commanding Saint Louis, Mo., July
29, 1863:
The General in Chief has directed that all rebel officer
prisoners of war be confined at the depot on Johnson's
Island, near Sandusky, and I have the honor to request
that you will order to that point any now at or who may
arrive at Saint Louis or Alton, provided it can be done
without danger of carrying the smallpox with them. Under
existing orders, medical officers and chaplains are to
be sent beyond our lines and unconditionally released,
but at this time the order is suspended, and I have
therefore to request you will detain until further
orders at Saint Louis or Alton any who may now be held
at either of those place. W. Hoffman.
Letter from T. Hendrickson,
Major, Third Infantry, Commanding Alton Prison, to Col.
W. Hoffman, Commissary General of Prisoners, August 9,
1863:
I received your telegraphic dispatch of the 6th in
relation to cost of building and lease of lot for
smallpox hospital at this place in due time, and would
have replied to it sooner, only that it was not known
till yesterday whether we could get a place within a
reasonable distance of the prison to locate the
establishment. I have not made an estimate of the cost
of the building like that suggested by me for the reason
that it has been decided by the Surgeon General of the
Army, who has sent instructions to that effect to the
officers of his department at Saint Louis, that hospital
tents shall be used for the purpose of a smallpox
hospital at this place. Requisitions have been already
sent to the quartermaster's department for these tents,
and so soon as received they will be put up on the
ground selected, and the hospital put into operation as
soon after as possible. We have had great difficulty in
getting a place within a reasonable distance of the
prison and suitable in all respects to locate the
hospital. Persons owning land and living in the vicinity
of Alton are strongly opposed to having an establishment
of the kind on or near their premises, hence our delay
in a great measure in getting the hospital established.
A position has, however, been selected in a wood near a
good spring of water, about two miles from town, to
which place I hope to have all the smallpox cases
removed in the course of the present week. I have made
contracts for medical attendance on the sick of the
prison with two physicians of Alton, in compliance with
Doctor Keeney's recommendation. I have the honor to be,
sir, with much respect, your most obedient servant, T.
Hendrickson.
Letter from J. M. Schofield,
Major General, Saint Louis, Mo., to Col. William
Hoffman, Commissary General of Prisoners, Washington, D.
C., August 21, 1863:
A few days ago I learned that Colonel Kincaid, who
succeeded Major Hendrickson in command of the Alton
prison, was releasing considerable numbers of prisoners
of war on their taking the oath and giving bond. I at
once telegraphed him to stop it and to report by what
authority it was done. I inclose for your information a
copy of his reply received yesterday. No authority for
this action of Major Hendrickson can be found among the
papers left at the prison nor at these headquarters. I
have sent an officer to make a thorough inspection of
the Alton prison, and will send you a copy of his report
when made. I think it important that a competent and
reliable officer be assigned as permanent commander of
that prison as soon as practicable. J. M. Schofield.
Letter from G. W. Kincaid,
Commanding Alton Prison, to Major General Schofield,
Saint Louis, Mo., August 19, 1863:
In answer to your telegram of the 15th instant,
inquiring by what authority I was discharging prisoners
of war, I have to reply that I was governed wholly by
the instructions of my predecessor (Major Hendrickson).
He informed me that there was an order to that effect,
and he also turned over to me a large number of blanks
prepared, and also a list of over 100 names of persons
who had applied to take the oath. He also advised me to
receive no more applications until I had disposed of the
list referred to. I find also by the books and papers in
this office, that my predecessor had discharged in the
month of May last, sixty persons on oath. In the month
of June, sixty two were discharged. In the month of
July, 120, and from the 1st to the 9th of August,
fifteen were discharged. From the 9th to the 15th, the
day I received your telegram, I had discharged about
thirty five persons, some of which were by order of the
Secretary of War. Supposing that Major Hendrickson was
acting agreeably to orders and seeing no orders to the
contrary, I, in accordance with Major Hendrickson's
instructions, proceeded to discharge those and those
only who in my opinion, were sincere in taking the oath.
I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
G. W. Kincaid.
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Colonel, Third Infantry and Commissary General of
Prisoners, Washington D. C., to Brig. Gen. J. M.
Schofield, Saint Louis, Mo., August 27, 1863:
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 21st instant relative to the discharge of
prisoners of war at the Alton prison. On examining the
records of this office, I find that instructions were
given in February last to release prisoners of war on
their taking the oath of allegiance in good faith. These
instructions were countermanded in May, but I do not
find anything to show that the countermanding order was
sent to your headquarters or to Alton, and it is
probable that through an oversight it was never
forwarded. This will account for the action of Major
Hendrickson in this matter. Very respectfully, W.
Hoffman.
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Colonel, Third Infantry and Commissary General of
Prisoners, Washington D. C., to Lieut. Col. J. O.
Broadhead, Saint Louis, Mo., September 7, 1863:
Your letter of the 30th in relation to the disposal of
prisoners is received, and in reply I have to direct
that whenever you have more prisoners to dispose of than
can be provided for in Saint Louis or at Alton, you will
please report to me and I will direct to what place they
shall be ordered. There should be at no time more than
1,000 prisoners at the Alton prison. Very respectfully,
your obedient servant, W. Hoffman.
Letter from G. W. Kincaid,
Colonel, Commanding Alton Prison, to Major General
Schofield, Saint Louis, Mo., September 7, 1863:
I would respectfully represent that there are some eight
or ten rebel officers now in this prison, including
Jeff. Thompson; that there is no way to prevent the
great body of the prisoners from associating with them
unless they are placed in close confinement. They have a
powerful influence over the mass of rebel prisoners with
whom they necessarily mix. They may make a concerted
attack on the guard under their directions. I would
respectfully suggest whether it would not be best to
have them taken to Johnson's Island, as this can now be
done without danger of carrying the smallpox with them.
