Camp Butler Confederate prison, near Springfield, Illinois was
founded on August 2, 1861, as a training ground for Union troops.
It was composed of three separate encampments plus a fifteen acre
site upon which the Confederate soldiers were confined. Of 5,178
confederate prisoners held at Camp Butler in 1862 and 1863, 201
escaped and 866 died. On February 22nd, 1862, the first of the Camp
Butler prisoners, captured at the battle of Fort Donnelson,
Tennessee, were transported to Springfield by steamboat and train
On April 8th, 1862, the 1st Alabama regiment was made prisoners of
war at island no. 10, on the Mississippi river and the greater part
of the regiment was taken from there to Camp Butler, located four
miles from Springfield, Ill., where we arrived Saturday, April
12th. This prison was not enclosed on our arrival, but in May, of
1862, a twelve foot high plank fence was built to serve as a
protection against the escape of prisoners. Escape was so frequent
and the authorities were confused that their reports usually
indicated the dates of the escapes as "unknown." J.M Thornton from
Talladega tells the story to Our Mountain Home Newspaper of the
escape of two Confederate prisoners and their experiences while on
the run.
General
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