During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, a parole camp was a place where Union or Confederate soldiers

on parole ''On Parole'' is a studio recording released by British Rock music, rock band Motörhead. It was intended as their first album and left unreleased at the time of its completion in 1976, and it was not released until over three years later, on ...

could be kept by their own side, in a non-combat role. They could be restored to a combat role if some prisoners of war were traded to the other side. This would enable them to be returned to a combat role as an exchange for the newly freed prisoners of war. Conditions in the camps were unpleasant; the parolees refused to do guard duty or routine work, claiming that would violate their parole. Many escaped to go home.

History

An honor system was set up where each side would take care of housing its own soldiers who had been designated as being on parole, meaning they would not fight in combat unless they were formally exchanged. The Confederates did not set up parole camps; they let their men go home and expected them to return to duty once officially exchanged. Parole camps were set up by the Union Army for its own soldiers who had been captured by the Confederacy, and then released on the condition that they would honor the terms and conditions of their parole. In 1862, a parole camp was established in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, on the grounds of St. John's College, But this camp soon ran out of space, so two more were soon built in the local area. One was located in nearby

Parole, Maryland Parole, a suburb of Annapolis, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,922 at the 2010 census. It is where several major roads intersect at the western edge of the state capital, Ann ...

, which is how the town got its name. The resulting influx of soldiers changed the nature of the town, since the soldiers were free to visit the local area as much as they might wish.Author recounts Camp Parole history on 150th anniversary
, capitalgazette.com, August 10, 2012. Many soldiers disliked the camp and described it as dirty in their letters home. There were some occasional problems with disorderly conduct by some of the soldiers who were sent there. There was a short-lived parole camp in

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighb ...

, known as Camp Elder. One paroled soldier, Warren H. Freeman, wrote to his father and said that the parolees in the camp were being guarded by inexperienced members of the Pennsylvania militia, all of whom were fairly lenient in their guard duties, presumably because they were guarding members of their own army.Letter from Freeman
Civil War Voices: Soldier Studies. accessed 4/7/13.

Footnotes

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History

See also

Footnotes

Further reading