Civil War Discussion: Confederate POW Camps

Visit the Museum on Friday afternoon to enjoy lunch in the Mariners’ Park Café while engaging in lively and informative Civil War discussions with renowned historian, John Quarstein. There is no charge to participate. Lunch will be available for purchase at the café!

The Confederates captured more than 211,000 Union soldiers during the Civil War. Once the parole exchange system ended in 1863, many of these captured soldiers were sent to various camps such as Libby Prison in Richmond and Andersonville in Georgia. The number of POWs overwhelmed the Confederate POW camp system. The inmates suffered greatly from poor sanitary conditions, bad drinking water, limited food supplies, and disease. More than 30,000 Union soldiers died while in captivity.