Gambles Hill in Richmond, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Belle Isle Prison

Photographed By Bernard Fisher, November 3, 2009

1. Belle Isle Prison Marker

Inscription. Directly in front of you, in mid-river, is Belle Isle. Despite the large number of Union prisoners brought to Richmond during the Civil War, the city had only two full-time prisons. Libby Prison for Union officers, a mile and a half downriver, was the more famous of the pair, but Belle Isle, designed for Union enlisted men, was the most miserable.

Confederate authorities realized that the island would make an ideal site for holding captured enlisted men from the Union army. The first prisoners arrived from the battlefields in July 1862. Overcrowding soon became the prison’s primary problem. At times as many as 6,000 men occupied the portion of the island that had been set aside for prisoners. The absence of wooden buildings increased the suffering of the incarcerated soldiers. Poor sanitation, winter’s cold and summer’s heat and sun, malnutrition, and an insufficient number of tents plagued the prisoners. By 1864, about 20,000 men had spent some time on the island. The precise number of deaths is not yet known, but the sum could approach 1,000 men.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is July 1862.

Location. 37° 32.13′ N, 77° 26.799′ W. Marker is in Richmond, Virginia. It is

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in Gambles Hill. Marker can be reached from Tredegar Street, 0.1 miles west of South 5th Street. This marker is located outside the Civil War Visitor Center at Tredegar Iron Works. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 470 Tredegar Street, Richmond VA 23219, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Belle Isle and Old Dominion Iron and Nail Works (a few steps from this marker); Tredegar Rolling Mills (within shouting distance of this marker); Tredegar in 1951 (within shouting distance of this marker); Making Machines at Tredegar (within shouting distance of this marker); The Bulldozer Press (within shouting distance of this marker); Industrial Recycling (within shouting distance of this marker); Neighborhoods at Tredegar (within shouting distance of this marker); President Lincoln Visits Richmond (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Richmond.

More about this marker. The marker has been damaged and the title is illegible. On the bottom of the panel is "A post-war photograph of Belle Isle, taken just upriver from Tredegar."

Also see . . . Belle Isle Prison. Civil War Richmond (Submitted on January 18, 2010.)

Belle Isle Cemetery image. Click for full size.

2. Belle Isle Cemetery

Prisoners who died on Belle Isle were buried in the little cemetery [at the] northeastern end of the island. Surviving prisoners often stole the [wooden] headboards from the graves for use as firewood. At the end of the war, Union agents disinterred the bodies that could be found and removed them to the newly established Richmond National Cemetery on the Williamsburg Road, just east of the city. The man inspecting the grave is photographer John Reekie.

Belle Isle Prison Marker (facing south) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bernard Fisher, November 3, 2009

3. Belle Isle Prison Marker (facing south)

Belle Isle Prison Marker (facing west) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bernard Fisher, November 8, 2009

4. Belle Isle Prison Marker (facing west)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 18, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 2,581 times since then and 58 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 18, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.