Very respectfully, G. W. Kincaid.
Letter from Jas. O.
Broadhead, Provost Marshal General, Saint Louis, Mo., to
Col. William Hoffman, Commissary General of Prisoners,
Washington D. C., September 11, 1863:
In answer to that portion of your favor of the 7th
instant in relation to the Alton prison, I have to say
that I have not the entire control of that prison. We
have no regular official information as to the number of
prisoners there. At this time, I have before me a copy
of a report of an inspection made by an officer
appointed by the commanding general of this department
to make inspection of the Alton prison, and find from
his report that there are now 1,316 prisoners at Alton.
Unless reports from the Alton prison come through this
office, I cannot be informed of the number of prisoners
on hand at that prison. I would most respectfully
suggest that the Alton prison be used only as a prison
for convicts for this and other departments of the
Mississippi Valley, and that it be placed exclusively
under the control of the provost marshal general of this
department, and that all the business of the prison pass
through this office.
I find that quite a number of prisoners are now in the
Alton prison serving out sentence from some other
department. Lately, a number of these prisoners have
made application to be discharged, on the ground that
their term of imprisonment has expired. I can take no
action in these cases, as they never pass through this
office. In this way, a great many are kept in prison for
a long time and neglected. I most respectfully call your
attention to the above suggestion. Very respectfully,
Jas. O. Broadhead.
Letter from Wm. S. Pierson,
Lt. Col, Hoffman's Battalion, Sandusky, Ohio, to Col.
William Hoffman, Washington, D. C., October 17, 1863:
The smallpox has been brought here by prisoners three
times; twice from Alton. Cases well developed have been
in the ranks when prisoners arrived, though I suppose
not so on leaving Alton. Hitherto it has been kept
under, but is increasing now. There are seven cases in
the pest house. There is much alarm in the prison, and
cunning men in there are pretending to be more alarmed
than they are. It is one way on the part of desperate
men to urge on desperate attempts. I have directed the
doctor to do everything in the way of purification; also
to have every prisoner vaccinated as soon as possible,
and to move out cases as soon as the disease is
detected. Of course, it is a bad disease in such a
crowd. Very respectfully, Wm. S. Pierson.
Letter & Report from A. M.
Clark, Surgeon & Acting Medical Inspector, Saint Louis,
Mo., to Col. W. Hoffman, Washington D. C., October 17,
1863:
I have the honor to transmit herewith my report of
inspection of the U. S. military prison at Alton, Ill. I
am now engaged inspecting the prison hospitals at this
place, and shall leave for Indianapolis, Ind., on the
20th instant. Very respectfully, A. M. Clark.
Surgeon in charge -
Actg. Asst. Surg. H. Williams.
Location - on a
limestone bluff on left bank of Mississippi River at
northern border of the city of Alton, Ill.
Vicinage - south, city;
west, Mississippi River; north and east, limestone
hills.
Drainage - very good,
drains kept in good order, lead into main sewer
emptying into river.
Buildings - formerly
used as State prison workshops.
Wards - two in number,
besides a small shanty used as a smallpox hospital,
on the northern end of a small island in the river
opposite the prison.
Capacity - for 100
patients.
Patients, number of -
114.
Patients, condition of -
very good, although the wards are overcrowded.
Ventilation - very good,
by side windows in each ward.
Warming - sufficient, by
stoves.
Lighting - lamps, coal
oil.
Lavatories and baths -
sufficient and in good order.
Water supply - water
brought from river in casks; one well in prison but
water not good.
Sewerage - sufficient
and well attended to.
Latrines and sinks -
sufficient in number, well constructed, well
policed, and well disinfected.
Excreta, removal of -
carried off by a drain connecting with main sewer.
Furniture and utensils -
sufficient in quantity and in good order, except
bedsteads, which are of wood.
Bedding - sufficient and
clean.
Kitchen - in good order
and well policed.
Kitchen utensils -
sufficient and well kept.
Cooks - prisoners,
duties well performed.
Cooking and serving -
daily inspected by surgeon in charge.
Diet, quality of - good.
Diet, variety of -
according to U. S. Army hospital diet table.
Means of supply -
through commissary and by purchase from hospital
fund.
Diet tables - U. S. Army
hospital diet table.
Storeroom - small and
close, no means of ventilation, but clean and well
kept; not sufficient room.
Dispensary - well kept.
Instruments and
medicines - sufficient supply and in good order.
Compounding and
dispensing - by a hospital steward said by the
surgeon in charge to be competent.
Hospital stores and
comforts - sufficient in quantity and same as U. S.
Army general hospital; obtained on requisition from
medical purveyor.
Hospital records - very
well kept.
Hospital accounts -
everything accounted for as in U. S. Army general
hospital.
Hospital fund - none on
hand; has been expended for use of the sick.
Hospital clothing -
sufficient, obtained on requisition from medical
purveyor.
Reports - well attended
to, except report of deaths to Commissary General of
Prisoners.
Laundresses and laundry
- no laundry attached to prison, clothing and
bedding washed outside by laundresses paid from
hospital fund.
Repairs - none
apparently needed at present; a new floor has been
recently laid in one of the wards.
Alterations and
additions - should be additional accommodations for
twenty-five patients provided.
Medical attendance -
competent but insufficient; an additional medical
officer is needed.
Discipline and police -
discipline not as strict as it should be; police
very good.
Nurses - men, prisoners.
Operating rooms - none
provided, operations seldom required.
Post-mortem rooms and
dead houses - none provided.
Interments - in city
cemetery.
