FLORENCE STOCKADE
FLORENCE
STOCKADE
FLORENCE, SC
Sketch of the Florence Stockade from Prisoners of War and Military Prisons (1890)
This Friends of the Florence Stockade is a non-profit organization which became official in May of 1997. The organization is in its infancy but plans to raise money for multiple signs to be placed near the Florence Stockade site and at the Florence National Cemetery. At the present time, there are no signs pointing out where the stockade was or where the prisoners are buried at in the cemetery; most of whom are buried as unknowns.
On May 30th 1998, we will be unveiling a new plaque in the cemetery that does point out the location of the stockade burials. Also, in cooperation with the Old Darlington District Chapter of the SC Genealogical Society, a portion of the approximate 2300 unknown soldiers have been identified and added to a computer database. This database will be presented to the Cemetery Superintendant, Kenneth LeFever, on the 30th as well.
At present, two-thirds of the stockade site is in private hands. The additional third is owned by the City of Florence and at present is undeveloped. Future plans call for purchasing the privately held portion of the stockade site and creating a memorial park and museum.
Documents confirming deaths at this prison are important to us, as are letters or diaries of both prisoners and their guards. Please join this important historic preservation effort.
Charles B. Livingstone "Brand", Vice Chairman - chasbl@nemaine.com
RFD#1, Box 93, Calais, ME, 04619 207-454-2604
Florence Prison Stockade History:
The Florence Prison Stockade, officially known as Camp Florence, was in operation for approximately 5 months during the time period of Sept 1864 through Feb 1865. During this time, as many as 15-18,000 Union soldiers were held captive. Of these, approximately 2,802 Union soldiers died of whom most are buried as unknowns in the Florence National Cemetery. It is through this organization that we hope to educate the public about this little known and very seldom heard of Civil War Stockade and identify as many as the 2,802 as possible.
The idea of building a stockade at Florence, SC began when General Sherman, after capturing Atlanta, posed a great threat towards liberating the Union soldiers held captive at Andersonville and other southern Georgia stockades. It was determined that the prisoners had to be moved out of the path of Sherman's advancing troops. Florence was chosen by Confederate authorities for the site of a new stockade due to the fact that there were three railroads that centered in the town, which would ease the operation of transporting and receiving prisoners.
Major General Samuel Jones ordered Major Frederick F. Warley, who had been recently exchanged from a Northern prison camp, to construct a stockade in Florence. Work began with approximately 1,000 slaves being assigned to the project.
At Andersonville in late August and early September 1864, thousands of Union prisoners were told by Captain Wirz that they would all be paroled, except for those who could not walk and were unable to travel. The talk of parole was merely a way to keep the prisoners under control and a way of trying to prevent escape during their relocation. The prisoners being relocated were divided into two groups. One group was sent to Savannah, GA and the other to Charleston, SC. Left behind at Andersonville were those who could not walk and who would be no threat if liberated. Many of these died off rapidly.
Most of the prisoners that were sent to Savannah would eventually find themselves back at Andersonville after being held captive in various prisons in Georgia. Although, some of these did end up at Florence. Those that arrived in Charleston were mainly held at the Charleston Race Course, which today is known as Hampton Park. Some were also held in the jailyard of the Charleston City Jail and the Workhouse. All of these were holding areas for the prisoners until the building of the stockade at Florence could be completed. Most, if not all, of the Enlisted prisoners at Charleston were sent to Florence.
During the construction of the stockade, there was a rapidly deteriorating situation in Charleston due to the spread of such diseases as Small Pox & Yellow Fever. Due to this situation, 5 to 6,000 of the prisoners were sent to Florence before the completion of the stockade, arriving in Florence on the 14th of September. The prisoners were assembled in an open field, which made the possibility of escape a reality and was of great concern to Major Warley, not to mention the fact that the prisoners were "in a state of mutiny" and could cause major problems in the surrounding area including the possible destruction of the railroads. Warley requested assistance from Major General Roswell S. Ripley, the commander at Charleston, to help with the situation. Due to the imminent danger involved, Warley couldn't wait and sent out trains to the surrounding community to gather every available man to assist in the completion of the stockade. Even though the stockade was far from complete, the prisoners were gathered into the enclosure on the 18th of September to help gain some control of the situation. [Some accounts state that the stockade was not completed till October.]
The design of the stockade was much like that of Andersonville. Upright un-hewn timbers were sunk about 5 feet into the ground encasing about 23 1/2 acres; six of which were swamp. The walls of the stockade were roughly 1,400 by 725 feet and approximately 12 - 16 feet tall. Like Andersonville, a stream (Pie Branch) ran through the center of the stockade. This stream was slightly larger than the one at Andersonville, but still proved to be inadequate.
