George Washington SALISBURY
1862 - September 18 - Civil War - Captured

WWW.ITD.NPS.GOV/ CWSS/ SOLDIERS.HTM
111TH REGIMENT, NEW YORK INFANTRY

ONLY 3 WEEKS AFTER ENTERING THE BATTLE (SEPT. 18, 1862), THE ENTIRE REGIMENT WAS CAPTURED AT HARPER'S FERRY AND SENT TO CAMP DOUGLAS, CHICAGO TO BE HELD IN CAMP (ON "PAROLE") UNTIL THEY COULD BE TRADED FOR CONFEDERATE PRISONERS.

EXPLANATION OF PAROLE IN THE CIVIL WAR:

WHEN THE CIVIL WAR BEGAN, THERE WAS NO REAL NEED TO BUILD PRISON CAMPS. PRISONERS WERE EXCHANGED RIGHT AFTER THE BATTLE WAS OVER OR WITHIN DAYS AFTER THE FACT. ONE PRIVATE WAS TRADED FOR ANOTHER, A GENERAL FOR A GENERAL, AND SO ON. IF THERE WERE NOT ENOUGH MEN OF A CERTAIN RANK TO EXCHANGE, THEY COULD BE PAROLED INSTEAD. THE SPECIFIC RULES FOR THIS WERE WORKED OUT IN THE JULY 1862 DIX-HILL CARTEL. A PAROLEE WAS UNDER PROMISE NOT TO RETURN TO THE BATTLE UNTIL THE RIGHT NUMBER OF MEN HAD BEEN EXCHANGED TO EVEN THE BALANCE.


THE DIX-HILL CARTEL SOON FAILED DUE TO SEVERAL PROBLEMS. THE CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT REFUSED TO EXCHANGE BLACK PRISONERS, SAYING THEY WOULD BE TREATED AS RUNAWAY SLAVES. ALSO, MANY SOUTHERN PAROLEES DID NOT HONOR THE AGREEMENT. THEY QUICKLY RETURNED TO DUTY, WHICH IS WHAT HAPPENED AFTER VICKSBURG.

AN INTERESTING PATTERN BEGAN TO DEVELOP REGARDING EXCHANGED PRISONERS. THOSE FROM THE UNION OFTEN WENT HOME AFTER BEING EXCHANGED. THOSE FROM THE SOUTH OFTEN WENT BACK TO THEIR UNITS TO CONTINUE FIGHTING. THEY WERE IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL, AND THEIR EXPERIENCE MADE THEM MORE VALUABLE.

UNION SECRETARY OF WAR EDWIN STANTON DECIDED IN OCTOBER 1862, THAT PRISONER EXCHANGES WOULD STOP. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WAS WELL AWARE THAT THE CONFEDERACY HAD LIMITED RESOURCES, AND IF THE NORTH COULDN'T WIN ON THE BATTLEFIELD, THEY WOULD DO IT THROUGH DEPLETION. BY FORCING THE SOUTH TO HOUSE, FEED, AND GUARD PRISONERS, THEY COULD USE UP VALUABLE RESOURCES.

SOON PRISON CAMPS WERE SPRINGING UP ALL OVER THE NORTH AND SOUTH. SOME OF THE PRISONS WERE FORTIFICATIONS, BUT MOST WERE FORMER JAILS, ALTERED BUILDINGS, FENCED BARRACKS, AND OPEN STOCKADES. MANY OF THE CONVERTED BUILDINGS IN THE SOUTH WERE TOBACCO WAREHOUSES AND FACTORIES. THEY OFTEN HAD POOR VENTILATION AND MINIMAL FACILITIES. ANDREW'S RAIDERS WERE KEPT IN SIMILAR BUILDINGS AT THE START OF THE WAR BEFORE BEING EXCHANGED.


FROM WWW.EDHELPER.COM/ READINGCOMPREHENSION_ 35_106.HTML

Learn more about the life of      George Washington SALISBURY.

Visit Ledyard, New York, USA (Aurora)
Discover the people who lived there, the places they visited and the stories they shared.