Diseases prevalent -
typho-malarial fever, pneumonia, dysentery,
diarrhea.
Diseases zymotic
[infectious diseases] -
erysipelas; smallpox has been very prevalent, but
five cases now remain and they are recovering.
Diseases, prevention of
- now carefully attended to; every man is vaccinated
on his entry into the prison.
Recoveries from diseases
- ready, considering the general debilitated
condition of the patients.
Mortality from diseases
- average for last three months, 7 per cent of the
sick; about 2.8 per cent of whole number of
prisoners. This high average is owing to the
prevalence of smallpox
during the months of August and September 1863.
Medical officers - Dr.
H. Williams, contract made July 4, 1863, by Major
Hendrickson, former commandant, a thoroughly
competent officer; Dr. D. R. Marks, contract made
September 1, 1863 by Colonel Kincaid.
Commandant of post -
Col. G. W. Kincaid, Thirty-seventh Iowa Volunteers.
Command and strength -
prisoners of war, 950; civilians, male, 160; female
2; total 162; Federal prisoners 164; total prisoners
1,276.
Guard - Thirty-seventh
Iowa Volunteers, 764.
Police of prison -
generally very good, is somewhat neglected about the
mess room and quarters of Federal prisoners. The
prison cells are in very good condition, except that
the
bedding, &c., is not taken out and aired with
sufficient frequency, and the prisoners are allowed
to occupy the cell during the day.
Quarters - the prison is
overcrowded; there is only sufficient accommodation
for about 900 prisoners; many of the cells are
occupied by two men; the cells are well ventilated
by means
of shafts opening into the cells, and communicating
with a main shaft opening on the outside of the
building; they are well warmed by means of stoves in
the corridors. Such
quarters as were formerly used as workshops are
tolerably well ventilated by means of side windows,
and are warmed by stoves and open fireplaces.
Cooking - the kitchen is
well arranged and is well kept; the food and cooking
for the prisoners is frequently inspected by the
surgeon in charge.
Cleanliness of men and
clothing - better observed than in the other prisons
which I have visited, but is still not as strictly
enforced as it should be; the laundry facilities are
entirely
insufficient.
Clothing - sufficient
and good, obtained on requisition from
quartermaster's department.
Prison fund - over
$7,000 now on hand. Articles purchased from this
fund are registered, ready to be accounted for when
necessary. In this prison more than any other which
I have yet
visited, regard seems to be paid to the comfort as
well as security of the prisoners. The military
discipline maintained is not as strict as it should
be, yet every precaution seems to
be taken to prevent escapes.
The surgeon in charge is
skillful and experienced in his duties, having
served for two years in the Army of the Cumberland.
All means in his power are taken to promote the
comfort of
the sick and health of the well. Disinfectants are
thoroughly and judiciously used. The necessity of
ventilation is recognized and well provided for, and
the result, notwithstanding
the crowded state of the prison, is plainly to be
seen in the pure condition of the atmosphere in the
corridors and wards and in the improved appearance
of the inmates.
This prison has lately
suffered severely from an epidemic of smallpox.
This, by the energetic and well directed efforts of
the present surgeon in charge, has been thoroughly
arrested. A
temporary smallpox hospital was erected on a small
island in the river, opposite the prison, and to it
every case of the disease was removed, with the
necessary nurses,
dispensary, cooking apparatus, &c., and a strict
quarantine established. Every person in the prison
was vaccinated, and this is still enforced with each
new prisoner on his
entrance. The result is that there are but five
cases of the disease remaining, and they are rapidly
recovering.
A. M. Clark
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Colonel, Third Infantry & Commissary General of
Prisoners, Washington D.C., to Col. G. W. Kincaid,
Commanding Alton Prison, October 27, 1863:
You will please inform all prisoners of war under your
charge that for the present, no more discharges will be
granted, but those who do not wish to be sent South for
exchange may make application to you to this effect and
you will please forward to this office semi-monthly or
oftener rolls of all such applicants, giving the rank,
regiment, and company, when and where captured, and in
the column of remarks such other particulars as on
examination you may think necessary to a proper
understanding of the case. Cases which you may deem of
an extraordinary character may be presented separately.
Very respectfully, W. Hoffman.
Letter from Jno. M. Cuyler,
Acting Medical Inspector General, Washington D.C., to
Surgeon General U. S. Army, Washington D.C., November 6,
1863:
Medical Inspector C. C. Keeney, U. S. Army, reports as
follows: Prison at Alton, Ill., in good condition,
except the crowding, being less than 200 cubic feet
space to each man. He again recommends, in his report on
the post hospital at Camp Douglas, Ill, that the surgeon
of the post be directed to furnish the sick prisoners
with the necessary clothing and bedding. I recommend
that this communication be forwarded to the assistant
surgeon general for his information. Very respectfully,
Jno. M. Cuyler.
Letter from R. C. Wood,
Assistant Surgeon General, respectfully returned to
Surgeon General, November 12, 1863:
As there is no authority in this office on the subject
matter of clothing and bedding, I recommend that this
communication be referred to the Commissary General of
Prisoners; also the report of the want of room at Alton,
Ill.
R. C. Wood
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Colonel, Third Infantry and Commissary General of
Prisoners, to Col. G. W. Kincaid, Commanding Prison at
Alton, December 1, 1863:
By direction of the Secretary of War, you will prohibit
all trade with the sutler [a person who followed an army
or maintained a store on an army post to sell provisions
to the soldiers] by prisoners of war at Alton Military
Prison. See that this order is strictly carried out. W.
Hoffman.
Letter from Edwin M.
Stanton, Secretary of War, Washington D.C., to Hon.
