Mar 10, 2020 - Sale 2533

Sale 2533 - Lot 60

Price Realized: $ 531
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
(CIVIL WAR--CONFEDERATE.) "Morning Report of Prisoners at the C.S. Military Prisons" compiled at Libby Prison. Partly-printed Document Signed "Th. P. Turner" as Major Commanding, forwarded to Major Isaac H. Carrington as Provost Marshall. One page, 5 x 8 inches; small puncture hole, worn on top edge, toned. Richmond, VA, 28 January 1865

Additional Details

This unusual report summarizes the prisoners held at a military prison in Richmond. The document is signed by Major Thomas P. Turner, the longtime commander of the infamous Libby Prison. Union prisoners had been shipped out of Libby the previous year while Richmond was threatened, so the prison by this point was being used as a temporary holding area before prisoners could be shipped further south. This summary shows 3711 prisoners of war on hand, plus 30 "Negroes" (presumably from the United States Colored Troops). Since the last report, 4 men had been "returned by Capt. Meade," and one had died. In addition, the report notes "16 negro soldiers on hand"--perhaps a subset of the 30 prisoners, as the Confederates did not authorize the recruitment of black soldiers until 23 March, just weeks before the end of the war.