POW Cover (Dr) Alfred Hughes Columbus Ohio Camp Chase Examined CMB Allison Col

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POW Cover (Dr) Alfred Hughes Columbus Ohio Camp Chase Examined CMB Allison Col:
$9.99

Very interesting Prisoner of War cover addressed to Mrs. Dr Alfred Hughes Wheeling Va, franked with #65, partial cds Columbus Ohio where Camp Chase was located, ms Exmd CMB Allison Col, docketed at left 9/16/62, he was a cadet at at VMI and was arrested and put in Camp Chase for 8 months for disloyalty, one of his patients was the wife of Robert E Lee, practiced homeopathic medicine and contributed articles to publications. Cover has some minor defects, one at left edge, slightly dingy looking, address light as are many of the Hughes covers, ms examined markings are quite clear as done by CMB Allison

The 85th Ohio Infantry was organized atCamp ChaseinColumbus, OhioMay through June 1862 and mustered in on June 10, 1862 for three months service underColonelCharles W. B. Allison.

The regiment moved toKentuckyand participated in operations againstJohn Hunt MorganJuly 1862. Performed prison guard duty at Camp Chase until September, then moved toCincinnati, Ohio, and participated in the operations for the defense of that city againstEdmund Kirby Smith\'s threatened attack August-September.

The 85th Ohio mustered out of the service September 23 and September 27, 1862.

Charles W. B. AllisonResidence was not listed; 41 years old.Enlisted on 6/1/1862 as a Colonel.On 6/10/1862 he was commissioned into Field & Staff OH 85th Infantry He was Mustered Out on 9/23/1862 at Camp Chase, OH

BIOGRAPHY of DR. ALFRED HUGHES

From \"History of the Upper Ohio Valley,\"
Vol. I, pages 332-335 & 580; Brant & Fuller, 1890.

