The Gratiot Military Prison, commonly known as the Gratiot Street Prison, was a
military prison
A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members of ...
located in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, and the largest in
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
at the time.
History
Managed by the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
, the Gratiot Military Prison housed
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 ...
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
(POW), sympathizers, guerrillas, spies, and federal soldiers accused of crimes. It is well known for being the site of a daring breakout in the last days of 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 ...
. The prison building was previously a medical school named McDowell's College, which was confiscated by the Army and converted to a prison in December 1861. Its official capacity was 1,200 but at times it had 2,000 prisoners. It was used mostly as a transfer point for prisoners going to other U.S. military prisons. It was located at the corner of Gratiot and 8th Streets in St. Louis, and demolished in 1878.
The location is now the site of the Nestlé
Purina PetCare corporate headquarters.
See also
*
List of Prisoner of War Camps in the American Civil War
References
{{reflist
External links
CivilWarStLouis.com website
1861 establishments in Missouri
American Civil War prison camps
Defunct prisons in Missouri
History of St. Louis
Missouri in the American Civil War
Ralston Purina