United States, Records of Confederate Prisoners of War - FamilySearch Historical Records

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United States Records of Confederate Prisoners of War, 1861-1865 CID1916234 {{{CID2}}} {{{CID3}}} {{{CID4}}} {{{CID5}}} {{{CID6}}} {{{CID7}}} {{{CID8}}} {{{CID9}}}
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Record Description
Record Type	Prisoner of War Records
Record Group	RG 109: War Department Collection of Confederate Records
Collection years	1861-1865
Microfilm Publication	M598. Selected Records of the War Department Relating to Confederate Prisoners of War,1861-1865. 145 rolls.
FamilySearch Resources
United States Guided Research
United States Record Finder
Research Tips and Strategies
Confederate Prisoner of War Records
United States Civil War, 1861-1865
United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865, Part 2
Beginning United States Civil War Research
Begin a search for confederate records
Locating a Confederate Civil War Soldier (1861–1865)
Confederate Service Records
Related Websites
NARA Reference Report Confederate Prisoners of War
National Archives Confederate POW Collection Description, Camp Lee, Va
Confederate Prisoner Records
Archive
National Archives and Records Administration

What is in This Collection?

This collection consists of an explanation of the records (which is listed as an index) and 429 volumes of Confederate Prisoners of War records. Most of the records are from the War Department's Office of the Commissary General of Prisoners. Others are from the Surgeon General's Office, a few Army commands, and individual prison camps. These records are for the years 1861 to 1865. National Archives microfilm publication M598, Selected Records of the War Department Relating to Confederate Prisoners of War,1861-1865.

This collection consists of the following lists and registers:

• Prisoners
• Prisoners deaths and burials
• Applications for release and released prisoners
• Prisoners paroled, transferred, escaped, sentenced, and exchanged
• Confederate deserters
• Political prisoners
• Passes issued to visitors
• Prisoners released for employment on public works
• Prisoners enlisting in United States service
• Clothing issued
• Prisoners' possessions, accounts, ledgers, articles and money received
• Account of checks and packages received for prisoners
• Letters sent and received
• Receipts for letters containing money
• Morning reports of patients and attendants in the prison hospital
• Oaths of allegience
• Roll call books
• Statistical reports
• Miscellaneous reports
• Correspondence of the Office of the Commissary General of Prisoners

The collection is divided into the following levels of search: 1. AIDE: Index to Volumes - This search is not a name index. It lists the full description given by the National Archives and Records Administration of the individual lists.

2. The lists arranged by locality. Many of these localities are further divided by individual lists. These lists may be have any of the following:

• Alphabetical arrangement
• Chronological arrangement
• Name index at the beginning of the list
• Name index at the end of the list

This collection includes prisoner lists from the following locations:

AR, Little Rock, Military Prison	MO, St. Louis, Gratiot & Myrtle Streets Prisons
DC, Washington, Old Capitol Prison	MO, St. Louis, Gratiot & Myrtle Streets Prisons
DE, Ft. Delaware, Military Prison	MS, Ship Island NY, Elmira, Military Prison
Department of Missouri	NY, Ft. Columbus, Military Prison
Department of the Gulf	NY, Ft. Lafayette, Military Prison
Department of Ohio	NY, Hart Island, Prison Camp
District of West Tennessee, Provost Marshal's Office	OH, Camp Chase, Military Prison
Division of West Mississippi	OH, Cincinnati, McLean Barracks
IL, Alton, Military Prison	OH, Johnson's Island, Military Prison
IL, Camp Butler, Military Prison	Records of Several Prisons
IL, Camp Douglas, Military Prison	Records relating to all prisoners
IL, Rock Island Barracks, Military Prison	SC, Hilton Head, Prison Camp
IN, Camp Morton, Military Prison	TN, Knoxville
KY, Louisville, Military Prison	TN, Memphis, Military Prison
LA, New Orleans	TN, Nashville, Department of the Cumberland
MA, Ft. Warren, Military Prison	VA, Bowling Green, Provost Marshal's Office
MD, Ft. McHenry, Military Prison	VA, Newport News, Military Prison
MD, Point Lookout, Military Prison	VA, Richmond

"The War Department appointed Lt. Col. William Hoffman to be Commissary General of Prisoners in October 1861. Col. Hoffman was responsible for overseeing the handling and treatment of Confederate prisoners of war. In July 1862, the War Department established the Office of the Commissary General of Prisoners, an independent agency within the Department, which was responsible for the supervision of Confederate prisoners of war and political prisoners confined in Union prisons. The Office of the Commissary General of Prisoners was abolished and the Confederate records eventually became part of the Collection of Confederate Records in the War Department. That collection now comprises National Archives Record Group 109, War Department Collection of Confederate Records." 

