To Die in Chicago: Confederate Prisoners at Camp Douglas 1862-65

While much has been made of Andersonville, the Confederate prison camp, its Union counterparts have yet to receive the same attention and scrutiny. This important history of Camp Douglas, a Union prison located in Chicago, finally reveals the atrocities that occurred there. Camp Douglas was never intended to be a prison. Originally designed as a Union recruiting and training depot, barracks and stables were built to house approximately 8,000 troops. In December 1864, the number of prisoners swelled to 12,082. Prisoners' living conditions were abominable, and as a consequence, the camp became the largest Confederate burial ground outside of the South. The exact number of those buried there is impossible to determine because of haphazard record-keeping and a general lack of concern for the prisoners. Most were buried in unmarked mass graves.