Abstract:
Established in November, 1861, the Confederate Salisbury Prison held as many as 10,000 captured Union troops in an area designed for 2,500. Food, clothing, and sanitary conditions were miserable and got worse as the war continued. Salisbury Prison was destroyed in April, 1865, by Union troops who liberated it. A recent symposium, held in Salisbury in July, 1988, brought together scholars, scientists, and descendants of prison guards and POWs.