Alfred Hughes, M. D., of Baltimore, Md., was born at Wheeling, Va., on September 16, 1824. His great-grandfather, Felix Hughes, was a native of Ireland. He was a devout Catholic, and left the land of his birth to find that religious freedom that he was there denied. He came to this country and settled in Loudon county, Va., in 1732. Four sons were born to him, of whom James, the grandfather of our subject, was a great huntsman, and crossing the mountains in quest of game, saw the beautiful region that is now Greene county, Penn., but then a part of Virginia. He determined to settle there and having married a Miss Dunn, of Jefferson county, Va., in 1772 moved to his newly located home, and was among the first white settlers of that section. At his death he owned large tracts of land in Virginia, Kentucky and what is now Indiana; he left three sons and five daughters, his oldest child being then only nineteen years of age. His youngest child but one, Thomas, was born and raised in what is now Greene county, Penn., and in early life married Mary, daughter of Charles von Odenbaugh of Winchester, Va. They shortly afterward moved to Wheeling, Va., where seven sons and three daughters were born to them. He served under Gen. Harrison in the war of 1812. At his death in 1849, he had been treasurer of the city of Wheeling, and member of the city council for thirty-two years; president of the Wheeling Savings institution; president of the Wheeling Fire Insurance company; president of the Wheeling & Belmont Bridge company, and director in the Northwestern bank. His oldest living son was chosen to fill his place in the city council, and held the position to a year previous to his death, in 1870. His seventh child was our subject. He went through a thorough collegiate course of education, studied medicine and graduated at the Homeopathic Medical college of Philadelphia. On November 1, 1849, he married Mary Kirby Adrian, of Wheeling, a descendant of the Sedgwick family of Maryland, who settled in that state in the early part of the seventeenth century. He began the practice of homeopathy at Wheeling in 1851. Of those who had essayed the task of practicing the new school and failed, two practitioners were from Philadelphia and one from Baltimore. Popular prejudice and the bitter opposition of the old school were too much for them, and their defeat rendered victory more difficult for their successor. Dr. Hughes, however, after a hard fight, and many newspaper controversies, conquered, vindicating the advantages of the homeopathic practice. When the cholera made its appearance, in 1854, he labored constantly night and day, being the only homeopathic physician in the city, and meeting with almost unprecedented success in his treatment of the fearful scourge, then in epidemic form, homeopathy was then firmly established, he soon built up a large and lucrative practice, and now Wheeling, in place of one, has several new school practitioners. On the outbreak of the war, and when the first gun was fired at Charleston, his sympathies were enlisted in behalf of the south. When Virginia seceded, he engaged in newspaper political controversies, and became correspondent for theBaltimore Exchange. He was arrested for disloyalty in 1861, and was held a prisoner at Camp Chase, near Columbus, Ohio, for nearly eight months, when he was specially exchanged for a brother of Dr. Pancoast of Philadelphia, captured at Bloomery Gap, Va., and a prisoner at Salisbury, N. C. On his way to Richmond with his wife and three children he stayed in Baltimore, reporting to Gen. Schenck, to whom he had letters of introduction. He obtained from the secretary of war, Stanton, a permit to take his wife and children and extra baggage to Richmond. On the steamer in which they sailed for Fortress Monroe were several distinguished federal generals, among them Gen. Thomas, who rendered them great service in getting through their extensive baggage, consisting of some thirteen trunks, at a time when scarcely a bundle was permitted to go by a Flag of truce boat. Having been landed at City Point, and the formalities of exchange gone through, he proceeded with his family to Richmond. At Petersburg he was arrested on a general suspicion created by the amount of his baggage, and it was not until dispatches were sent by Brokenbrough and Hon. Charles W. Russell, vouching for his loyalty to the south, that he and his baggage were permitted to proceed. His arrival in Richmond accompanied by the unusual amount of baggage gave rise to a report that he was a commissioner of peace sent by the United States government clothed with power to end the war. He at once settled down into practice, and again had to fight homeopathy\'s battle against bitter prejudice and stubborn opposition. Once more he succeeded in establishing the system, and secured an excellent practice. After a while he was elected to the legislature of Virginia, and remained a member thereof up to the fall of Richmond. He was a warm advocate of the enlistment of slaves in the southern ranks. Among his patients during and since the war was the wife of Gen. Robert E. Lee. On December 18, 1865, he removed from Richmond to Baltimore, where he soon established himself in a good and lucrative practice, such a one, indeed, as is obtained by few, even after long residence in a city. This he has done in spite of much competition. Thus he has established in his native city, and won respect for it in his own person, in two others. Dr. Hughes was an occasional contributor to theAmerican Homeopathic Observer. He has had ten children, five sons and three daughters of whom are living. His oldest son a graduate in law of the university of Virginia is a practicing lawyer in Baltimore. His oldest daughter in 1869, was married to W. P. Moncure, M. D., son of Judge R. C. L. Moncure, deceased, formerly president of the supreme court of appeals of Virginia. His second daughter in 1877, was married to Frank A. Bond, formerly adjutant-general of the state of Maryland, and an officer in the confederate states army of northern Virginia. His family are widely extended through Virginia, West Virginia and part of Kentucky. He died in Baltimore, Md., February 25, 1880. There is a sketch of his life in Cleave\'s Biographical Cyclopaedia of Homeopathic Physicians and Surgeons, and in the Biographical Cyclopaedia of Prominent Men in Maryland and the District of Columbia. His eldest son, Thomas, born August 25, 1850, in Wheeling, was at the close of the war a cadet at the Virginia Military institute at Richmond, Va.; graduated in 1871 at the Baltimore City college, first in a class of nineteen students, completing the prescribed course of four years in two years; and in the spring of the following year graduated in law at the university of Virginia, receiving the degree of B. L. He is a prominent lawyer in large practice in Baltimore; aominent lawyer in large practice in Baltimore; a member of the Bar association of Baltimore City, of the American Bar association, of the Maryland Historical society, past master of Concordia lodge, a member of the Jerusalem chapter and Beauseant commandery of Masons, past grand of Baltimore City lodge, and past chief patriarch of Mt. Araratt encampment of Odd Fellows, and a member of the Calumet, Crescent and Atheneum clubs of Baltimore. In 1875 he married Helen R. Thorburn of Fredricksburg, Va., daughter of Capt. Robert Donaldson Thorburn, formerly of the United States navy.

Camp Chase Prisoner of War Camp

Search, View, PrintUnion & Confederate Civil War Prisoner of War Records, 1861-1865

nion 1861-1865
Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, OhioUntil November 1861, Camp Chase, named for Sec.-of Treasury and former Ohio governor Salmon P. Chase, was a training center for Union volunteers. It became a facility for a few political and military prisoners from Ohio, Kentucky, and Western Virginia as early as August 7, 1861. The prison was 4 miles from Columbus, on the western outskirts. The camp received its first large influx of captured Confederates from western campaigns, including enlisted men, officers, and a few of the latter\'s black servants. From iys beginning as a prison facility, it was a source of irritation between the state and Federal governments. Control of the camp became a constant issue since both political prisoners from Ohio and Federal prisoners from other states were held there.

The camp was an enclosed barracks prison. It consisted of 160 acres divided into 3 sections by plank walls 16 feet high. The divided sections were designated as Prisons No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3. There were double outside walls, with a guard\'s parapet along the outside about 3 feet from the top. Guardhouses were located at each corner. The housing of the Union officers and guards were on the outside of the walls.

Prison No. 1 enclosed almost 1 acre and could hold almost 200 prisoners. Prisons No. 2 and No. 3 contained almost 5 acres each and sometimes held as many as 4,000 prisoners in each compound. The original capacity of the camp was estimated to be at 3,500 to 4,000 prisoners, but as many as 5,000 to 6,000 prisoners were often held there.

