ipl-logo

Point Lookout During The Civil War

586 Words3 Pages

August 1st, 1863 one of the worst prison camps for confederates in the civil war was created. Point Lookout was established right after the Battle of Gettysburg to take confederate soldiers. Point Lookout had caused many conflicts for prisoners in camp. Some conflicts that Point Lookout caused for soldiers was disease, hunger, and even death. Nearly 50,000 soldiers became prisoners and 4,000 died in the process.
The main reason why point lookout was created was because of the battle of Gettysburg to trap confederate soldiers. Point lookout prison camp was settled at the tip of St. Mary's county and was located on a peninsula in Chesapeake Bay. Because of the peninsula, Point lookout was very helpful as a prison camp because it was isolated …show more content…

Point lookout consisted of two enclosures of flat sand and had 15 foot high fences to keep prisoners in. The walls were 14 feet high and surrounded approximately 40 acres. Union troops guarded tents and around fences .The camp was meant to fit around 10,000 men but soon overcrowded.
While in camp, the prisoners faced many day to day conflicts and challenges. Sleep was a very common and major problem for the confederate soldiers at point lookout. The tents that the confederate soldiers slept in had no barracks to protect them from storms. Overcrowding at Point lookout became so major that there weren't enough tents to go around and tents were very overcrowded. There was never enough heat and firewood to keep prisoners warm during the winter.
Although sleep was a major problem for the confederate soldier's, disease and starvation also played a very major role in the conflicts prisoners faced. Some diseases that were common in prisoners were diarrhea, Typhoid fever, dysentery, scurvy, smallpox and itch. There was great malnutrition on soldiers. Majority of soldiers died due to lack of sanitation, food, and medical care. Nearly 4,000 men died while in prison

More about Point Lookout During The Civil War

Open Document