Benjamin S. Cowen, Roswell Marsh, Esq., and Hon. Samuel
W. Bostwick, December 2, 1863:
You have been appointed a special commission to examine
into and report upon the cases of political and State
prisoners held under authority of the United States at
the State prison at Alton, Saint Louis, Camp Douglas, or
elsewhere within the Department of the Missouri. For
your services in the performance of this duty you will
be allowed the usual compensation of $8 per diem while
actually employed and your necessary traveling expenses.
You are also authorized to employ a clerk at a rate of
not exceeding $3 per diem.....Having completed your
examination at Saint Louis, you will proceed to Alton
and hear and determine the cases of such
prisoners.....After having completed your duties at
Alton you will proceed to Camp Douglas, at Chicago,
Ill......
Report to Edwin M. Stanton,
Secretary of War, Washington City, D. C., December 7,
1863:
There are 1,550 rebel prisoners of war here, who are
confined in this building, which was formerly used as
the State penitentiary, but some years since abandoned.
They are comfortably quartered and well supplied with
good, warm bedding. This prison is too much crowded. It
should be relieved of 500 men. The prisoners are well
supplied with an abundance of food, which is well
prepared and cooked. A sutler is allowed to sell to
them. The sanitary condition of this prison is very
good. It is cleanly and well kept and under good
discipline. There were, November 25, 119 sick in
hospital. The deaths for October were thirty five, and
for November twenty nine. The garrison, commanded by
Colonel Kincaid with his regiment, 450 strong, is
sufficient. The wall surrounding this prison is in some
places in bad condition and propped up, much
facilitating chances for escape. It could be cheaply
rebuilt by the labor of prisoners here under sentence.
There are very many prisoners here under sentence, by
court martial or military commission, of hard labor, &c.
Some 200 Federal soldiers are here under sentence, but
there is no mode of executing the sentence at this
place. Wm. W. Orme,
Brigadier-General, U. S. Volunteers.
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Colonel, Third Infantry and Commissary General of
Prisoners, Washington D.C., to Col. G. W. Kincaid,
Commanding Alton Prison, December 17, 1863:
The practice, as reported in your letter to General
Schofield of the 19th ultimo as prevailing at the Alton
prison, of taking gold from prisoners and giving them
sutler's tickets in return is unauthorized and in
violation of the instructions on this point. Whatever
money is taken from prisoners must be returned to them
in money of the same character, unless expended for them
on their own orders; and if there are any prisoners in
your charge now holding sutler's tickets, you will cause
them to be immediately redeemed in the same kind of
money for which they were given. Report your action
under this order. Very respectfully, W. Hoffman.
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Colonel, Third Infantry and Commissary General of
Prisoners, Washington D.C., to Col. G. W. Kincaid,
Commanding Alton Prison, December 31, 1863:
Your letter of the 23d instant, in relation to money
transactions between the sutler and prisoners is
received, but the sutler's ticket mentioned was not
inclosed. The regulations contemplate that the prisoner
will purchase from the sutler such articles as he may
wish, for which on the bill he will given an order on
the commanding officer who pays it, and who thus knows
what the sutler sells. Your practice is just the
opposite of this. You give the prisoner an order or
ticket on the sutler for $5, more or less, in trade, and
he buys with it, or he disposes of it in some other way.
Your plan possibly saves trouble in disbursing the
deposits, but the mode required by the regulations must
be adhered to. If the prisoners deposit gold, they are
entitled to the full value of it, including the premium,
and if the premium belonging to any prisoner, now
present, has been placed in the prison fund, it must be
returned to him by deposit in your hands. When prisoners
are released on bond, forward the bond to this office.
Very respectfully, W. Hoffman.
Letter from G. W. Kincaid,
Colonel, Commanding Alton Prison, to Col. William
Hoffman, Commissary General, Washington D.C., January 7,
1864:
There are a great many of the rebel prisoners in this
prison who are willing and anxious to enlist in the U.
S. service as soon as an opportunity is offered them.
Many of them have been conscripted in the rebel service
and are now anxious to be avenged for the wrongs done
them. Others were induced to enter the rebel service
through misrepresentation of wicked and designing men,
and would be glad to avail themselves of the first
opportunity of enlisting in the U. S. Army. Can there
not be some person authorized to enlist them? Many of
them will make as good soldiers as any in the service.
There is another class of prisoners that I would call
your attention to. These are young boys, from fifteen to
seventeen years of age, who were forced into the rebel
army, and who are not able to endure the hardships of
prison life. Many of them are now in bad health. Cannot
some discretionary power be given the commanders of
prisons in respect to this class of prisoners? Very
respectfully, G. W. Kincaid.
Letter from A. M. Clark,
Surgeon & Acting Medical Inspector of Prisoners of War,
to Col. W. Weer, Commanding Alton Prison, February 18,
1864:
In accordance with my instructions from the Commissary
General of Prisoners, I have the honor to request the
following, viz: First. That the female prisoners now
held in confinement at this post be, as soon as
practicable, placed in quarters more appropriate to
their sex, the quarters at present occupied by them
being utterly unfit for the purpose. Second. That a more
thorough system of police be enforced throughout the
prison; that additional facilities for supplying the
prisoners with water be provided, and that it be ordered
that all prison blankets and bedding be exposed to the
open air daily when the weather permits. Third. That as
soon as practicable, the prison sinks be thoroughly
cleansed and their connection with the main sewer
cleared. Fourth. That the shed at present used as a dead
house be properly inclosed and lighted, and furnished
with the necessary tables and appliances for making post
mortem examinations of such deceased prisoners as may be
deemed necessary by the surgeon in charge. Fifth. I am
informed by the surgeon and chaplain that the ground now
used for the burial of deceased prisoners is in a
dilapidated condition. I would suggest that a fence be
placed around it, and that it be kept in as decent
condition as circumstances will permit. Very
respectfully, A. M. Clark.