One major difference in the design changes between Andersonville and Florence is that a deep trench was dug around the Florence Stockade to eliminate prisoners from trying to tunnel out. The soil from the trench was then pushed up against the outer walls of the stockade, which provided a platform for the guards to man their posts and also added stability to the log walls. Some accounts also state that there was a trench or furrow, as well as a row of boards, used for a deadline.
An additional difference, in comparing Andersonville to Florence, was that the trees previously within the boundaries of the walls had recently been cut, leaving many stumps behind, which were used as firewood. There were also several smaller trees left inside, which were put to the same use. Also, wood was supplied to the stockade, although in small amounts. This wood was gathered during the winter months by a prisoner wood squad.
Major Warley had been wounded prior to his imprisonment and the building of the Florence Stockade. His wounds began to bother him and he requested to be relieved of his duties at the stockade, being replaced by Colonel George P. Harrison, Jr. of the 32nd GA by the 20th of September, with Lt. Thomas G. Barrett in command of the interior of the stockade. Harrison became known for his fair treatment of prisoners. While, on the other hand, Barrett was known for being the most brutal. Many accounts state that Lt. Barrett was far more brutal than Capt. Wirz.
By October 12th of 1864 there were 12,362 prisoners at the stockade, with a death rate of between 20 & 30 per day. At this time, three-fourths of the prisoners were without blankets, and quite a few were close to being naked. Luckily, a supply of goods and clothes were delivered to the stockade from the Sanitary Commission about the middle of October.
Around the first of November, another supply of clothes arrived at the stockade from the Sanitary Commission. These items were dispersed to the prisoners who were in most need of them. Also, around this time, the northwest corner of the stockade was separated from the main part for the construction of a hospital, which consisted of rude barracks.
The prisoners totaled 11,424 for November, and towards the end of the month, orders came to make out parole rolls for the most severely sick and wounded prisoners. Any prisoner wishing to be paroled had to undergo an inspection to determine if his case was severe enough to be paroled.
On December 6, 1864, public criticism led to the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel John F. Iverson as the commander of the stockade. During the first half of December the prisoners who were selected for parole were sent by rail to Charleston where they would stay for a few days before boarding the flag-of-truce boats. After their parole, they were shipped to Camp Parole, Annapolis, Maryland. Due to these paroles the number of prisoners had decreased to 7,538 with the death rate decreasing to 6 per day for January 1865.
Brigadier General John H. Winder, commander of all of the Southern prisons east of the Mississippi, was at Florence when he died of a heart attack in front of the Sutler Tent on February 6th, 1865. Due to an inadequate water supply and its close proximity to Federal cavalry, Winder had been trying to close the stockade at Florence. After Winder's death, Colonel Henry Forno made preparations to have the prisoners relocated. Sherman had cut the last railroad link to southwest Georgia, so it was decided to have the prisoners relocated to North Carolina. After much discussion about what to do with the prisoners, all able-bodied prisoners were sent to Greensboro, where they would be paroled and sent to Camp Parole, Annapolis, MD. Most of the sick and wounded prisoners were sent to N.E. Ferry at Wilmington to be paroled as well. By the end of February 1865, the stockade was empty.
Capt. Wirz was later hung for war crimes related to Andersonville, but Lt. Barrett escaped this same fate by fleeing to Germany where he married and remained many years. He would die later of natural causes in 1910 at Augusta, GA.
The Florence Stockade has not received the same notoriety as Andersonville, but the conditions were very much the same. In fact, by many accounts, Florence was worse. It must also be realized that most of the prisoners at Florence had already survived a hard summer at Andersonville and now faced going through the winter with little to no shelter.
Dedication of the Burial Plaque at the National Cemetery!!
On May 30th 1998 we unveiled a plaque at the Florence National Cemetery which points out the location of the burial trenches for the stockade deaths. We also presented a database of close to 850 names of soldiers who are buried in the cemetery as unknowns. This database is available to cemetery visitors.
CIVIL WAR UNION BURIALS
"On each side of this marker lie the remains of approximately 2300 Union soldiers who died as prisoners in the Florence Prison Stockade, between September 1864 and February 1865. The Stockade was located across Cemetery Street on Stockade Road. Burials are in trenches indicated by stone markers at the end of each row, showing the number of individuals placed there.
