Civil War in Lynchburg

Civil War in Lynchburg (HM13LO)

Location: Lynchburg, VA 24501
Buy Virginia State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 37° 24.418', W 79° 9.978'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 647 views
Inscription

Prisoner-of-War Camp

This was the site of a Confederate training camp and Union prisoner-of-war camp during the Civil War. Before Virginia seceded from the Union in April 1861, the population of Lynchburg doubledwith the influx of soldiers fromother parts of the state, as wellas from throughout the Confederacy. Virginians were housed at Camp Davis in Lynchburg,while other soldiers bivouackedhere at the fairgrounds justoutside the city.

At first, all prisoners-of-war are to be detained inRichmond, the Confederatecapital, but the jails and warehouses there quickly filled. Auxiliary facilitieswere established elsewhere. Lynchburg was anobvious choice for a prisoner-of-war camp becauseof its superior rail system and its remotenessfrom the front lines.

Located on part of the fairgrounds, thecamp was for Federal prisoners waiting to beexchanged. No medical services were available, and many deaths occurred in the camp before the autumn of 1862, whenthe sick and woundedwere moved to hospitalsin Lynchburg. Afterthe exchange cartelceased operating in thesummer of 1863, thecamp quickly becameovercrowded. The onlypermanent structures inside the enclosure wereopen stalls that had been used for livestock, sothe prisoners were forced to livein them or in tents. Most of theUnion dead were buried in theCity Cemetery by the firm ofGeorge Diuguid and then, inOctober 1866, were re-interredat Poplar grove National Cemetery in Petersburg. E.C. GlassHigh School now stands on thesite of the prison camp.
Details
HM NumberHM13LO
Tags
Placed ByCivil War Trails
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, September 13th, 2014 at 4:19pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17S E 662289 N 4141597
Decimal Degrees37.40696667, -79.16630000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 37° 24.418', W 79° 9.978'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds37° 24' 25.08" N, 79° 9' 58.68" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)434
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 2111-2299 VA-163, Lynchburg VA 24501, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. This marker needs at least one picture.
  10. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  11. Is the marker in the median?