Letter from A. M. Clark,
Surgeon & Acting Medical Inspector of Prisoners of War,
Alton, Ill., to Col. W. Hoffman, Commissary General of
Prisoners, Washington D.C., February 18, 1864:
I have the honor to report that I have made a thorough
inspection of the military prison at this post, a
detailed report of which I forward herewith. I shall
leave tomorrow morning for Saint Louis, Mo. I have
written by the previous mail advising you of my
movements. Very respectfully, A. M. Clark
Surgeon in charge -
Surgeon Worrall, U. S. Volunteers
Commandant of post -
Colonel W. Weer, Tenth Kansas Volunteers
Location - Alton, Ill.,
on bluff on Mississippi River.
Vicinage - city on
south, river on west, high land on north and east.
Topography - ground
high, limestone bluff.
Drainage - at present,
bad; drains frozen up; naturally good and tolerably
improved; might be better.
Prison buildings - old
State penitentiary, with additional frame buildings
in prison yard.
Wards - two in building
on north side of prison yard.
Tents - six in smallpox
hospital.
Capacity - of prison,
properly 800, now contains 1,757 prisoners; of
hospital, 125; of smallpox hospital, 50.
Patients, number of - in
hospital, 125; smallpox hospital, 20; total, 145; in
quarters, 109.
Patients, condition of -
excellent, clean and well taken care of.
Patients, discharge and
return to duty of - returned to quarters when
convalescent, except such as are needed as nurses,
&c.
Ventilation - only
through side windows in hospital; in prison,
sufficient in main building, utterly insufficient in
the others.
Warming - sufficient in
all parts by coal stoves.
Fuel - supply
sufficient.
Lighting - in hospital,
by coal oil lamps; in main prison, gas.
Lavatories and baths -
hospital, insufficient, but can be made to answer
purpose at present; in prison, no arrangement except
one caldron; hospital clothing washed outside
prison.
Water supply - from
river; conveyed in barrels in one six-mule wagon;
entirely insufficient; another wagon ordered.
Sewerage - by one main
sewer into river.
Water-closets, latrines,
and sinks, excreta removal of - sinks, on north side
of yard in close proximity to hospital, connect with
main sewer, which connection is now interrupted from
some cause, and the sinks are in a filthy and most
offensive condition; ordered to be cleansed without
delay and connection with main sewer reopened.
Furniture and utensils -
supply sufficient, and in hospital in very good
order.
Bedding - in hospital,
sufficient and clean; in prison quarters,
sufficient, but filthy, and swarming with vermin.
Kitchen and kitchen
utensils - in hospital, in excellent order and
police; in prison, kitchen in great disorder and
miserable police; mess room in somewhat better
police; much cooking
and messing is done in prison quarters; direction to
be discontinued.
Cooks - detailed
prisoners.
Cooking and serving - in
hospital, well done; with the prison kitchen in its
present condition cannot be properly done.
Diet, quality and
variety of - in hospital, nearly U. S. general
hospital diet table; in prison, ordinary rations.
Supply of vegetables -
sufficient.
Dispensary - in very
good order, in charge of a hospital steward, U. S.
Army.
Instruments, medicines,
&c. - supply sufficient and in good order;
compounding and dispensing by prisoners detailed as
acting hospital stewards, under charge of a hospital
steward,
U. S. Army.
Hospital stores and
comforts - necessary supplies.
Hospital records and
accounts - very well and apparently accurately kept.
Hospital fund - $900,
January 1, 1864; judiciously expended for articles
of diet, hospital furniture and utensils and
hospital laundresses.
Clothing - sufficient
supply, obtained on requisition on the medical
purveyor.
Reports - well kept up
and apparently exact.
Requisitions - promptly
filled.
Laundresses and laundry
- no hospital or prison laundry; hospital washing
done outside and paid for from hospital fund.
Repair, alterations, and
additions - dead house required and directed;
laundry directed, as the prison yard is too much
encumbered already.
Prevention of fire - if
occurring in yard buildings can hardly be arrested
without tearing down the buildings, owing to
scarcity of water.
Medical attendance -
sufficient and skillful.
Chaplain - post
chaplain.
Discipline and police -
in prison, no discipline; in hospital, all are
orderly, though not under strict discipline.
Police - of hospital,
good; of prison, generally much neglected.
Nurses - men, detailed
prisoners; women, three female prisoners now
confined in a damp, half-underground room, only
partitioned off from an open cellar. The commandant
has been
requested to remove them to quarters better fitted
to their sex. Their present condition is an outrage
on humanity.
Operating and
post-mortem rooms - none
Dead house - an open
shed; have directed that it be inclosed and lighted,
and fitted for its purpose, and as a post-mortem
room.
Interments - near the
prison; did not visit it, but am informed that it is
unfenced; have directed that it be fenced in.
Diseases local -
malarial fevers, forming with catarrh the great bulk
of the sick list.
Diseases prevalent -
pneumonia, bronchitis, catarrh, intermittent fever,
chronic diarrhea.
Diseases zymotic -
smallpox has been prevalent, but is now rapidly
disappearing; the same may be said of measles.
Diseases, mitigation and
prevention of - in hospital all is done that care
and attention can accomplish, but the close and
crowded quarters keep the hospital constantly full;
every
precaution is taken to prevent the spread of
smallpox.
Report for January 1864
- mean strength, 1,708; aggregate sick, in hospitals
and quarters, 1,882; deaths, 92. Percentage of
deaths to mean strength, .053; percentage to sick,
.048.