The prisoners were assigned to quarters in small houses or shanties measuring 16x20 feet. Each little shanty, with double or triple bunks arranged along the wall would hold 12 to 15 men. At one end of the shanty, a room was partitioned off as a kitchen with a small opening in the partition just large enough for a plate or cup to be passed through.

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The living quarters within the 3 camp sections were generally arranged in clusters of 6, with the buildings of each cluster about 5 feet apart. The clusters were seperated by narrow streets or pathways. The streets, drains, and gutters of the camp were all in the same condition. The latrines were nothing more than open excavations. The stench that permeated the camp, mostly from the open latrines, was described as \"horrible, nauseating, and disgusting\".

The prison grounds were unlevel, soft clayish soil with poor drainage. Pools of water and deep mud would stand for several days after a mild rain.The roofs of the living quarters would always leak since they were not shingled.

Col. Granville Moody was named the first prison commandant. The public paid for camp tours, and the camp became a tourist attraction. Complaints over such lax discipline and the camp\'s state administration provoked investigation, and the situation changed. After numerous complaints about the camp\'s state volunteers and the camp commander having \'scant acquaintance\" with military practice and were transferred, the camp passed into Federal government control. Col. Charles W.B. Allison became the new commandant. By the end of September, Allison was replaced with Maj. Peter Zinn of the Governor\'s Guard.

Zinn was replaced with Brig. Gen. John S. Mason of the U.S. Volunteers in April 1863. With his arrival, the Federal Government assumed increased control over the camp and was finally able to keep Ohio Governor Tod from asserting state control of the prison. Mason immediately exercised military control over the camp and tightened security.

Enlarge ImageLIFE & CONDITIONS:

Upon an oath of honor, Confederate officers were permitted to wander through Columbus, register in hotels, and receive gifts of money and food; a few attended sessions of the state senate.

Food supplies of poor quality resulted in the commissary officer\'s dismissal from service. However, Union victories at Fort Donalson and at Island No. 10 brought a new influx of prisoners. All of the officers taken at these battles, except general and field officers who were sent to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor,were transferred to the Camp Chase prison. After this influx, officers\' privileges were cut. When the prison at Johnson’s Island was established (100 miles to the north), most of the officers at Camp Chase were sent there. Following this transfer, men from the ranks, the privates, corprals and sergeants, made up the bulk of the Confederate soldiers confined at Camp Chase. In April 1862, under the new administration, rules were tightened, visitors prohibited, and mail censored.

Prisoners were allowed the privilage of receiving gifts of food and limited amounts of money to purchase supplies from approved vendors and sellers, the latter further restricted when they were discovered to be smuggling liquor to the inmates.

There were many prisoner complaints against the camp guards. Many of the complaints involved that prisoners were often shot by the guards when the prisoners misunderstood and stepped out of line during roll call, failed to quickly follow demands yelled down to them from the guards on the parapet, or gathered into large groups.

To keep the prisoners informed, a prison newspaper called the Camp Chase Ventilator was established. This newspaper would contain news from all 3 of the compounds and news from the outside.
As the war wore on, conditions became worse. Shoddy barracks, low muddy ground, open latrines, aboveground open cisterns, and a brief small-pox outbreak excited U.S. Sanitary Commission agents who were already demanding reform. Original facilities for 3,500-4,000 men were jammed with close to 7,000. Since parole strictures prohibited service against the Confederacy, many Federals had surrendered believing they would be paroled and sent home. Some parolees, assigned to guard duty at Union prisons camps, were bitter, and rumors increased of maltreatment of prisoners at Camp Chase and elsewhere.

Towards the end of 1862, the cases of excess number of paroled Union soldiers from the western prisons were sent to Camp Chase.

With Mason as the new commandant of the camp, all prisoners were restricted to the camp, tourists and visitors were prohibited, and all prisoner mail was censored. On the bright side, the quality of food rations was improved. By mid-1863, all officers and political prisoners were transferred to Johnson\'s Island.

The high tide of the prison population at Camp Chase was reached in 1863 when some 8,000 men were confined there.

In mid-to late 1864, a smallpox epidemic hit the camp. Immediately to the south of the camp, and across a stream that ran along its edge, was a 10 acre site in which the dead prisoners were buried.
In November 1864 there was an exchange of 10,000 sick and wounded prisoners between the North and South. Before the end of hostilities, Union parolee guards were transferred to service in the Indian Wars, some sewage modifications were made, and prisoners were put to work improving barracks and facilities. Prison laborers also built larger, stronger fences for their own confinement, a questionable assignment under international law governing prisoners of war. Barracks rebuilt for 7,000 men soon overflowed, and crowding and health conditions were never resolved.

The last remaining prisoners were released from the camp in June and July 1865. As many as 10,000 prisoners were reputedly confined there by the time of the Confederate surrender.

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