The Cost of Freedom

The Cost of Freedom. . , More people died during the Civil War than during any other war in U.S. history. An estimated 200 Union soldiers are buried at the Alton Cemetery., More than three million fought in the Civil War. Two percent of the population, more than 620,000, died in it. A number of civilians and Union soldiers who died of disease in Alton or onboard steamboats passing up the Mississippi are also buried here., During the war several different units were assigned to serve as guards at Alton Federal Military Prison, including the 13th U.S. Infantry, 77th Ohio Infantry, 37th Iowa Infantry, 10th Kansas Infantry, and 144th Illinois Infantry. Formed in Alton specifically to serve as prison guards, the Illinois 144th was almost completely made up of Alton area residents., "The mystic cords of memory, stretching from every battlefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union." , Abraham Lincoln, [Caption:] , Confederate soldiers have their own cemetery in North Alton. visit the Confederate Monument to learn more about the Confederate soldiers who died while imprisoned at the Alton Military Prison.