Average daily sick in hospital, 144 11/31; in
quarters, 135 3/31. Cases smallpox, 107; deaths, 28;
percentage, 26.17. Cases smallpox since February 1,
26; deaths, 5;
percentage, 19.23; present cases, 20, mostly
varioloid.
Medical officers -
Surgeon Worral, U. S. Volunteers, post surgeon,
reported about February 10, 1863; two acting
assistant surgeons. Actg. Asst. Surg. H. Williams,
formerly in charge and still on duty as attending
surgeon, is entitled to great credit for the
generally satisfactory condition of the hospital.
One hospital steward. There are at present confined
in this prison as follows, viz: Prisoners of war -
officers, 8; enlisted men, 1,523; civilians,
including three females, 60; Federal prisoners, 166;
total, 1,757. Prison fund, January 31, 1864,
$9,087.34. The smallpox hospital is still located on
the island in the river opposite the prison.
Intercourse with it is sometimes interrupted by the
obstruction of the river by ice, as was the case at
the time of my present inspection. I am, however,
assured that every precaution is taken to prevent
the sick on the island from suffering from this
non-intercourse, five to ten days' supply of rations
(except fresh meat), medicines, and other
necessaries being kept on hand. I am also assured
that at no time hitherto has intercourse been
suspended for more than forty-eight hours at a time.
The chief difficulty caused by it has been the
prevention of the immediate transfer of smallpox
patients from the prison to the island. Thus, at the
time of my inspection, there were four cases of the
disease within the prison walls awaiting transfer.
Such cases are, however, almost entirely [isolated]
from the other inmates of the prison until they can
be removed. The utmost care appears to be taken to
prevent the spread of the disease. Vaccination is
thoroughly enforced. All infected clothes and
bedding are removed to the island and none allowed
to be returned, convalescents being furnished
complete with new clothing before leaving the
island. I was, for the reason above given, unable to
inspect the smallpox hospital, but I am assured by
the surgeon in charge that it is in good condition
in every respect, and, judging from the condition of
the prison hospital, I place confidence in his
statement. The commanding officer appeared much
chagrined at the condition in which the prison was
found as regards police, &c., and gave his assurance
that as soon as the weather and as far as the state
of the prison will permit, it shall be rectified. I
would respectfully but urgently represent the
absolute necessity of speedily diminishing the
number of prisoners confined in this prison, which
was originally intended to contain but 800. It now
contains nearly 1,000 more. I append a table of the
measurements of the various parts of the prison,
with a calculation of the number of cubic feet and
inches of air allowed to each prisoner. These
measurements and calculations were made by Acting
Assistant Surgeon Williams at my request, and I
presume them to be correct, though I have had no
time to verify them. A. M. Clark.
Admeasurement of
Quarters in Alton Military Prison, January 10, 1864
| |
Width |
Length |
Height |
Total
Number |
|
Average
Allowance Air to Each man |
| Quarters |
Feet |
Inches |
Feet |
Inches |
Feet |
Inches |
Cu. Ft. |
Cu. In. |
# of Inmates |
Feet |
Inches |
| Room No. 1a |
7 |
3 |
4 |
6 |
9 |
3 |
5,097 |
1,560 |
23 |
265 |
261 |
| Room No. 1b |
20 |
4 |
25 |
6 |
9 |
3 |
| Room No. 2 |
13 |
--- |
49 |
9 |
9 |
4 |
6,037 |
792 |
42 |
143 |
1,294 |
| Room No. 3 |
13 |
--- |
49 |
9 |
9 |
4 |
6,037 |
792 |
36 |
167 |
1,222 |
| Room No. 4 |
12 |
4 |
46 |
2 |
8 |
3 |
4,651 |
280 |
28 |
166 |
195 |
| Room No. 5 |
12 |
6 |
27 |
8 |
9 |
5 |
3,256 |
1,032 |
32 |
101 |
1,325 |
| Sides - East |
8 |
10 |
153 |
9 |
33 |
4 |
102,756 |
832 |
700 |
204 |
1,119 |
| Sides - West |
8 |
10 |
153 |
9 |
33 |
4 |
| Ends - 1 |
9 |
1 |
20 |
2 |
33 |
4 |
| Ends - 2 |
9 |
1 |
20 |
2 |
33 |
4 |
| Cells, old (88) |
3 |
10 |
7 |
--- |
7 |
3 |
40,497 |
72 |
| Cells, new (168) |
4 |
1 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
3 |
| Cells, doors |
1 |
8 |
1 |
9 |
5 |
10 |
| Little house, above |
14 |
2 |
19 |
10 |
9 |
6 |
2,669 |
408 |
13 |
205 |
486 |
| Little house, below |
11 |
3 |
18 |
9 |
7 |
2 |
1,511 |
1,242 |
13 |
116 |
494 |
| Old dead house |
15 |
6 |
24 |
--- |
12 |
8 |
4,712 |
----- |
20 |
235 |
1,006 |
| Old stable, above |
29 |
9 |
49 |
4 |
12 |
--- |
17,082 |
1,188 |
120 |
142 |
614 |
| Old stable, below |
29 |
9 |
49 |
4 |
9 |
5 |
13,821 |
1,184 |
80 |
172 |
1,332 |
| Rock bldg, above |
46 |
--- |
46 |
8 |
11 |
2 |
23,971 |
192 |
200 |
119 |
1,478 |
| Rock bldg, below |
46 |
--- |
97 |
--- |
13 |
4 |
59,493 |
576 |
275 |
216 |
586 |
| Qtrs, Fed prisoners |
50 |
--- |
103 |
--- |
20 |
6 |
105,575 |
------ |
197 |
535 |
1,578 |
| Qtrs, Civilian prisoners |
50 |
--- |
36 |
--- |
17 |
--- |
30,600 |
------ |
57 |
536 |
1,455 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
427,770 |
1,510 |
1,836 |
232 |
1,700 |
Notes: Room 1a &1b measured in two parts,
being partially divided by a partition.
