Prisoners of War at Point Lookout

Prisoners of War at Point Lookout. Point Lookout State Park.

"I have not seen one smile or heard a hearty laugh since I have been here. Everyone moves around in almost sullen silence, with a sad countenance, and the whole crew looks as if they had just returned from a big funeral." , Prisoner George Neese

, Here is a partial reconstruction of Camp Hoffman, the largest Union prison camp for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. Opened on July 31, 1863, the prison camp was designed to hold 10,000 captives. During its two-year existence, over 52,000 prisoners of war passed through its gates, with over 22,000 being held at once in April 1865., Conditions were harsh. Prisoners dealt with hunger, contaminated water, poor shelters, disease, and exposure to the weather. Over 4,000 did not survive. Many more perished after the war due to the debilitating effects of prison life., [Captions:] , In this general area stood nine cook houses and mess halls that issued rations to the prisoners twice a day., The watercolor scenes shown here are credited to John Jacob Omenhausser, a captive from June 1864 to June 1865. , Prisoners at times cooked and ate rats to supplement their meager rations, which included boiled pork, hardtack crackers and coffee., Punishment came in various forms. Here Omenhausser depicts a prisoner suspended by this thumbs, one standing on a barrel, another wearing a "barrel shirt," one wearing a sign announcing his offense and two wearing special souits of wool with caps while being manacled to a 12-pound ball and chain.