Alton Illinois Military Prison was a bad place to be. Out of 11,764 Confederate prisoners 1,534 were known to have died from disease and hot, humid summers and bitter cold winters.
Thirty-five members of the 43rd MS. were transported here and seven died. Most of these men were overwhelmed and captured at Water Valley, MS. on the retreat of the Confederate army during Gen. Grant's 1862 Mississippi Central Railroad Campaign. The 43rd MS. had been assigned to the rear guard.
The Alton prison opened in 1833 as the first Illinois State Penitentiary and was closed in 1860, when the last prisoners were moved to a new facility at Joliet. By late 1861, an urgent need arose to relieve the overcrowding at two St. Louis prisons. On December 31, 1861, Major General Henry Halleck, Commander of the Department of the Missouri, ordered Lieutenant-Colonel James B. McPherson to Alton for an inspection of the closed penitentiary. Colonel McPherson reported that the prison could be made into a military prison and house up to 1, 750 prisoners with improvements estimated to cost $2,415.
The first prisoners arrived at the Alton Federal Military Prison on February 9, 1862, and members of the 13th U.S. Infantry were assigned as guards, with Colonel Sidney Burbank commanding.
During the next three years over 11,764 Confederate prisoners would pass through the gates of the Alton Prison. Of the four different classes of prisoners housed at Alton, Confederate soldiers made up most of the population. Citizens, including several women, were imprisoned here for treasonable actions, making anti-Union statements, aiding an escaped Confederate, etc. Others, classified as bushwhackers or guerillas, were imprisoned for acts against the government such as bridge burning and railroad vandalism.
Conditions in the prison were harsh and the mortality rate was above average for a Union prison. Hot, humid summers and cold Midwestern winters took a heavy toll on prisoners already weakened by poor nourishment and inadequate clothing. The prison was overcrowded much of the time and sanitary facilities were inadequate. Pneumonia and dysentery were common killers but contagious diseases such as smallpox and rubella were the most feared. When smallpox infection became alarmingly high in the winter of 1862 and spring of 1863, a quarantine hospital was located on an island across the Mississippi River from the prison. Up to 300 prisoners and soldiers died and are buried on the island, now under water. A cemetery in North Alton that belonged to the State of Illinois was used for most that died. A monument there lists 1,534 names of Confederate soldiers that are known to have died. An additional number of civilians and Union soldiers were victims of disease and illness.
During the war several different units were assigned to serve as guards at Alton. The 13th U.S. Infantry was followed by the 77th Ohio Infantry, the 37th Iowa Infantry, the 10th Kansas Infantry and the 144th Illinois Infantry. Formed at Alton specifically to serve as prison guards, the Illinois 144th was almost completely made up of Alton area residents.
The prison closed July 7, 1865, when the last prisoners were released or sent to St. Louis. The buildings were torn down over the next decades and the land was eventually used by the city as a park named after the Joel Chandler Harris character, "Uncle Remus, " from Song of the South. Stone from the prison buildings is found in walls and other structures all over the Alton area. The Confederate Cemetery contains the remains of Confederate soldiers and civilians who died while prisoners at the Alton Military Prison. The monument there includes the names of the soldiers who died at Alton. (American Battlefield Trust)
Malijah Beamon Pyron was a dedicated Southern patriot who joined Co. F, 43rd. MS. Vol. Inf. AKA "Captain Hampton's Company". The company was raised at Caledonia, Monroe County, MS. on 29 March 1862 and was consolidated with Co. A at Tuscumbia, AL., Nov. 1864, with Capt. Perry of Co. A in command.
M.B. Pyron is shown with his wife Susan Loftis. He was born on
25 Dec 1828, Fayette County, Alabama and died on 1 Nov 1914 (aged 85) at Houston, Chickasaw County, Mississippi. He is buried in Prospect Methodist Church Cemetery, Houston
(Image is curtesy of Find a Grave)
There are good Yankees who respect and support Southern/Confederate history and heritage. Y'all are appreciated. Southerners just like to have some fun
While recently visiting the Valley of Fire Nevada State Park, 53 miles northeast of Las Vegas, your humble author came across this historical marker and memorial to sergeant John J. Clark, New York Cavalry. He was a Union veteran during the War Between the States and was discharged after being wounded and contracting typhoid fever.
A historical marker and memorial were placed in 1949 by the citizens of nearby Overton. Notice the Historical marker reads the religious meaning of calvary instead of the correct spelling of cavalry used militarily
The memorial interpretive sign reads:
In Memory of Sergeant John J. Clark
John J. Clark was born in Canada in 1844. He enlisted as a private in Company F of the New York Infantry in 1862, serving actively in the Civil War. After being shot in the hand and contracting typhoid fever, he was honorably discharged 6 March 1863 as a sergeant in Company B of the New York Calvary.
Following his discharge, Sargeant Clark emigrated to Southern California. While traveling from Bakersfield to Salt Lake City on a buckboard, he stopped near this spot, tied his horse to the back of the wagon and wandered around, possibly looking for water. Eventually, he crawled under his buckboard and died, presumably from thirst, several days before his body was found 30 June 1915.
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