Cells, old & new is the main body of prison
Letter from Benj. F. Butler,
Major General, Commanding Fort Monroe, Va., to Secretary
of War, February 22, 1864:
Flag of truce boat arrived. No news of military
movements of interest. I am able to answer more
particularly about the officers in irons. There are but
two, in retaliation for two officers confined in Alton,
Ill., penitentiary, by order of General Burnside, as is
alleged. Benj. F. Butler
Letter from W. T. Hartz,
Captain & Assistant Adjutant General, Washington D.C.,
to Col. W. Weer, Commanding Alton Prison, February 24,
1864:
By direction of the Commissary General of Prisoners, I
have the honor to inform you that the effects left by
deceased prisoners will be taken possession of, the
money and valuables to be reported to this office (see
note under head of remarks on blank for semi-monthly
report of deceased prisoners), and the clothing, if of
any value, to be given to other prisoners who may
require it. If the legal representatives of the
deceased, being loyal, claim the money or other
valuables, the claim, with the proof, will be forwarded
to this office. All moneys left by or accruing from the
sale of valuables or other effects of deceased prisoners
will be placed in the camp or prison fund until called
for. Very respectfully, W. T. Hartz.
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Colonel, Third Infantry & Commissary General of
Prisoners, Washington D.C., to Col. William Weer,
Commanding Alton Prison, February 29, 1864:
I have just received a report from Surg. A. M. Clark,
acting medical inspector of prisoners, of his inspection
of the Alton military prison, from which I learn that it
is not in a very satisfactory condition. Though many
things are in a commendable shape, there are others
where much reformation is required. I know that it is
impossible for you to give your personal daily attention
to the internal management of the prison, but with
proper assistance I trust you will be able to give it
enough of your supervision to insure as near an approach
to a proper state of things as may reasonably be
expected. You require as an inspector of the prison an
active and reliable officer, whose duty it should be to
inspect the prison daily in every part and to give all
necessary orders for policing, and to make report to you
in writing every Sunday morning of the condition of the
prisoners and prison in every particular - personal
cleanliness, clothing, bedding, quarters, messing,
sinks, yards, prison rooms for special purposes, and the
hospital and all connected with it. Let nothing pass
unnoticed; make your comments on these reports and
forward them to this office. Select from your command a
suitable officer for this service and give as close a
supervision yourself as your other duties will permit.
Let the foregoing instructions be put in immediate
force. I must rely entirely on your energy and judgment
for the proper administration of the affairs of the
prison, for however good your assistants may be, unless
they are properly directed and controlled, no
satisfactory results can be anticipated. Very
respectfully, W. Hoffman.
Letter from W. Hoffman,
Colonel, Third Infantry & Commissary General of
Prisoners, Washington D.C., to Col. William Weer,
Commanding Alton Prison, March 3, 1864:
By authority of the Secretary of War, I inclose herewith
a list of articles which may be sold to prisoners of war
in confinement at Alton Prison, by some suitable person
to be appointed by yourself. It is not expected that a
large sutler's store will be established, but merely a
small room where supplies for a day or two may be kept
on hand. None but the articles enumerated on the list
can be sold, and every precaution must be taken to
prevent abuse of the privilege, either by the person
permitted to sell or the prisoners. No sale should be
made before 8 o'clock in the morning or after half an
hour before sunset. As prisoners are not permitted to
have money in their possession, all sales should be made
on orders on the commanding officer or officer in whose
hands is deposited the money belonging to prisoners, and
these orders should be paid as often as once a week, if
practicable. Very respectfully, W. Hoffman.
List of articles which
sutlers may be permitted to sell to prisoners of
war:
Tobacco, cigars, pipes,
snuff, steel pens, paper, envelopes, lead pencils,
pen knives, postage stamps, buttons, tape, thread,
sewing cotton, pins and needles, handkerchiefs,
suspenders, socks, underclothes, caps, shoes,
towels, looking glasses, brushes, combs, clothes
brooms, pocket knives, scissors. Groceries: crushed
sugar, sirup, family soap, butter, lard, smoked
beef, beef tongues, bologna sausage, corn meal,
nutmegs, pepper, mustard, table salt, salt fish,
crackers, cheese, pickles, sauces, meats and fish in
cans, vegetables, dried fruits, sirups, lemons,
nuts, apples, matches, yeast powders. Table
furniture: crockery, glassware, tinware.
***************************************************
Source: The War of the
Rebellion, A Compilation of the Official Records of the
Union and Confederate Armies by the U. S. War
Department, Series I, Vol. XXXIV - 1891
(Not in Copyright)
Letter from W. S. Rosecrans,
Major General, Saint Louis, Mo., to Lieut. Gen U. S.
Grant, Culpeper Court-House, Va., April 4, 1864:
Only four regiments of volunteers, one of State militia,
and six companies colored recruits (infantry) in this
department. One of these regiments is guard at Alton
prison; one and the militia guard the interior fortified
depots, Pilot Knob, Rolla, and Warrensburg. Only two
here at Saint Louis, 1,200 men. Could not spare them
without other troops. Very sorry. Have written you
fully, W.S. Rosecrans.
Letter from W. S. Rosecrans,
Major General, Saint Louis, Mo., to Lieut. Gen U. S.
