Florence Stockade
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The Florence Stockade, also known as The Stockade or the Confederate States Military Prison at Florence, was a
Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...
located on the outskirts of
Florence, South Carolina Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropolit ...
, 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 ...
. It operated from September 1864 through February 1865; during this time, as many as 18,000 Union soldiers were imprisoned there, about 2,800 of whom died.


History

The Florence Stockade was built and became operational in September 1864, and was in operation during the final fall and winter of the war. Overall in command was Lt. Col. John Iverson, of the 5th Georgia Infantry but the officer in charge of the stockade (a position comparable to that of
Henry Wirz Henry Wirz (born Hartmann Heinrich Wirz, November 25, 1823 – November 10, 1865) was a Swiss-American officer of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was the commandant of the stockade of Camp Sumter, a Confederate pr ...
at Andersonville Prison) was Lt. James Barrett, also of the 5th Georgia. During its time of operation, anywhere from 15,000 to 18,000 captives were held there. The need for additional prisons became imperative after General Sherman captured Atlanta on September 1, 1864. Andersonville prison in south Georgia was thought to be in the path of Sherman and the Confederate prison authorities determined to relocate the approximately 30,000 Union prisoners then at Andersonville. Because Florence had three railroads, and was thought to be secure, it was chosen as a site for a newly constructed prison. To keep the Union soldiers in order during relocation, they were told that they were to be paroled. Many of those who were unable to walk or not stable enough to travel were left behind in Andersonville. Most of the prisoners who initially came to Florence were first transported to
Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...
before making their way 90 miles inland to Florence. The Florence Stockade was still under construction when the first several thousand prisoners arrived. The Florence Stockade covered of land with a trench dug out around the outside to prevent prisoners from tunnelling out. After about a month of operation, there were about 12,000 prisoners and a death rate of 20 to 30 per day. Supplies were scarce for both the prisoners and the guards. Men were sleeping almost naked and with no blankets. In his 1879 book Andersonville: a Story of Rebel Military Prisons, John McElroy, who was imprisoned in both, states, "I think also that all who experienced confinement in the two places are united in pronouncing Florence to be, on the whole, much the worse place and more fatal to life." He states that government records suggest that about one man in each three imprisoned there died. Part of the reason for this is that its prisoners had already been weakened by their stay in the infamous Andersonville Prison. McElroy, Sgt. Robert H. Kellogg of the 16th Connecticut Volunteers, and Sgt. S.S. Boggs of the 21st Illinois have written similar accounts of Barrett's cruel, inhumane behavior and murders of prisoners. In mid-October, the
United States Sanitary Commission The United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) was a private relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army (Federal / Northern / Union Army) during the American Civil W ...
delivered supplies. Of the total number of prisoners that passed through the Florence Stockade, 2,802 Union soldiers died there and most were buried in unmarked trenches in what would become the
Florence National Cemetery Florence National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Florence, South Carolina. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses , and as of 2021, had over 12,000 interments. Hist ...
after the war. The Stockade was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1980. The site is open to the public and is a component of the City of Florence Trail System. The City of Florence and the Friends of the Florence Stockade have developed a walking tour of the site. There is also an informational gazebo on-site containing a permanent display detailing the history of the site.


See also

* List of Civil War POW Prisons and Camps


References


External links


Florence Prison Stockade HistoryFriends of the Florence Stockade
with two photos, at South Carolina Department of Archives and History
Stockade Site Now Open to the Public
{{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina American Civil War prison camps Defunct prisons in South Carolina South Carolina in the American Civil War Buildings and structures in Florence, South Carolina Tourist attractions in Florence County, South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Florence County, South Carolina American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places African Americans in the American Civil War 1864 establishments in South Carolina