Frederick County Civil War Roundtable Meeting and Presentation

Please join the FCCWRT as Robert E. Crickenberger Jr. presents “Point Lookout and the Second Wave of Prisons.” As the Civil War progressed into its third bloody year, federal campaigns were sending thousands of prisoners north in numbers that overwhelmed existing prisons. Furthermore, the forced cessation of a prisoner exchange cartel compounded the burden of the already overcrowded prison system, further denying the Confederate government of its much-needed manpower. By mid-1863, a desperate Commissary General of Prisoners, Colonel William Hoffman, began scouring the northern states, seeking locations to build new camps to better manage this sudden influx of prisoners. Hoffman’s latest prison, Point Lookout, began the succession of new holding areas in what is now referred to as the “Second Wave of Prisons.”

This presentation is free for members, $5 suggested fee for non-members.