Grant, Commanding U.S. Armies, Washington, April 6,
1864:
I enter warmly into your views of bringing all our
available force into the field in the coming
campaign......Four regiments of volunteer infantry, one
whose term expires in June next, is the prison guard at
Alton; two guard this city and the depots and landings
here.... W. S. Rosecrans
Letter from Frank S. Bond,
Major and Aide-de-Camp, to Brig. General Copeland,
Alton, Ill., May 3, 1864:
The general commanding directs that you have 50 picked
men secretly got ready, armed with revolvers, to be sent
out tonight on the Terre Haute road by an extra train.
You will place an officer in the telegraph office, in
citizens' clothes, and allow no dispatches to be sent
without his approval. An officer will be sent up tonight
to take charge of the expedition. The greatest secrecy
alone will insure the success of the expedition.
Frank S. Bond.
Letter from H. W. Halleck,
Major Gen, Chief of Staff, Washington, to Maj. Gen. E.
R. S. Canby, Cairo, Ill., May 11, 1864:
General Grant designated particular regiments in the
Department of Missouri to be sent down the Mississippi,
but I do not know what they were.....There are nine
companies of the Thirteenth Illinois Cavalry at Alton
without horses. They can act as infantry. Order them
where you please, and I will telegraph to Governor Yates
that they obey your orders.....H. W. Halleck
Special Orders No. 132 from
O. D. Greene, Asst. Adjutant General, Saint Louis, May
14, 1864:
The Seventeenth Illinois Cavalry, now at Jefferson
Barracks, will proceed with the least practicable delay
to Alton, Ill., and relieve the Thirteenth Illinois
Cavalry, in garrison at that point. Upon being relieved
by the Seventeenth, the Thirteenth will proceed at once
to Saint Louis, Mo., and report to Brigadier-General
Davidson, commanding cavalry depot, to be equipped as
speedily as possible and forwarded to Major General
Steele, commanding Department of Arkansas......O. D.
Greene
****************************************************
Source: House Documents,
Otherwise Publ. As Executive Documents: 13th Congress,
2d Session, 1865 (Not in Copyright)
Letter from S. R. Curtis,
Major General, St. Louis, to Maj. Gen. Halleck, April
23, 1863:
I wish Major Majors, Alton prison, exchanged for Major
McConnel. McConnel has important intelligence to
disclose after exchange. Immediate answer is desired.
S. R. Curtis.
General Order 39, from W.
Hoffman, Col, 3d Infantry, Com Gen of Prisoners,
Washington, February 9, 1864:
Respectfully returned to Major General B. F. Butler,
commissioner for exchange. W. S. Wright, surgeon
Mitchell's regiment, was captured in St. Louis county,
Missouri, February 11, 1863; was transferred from St.
Louis to Alton, June 6, 1863; sentenced to be shot to
death at such time and place as the major general
commanding department of the Missouri may direct.
General Order 39, department of the Missouri.
Letter from Ro. Ould, Agent
for Exchange, War Department, Richmond, Va., to Major
General Hitchcock, Com'r Exchange of Prisoners,
Washington, September 12, 1864:
Your communication of the 10th instant, accepting a
proposition made by me some time ago that "all prisoners
of war on each side be released from confinement (close)
or irons, as the case may be, and either placed in the
condition of other prisoners or sent to their respective
homes for their equivalents" has been received.....I am
quite confident also that there is a number of our
officers and soldiers in close confinement in irons or
at hard labor at Alton. I think some will also be found
at St. Louis and in other prisons east and west.....
***************************************************
Source: The War of the
Rebellion, A Compilation of the Official Records of the
Union and Confederate Armies By the U. S. War Department,
Series I Vol XLVIII, Part 2, 1896
(Not in Copyright)
Letter from G. M. Dodge,
Major General, Saint Louis, to Colonel Kuhn, Alton,
April 9, 1865:
As soon as the companies of Fifth U. S. Volunteers are
clothed and equipped, send them to Fort Leavenworth to
report to commanding officer at that place. How long
before they can start? If you have no arms, they can
draw them here or at Fort Leavenworth. G. M. Dodge.
Letter from J. W. Barnes,
Asst. Adjutant General, Saint Louis, Mo., to Col. J. H.
Kuhn, Alton, April 18, 1865:
Col. J. H. Kuhn, One hundred and forty-fourth Regiment,
Illinois Infantry Volunteers, is hereby assigned to duty
in command of the post at Alton, Ill., to date from
March 10 ultimo, since which date he has been in
performance of such duty. J. W. Barnes. [144th
consisted of six companies, under Lieut. Col. James N.
Morgan and Col. J. H. Kuhn]
Letter from G. M. Dodge,
Major General, Saint Louis, to Maj. Gen. John Pope,
Saint Louis, Mo., June 4, 1865:
....Harry Truman was tried in November 1864 by military
commission convened by General Rosecrans, for offenses
alleged to have been committed by him in North Missouri
in June 1864, and was sentenced to be hung. General
Rosecrans disapproved the proceedings of the commission,
but ordered him (Truman) confined in Alton Military
Prison until further orders. The Secretary of War
ordered Truman released from confinement some time in
March last, and on his release he was ordered to
Washington, D. C. or some place East, by Colonel
Baker.......
Letter from H. Hannahs,
Major, Fiftieth Missouri Volunteers, Saint Louis, Mo.
Special Orders No. 141, June 24, 1865:
Pursuant to paragraph 4, Special Orders, No. 168,
current series, Department of the Missouri, Company G,
Fifty first Missouri Volunteers, will proceed to Alton,
Ill., to take charge of and preserve the military
prison, barracks, &c., at that place, after the public
buildings shall have been vacated. The commanding
officer of company, while at that station, will be
subject to orders from these headquarters, and will
forward the regular tri-monthly reports of his command
on the 10th, 20th, and last days of each months. The
quartermaster's department will furnish transportation.
By order of Brigadier-General Williamson.
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