Civil War Prisons and POW Exchanges, including Andersonville and Elmira (1861–1865)

1. First Civil War captives strain ad hoc systems

   Apr 12, 1861Labels: Civil War

   • ABT Prisons

2. Dix–Hill Cartel creates formal exchange rules

   Jul 22, 1862Labels: Dix Hill

   • NPS Andersonville
   • Dix Hill Cartel

3. Lieber Code outlines POW and exchange principles

   Apr 24, 1863Labels: Lieber Code

   • GO 100 text

4. Confederacy rejects equal status for Black Union soldiers

   May 1, 1863Labels: Confederate policy

   • Dix Hill Cartel
   • EJI Calendar

5. Lincoln suspends large-scale exchanges over unequal treatment

   Jul 30, 1863Labels: Abraham Lincoln

   • NPS Richmond

6. Point Lookout opens as major Union POW camp

   Aug 1, 1863Labels: Point Lookout

   • Maryland DNR
   • ABT Prisons

7. Rock Island prison camp begins receiving Confederates

   Dec 1, 1863Labels: Rock Island

   • U S Army

8. Camp Sumter (Andersonville) receives first prisoners

   Feb 24, 1864Labels: Camp Sumter

   • NPS Andersonville
   • History com Feb

9. Fort Pillow killings intensify exchange and retaliation disputes

   Apr 12, 1864Labels: Fort Pillow

   • Gilder Lehrman
   • NPS Richmond

10. Grant continues the policy of halting broad exchanges

    Apr 17, 1864Labels: Ulysses S

    • NPS Richmond

11. Elmira prison camp opens to Confederate POWs

    Jul 6, 1864Labels: Elmira Prison

    • Elmira Prison
    • ABT Prisons

12. Andersonville overcrowding peaks as exchanges remain limited

    Aug 1, 1864Labels: Andersonville overcrowding

    • NPS Andersonville

13. Grant’s August 1864 letter frames exchange as military advantage issue

    Aug 18, 1864Labels: Grant letter

    • NPS Grant Myth

14. War’s end triggers prisoner releases and dangerous transport

    Apr 9, 1865Labels: Prisoner releases

    • ABT Sultana

15. Sultana disaster kills many newly freed Union POWs

    Apr 27, 1865Labels: Sultana disaster

    • ABT Sultana

16. Elmira’s POW operations end as prisoners depart

    Jul 11, 1865Labels: Elmira closure

    • Elmira Prison

17. Henry Wirz executed, shaping postwar accountability debates

    Nov 10, 1865Labels: Henry Wirz

    • NPS Wirz
    • History com Nov