Opposing armies kept an account of war prisoners so as to effectively trade them for their own soldiers. Prisoners were exchanged on the following basis:

• 1 general = 46 privates
• 1 major general = 40 privates
• 1 brigadier general = 20 privates
• 1 colonel = 15 privates
• 1 lieutenant colonel = 10 privates
• 1 major = 8 privates
• 1 captain = 6 privates
• 1 lieutenant = 4 privates
• 1 noncommissioned officer = 2 privates

Union and Confederate Prisoner of War Camps

Record accuracy depends largely on the accuracy of the document authors and may be subject to inaccuracies.

Image Visibility

Whenever possible FamilySearch makes images and indexes available for all users. However, rights to view these data are limited by contract and subject to change. Because of this there may be limitations on where and how images and indexes are available or who can see them. Please be aware some collections consist only of partial information indexed from the records and do not contain any images. For additional information about image restrictions see Restrictions for Viewing Images in FamilySearch Historical Record Collections.

To Browse This Collection

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for United States, Records of Confederate Prisoners of War, 1861-1865.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

Information in these records generally include the following:

• Name of prisoner
• Name of prison
• Date of entry in the report, list, or ledger
• Reason for entry in the repost, list, or ledger

Depending on the list, the following information may also be included:

• Birth date and place
• Death date and place
• Burial date and place
• Cause of death
• Age
• Physical description
• Names of relatives or friends
• Enlistment date and place
• Last residence prior to enlistment
• Monies exchanged
• Release or transfer date

Collection Content

Sample Image

• 

  1864 Ledger of Prisoners' Accounts

How Do I Search This Collection?

To begin your search you will need to know:

• The full name of the soldier
• The location of the prison
• The states where the soldier's regiment served

Search the Index

This collection does not have a searchable index. Only images are available. See View the Images to access them.

View the Images

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page

1. Select Prisoner or Prison/Station Records
2. Select Document Type to view the images.

How Do I Analyze the Results?

Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

• Add any new information to your records
• Use the age to calculate an approximate birth date
• Use the birth date or age along with the prior residence, enlistment place, or place of birth to locate census, church, and land records
• Death dates may lead to death certificates, mortuary, or burial records
• Place of enlistment or previous residence may lead to other military or pension records. Be aware that Confederate pensions were awarded by the individual states
• Prisoners who enlisted in the United States military may have service records or pensions from the United States
• Compile a list of other prisoners with the same surname. If the surname is uncommon, they may be relatives
• When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

• Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names
• Look for an index. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records

Research Helps

The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the United States.

• US Military Basic Search Strategies
• Beginning Research in United States Military Records
• Beginning United States Civil War Research
• Locating a Confederate Civil War Soldier (1861–1865)
• United States Guided Research
• United States Record Finder
• Research Tips and Strategies

Related Family History Library Holdings

• Selected records of the War Department relating to Confederate prisoners of war, 1861-1865
• Roll of Confederate prisoners of war, paroled at Meridian, Mississippi, May 1865
• Ohio. AGO. Burials and Civil War prisoners' records, 1861-1896

Related FamilySearch Historical Record Collections

• United States Register of Confederates and Civilians Who Died in the North,1861-1865

Related Digital Books

• Elliott. List showing inscriptions on headstones for the Confederate soldiers and sailors who, while prisoners of war, died at Columbus and Camp Dennison, Ohio, and were buried in Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery, those dying at Camp Dennison having been thence removed. Washington : Gov't Print. Off., 1907
• The story of Camp Chase; a history of the prison and its cemetery, together with other cemeteries where Confederate prisoners are buried, etc. Nashville, Tenn. and Dallas, Tex. : Publishing House of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, c1906.

Citing This Collection

Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

Collection Citation: The citation for this collection can be found on the Collection Details Page in the section Citing this Collection.

Image Citation: When looking at an image, the citation is found on the Information tab at the bottom left of the screen.