Memorials for Prisoners of War

Memorials for Prisoners of War. . , These are not graves. , These are markers to memoralize the Federal soldiers who died in the Cahawba Military Prison during the Civil War. The men within the prison called it "Castle Morgan." , No one knows where in Cahawba these men were initially buried. However, we do know that they are no longer here. In 1867, after the war, the Federal government dug them up and moved them to a cemetery in Montgomery Alabama. Later they were moved again to Marietta National Cemetery in Georgia, where they rest today. , With each move, a new list of the dead was made. The numbers of unknowns increased as names got separated from bodies. There are many discrepancies among the lists, but the original Cahawba hospital ledger recorded 142 deaths., Lest We Forget , Several government employees and citizens of Northern states died in Castle Morgan. The Veteran's Administration graciously supplied these memorial markers but could not supply markers for citizen deaths. Here is a list of those men's names, states, and death dates:, Henry Fairchild, unknown, Sept. 8, 1864 , Martin N. Hardy, Illinois, Sept 25, 1864 , S. D. Adams, unknown, Sept. 25, 1864 , Calvin Erving, Illinois, Oct. 8, 1864 , (or Alvin Irving) , N. M. Edwards, unknown, Jan. 8, 1865 , G. D. Smith, New York, Jan. 11, 1865 , John Lowdon, New York, Jan. 22, 1865 , W. G. Watson, Maine, Feb. 14, 1865, Major Hiram Solon Hanchett , 16th Illinois Cavalry , On January 20th, 1865, Major Hanchett led a daring but unsuccessful revolt inside the military prison. In March when the other soldiers were sent to parole camp, the post commandant Sam Jones detained Hanchett because he believed him to be a spy. In April, as Union forces were approaching, Confederate soldiers seized Hanchett, took him from town and executed him. His body lies today in an unmarked grave.