Names of those in trench burials were lost after the war but are being researched by the Old Darlington District Chapter, SC Genealogical Society. A current list of known casualties is located on a database in the visitor center for public reference. Signs on Stockade Road indicate the site of the Confederate Stockade. This marker erected by Friends of the Florence Stockade, May 30, 1998."
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Recent developments have been made at the city of Florence's portion of the stockade site; made possible by funding from the Florence County Historical Society. Through an archaeologist dig the location of the stockade walls, hospital location and entrance gate have been located, as well as Confederate buildings outside of the stockade walls.
This finding has encouraged the city planners not to develop the area into a playground and ball park as originally intended; at least not on the actual stockade site. Once the archaeologist report is complete, hopes are that plans will be made to recreate some of the stockade walls and gate. Private funding, and possibly Federal funds, will be necessary to complete these goals and our society in conjunction with the Florence County Historical Society will start the process when plans are finalized.
Negotiations with the owner of the rest of the stockade site continue and we are hopeful that the whole area can be incorporated into one memorial park development appropriate to the history involved here.
The bottom line is, at this point, that at least one-third of the stockade site has been preserved and protected!!
Soldier's Letters, Diaries, Manuscripts, Photos, etc.:
Confederate
New ! A Letter Home from W. A. Pressly, an officer at Florence Prison, Feb. 1865.
Union
George A. Hitchcock, 21st MA Inf.
Emils Mettatal - 24th MI Infantry - Survived Florence only to die onboard the steamer General Lyon.
Photo - Bartholomew Hennelly - 2nd MA Heavy Artillery - Died at Florence
A Civil, and Sometimes Uncivil, War, Edited, with an introduction, by Bruce Catton; American Heritage Magazine, October 1964, Volume XV, Number VI. (52nd PA Infantry)
Andersonville, MacKinlay Kantor, 1955. Mentions Florence and Millen (Camp Lawton).
Andersonville: A Story of Rebel Prisons, by John McElroy (16th IL Cavalry); Volume II; Washington, DC: The National Tribune, 1899. This book has been reprinted several times and does include an account of his time spent at Florence Stockade.
Battle Field and Prison Pen, by John W. Wiban.
Charlie Mosher's Civil War, (85th NY Infantry), edited by Wayne Mahood; Longstreet House, Hightstown, NJ, 1994.
Civil War Prisons: A Study in War Psychology, by William B. Hesseltin.
Collections of a Coffee Cooler, Consisting of Daily Prison Scenes in Andersonville, Ga., and Florence, SC., by Samuel Creelman (101st PA Infantry) Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh Photo-Engraving Co., l889.
Dancing Along the Deadline, by Ezra Hoyt Ripple, Presidio Press, Novato, CA, 1996.
Death Camp at Florence, by Dr. G. Wayne King, Civil War Times, Illustrated, Jan. 1974.
Eight Months a Prisoner Under the Rebel Flag, by S. S. Boggs, Lovingston, IL, 1889.
Houses of Misery and Hope, by Gary Thomas and Richard Andrew; Civil War Magazine, Issue 59, December 1996, pages 31-32.
Libby, Andersonville, Florence: The Capture, Imprisonment, Escape and Rescue of John Harrold, by John Harrold (138th PA Infantry). Philadelphia: Selheimer, 1870.
Life And Death in Rebel Prisons, by Robert H. Kellogg; Hartford, CT; 1867. (16th CT Inf.)
Notes On The Confederate Stockade of Florence South Carolina, by Walter D. Woods. (Confederate Guard's Account), Florence Public Library.
Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series II, Vol. VII, page 1098.
Portals to Hell - Military Prisons of the Civil War, by Lonnie R. Speer. Published by Stackpole Books in 1997. A fine work adding to the history and understanding of military prisons, on both sides, in the Civil War.
Report of the Inspector of the National Cemetery at Florence, South Carolina, by James F. Rusling, Bvt. Brigadier General Inspector, O.M.D., May 1866.
The National Tribune, published Washington, DC. 19 July 1883 & 23 Aug 1883.
The Photographic History Of The Civil War, Part Seven: Prisons and Hospitals. Miller. Castle Books, New York 1957 (First Published 1911) pp 8 Reprinted 1987 by The Blue & Grey Press.
The Soldier's Story of His Captivity at Andersonville, Belle Isle, and other Rebel Prisons, by Warren Lee Goss, (2nd MA Heavy Artillery), Lee and Shepard Publishers, Boston, 1866.
The Story of Andersonville and Florence, by Newton Miller James, Des Moines, Iowa, 1900.
Yankee Magazine, Feb 1983, pp 163 "That Hell Upon Earth". A personal account of a prisoner at Andersonville, Millen and Florence. William Graves.