rustycoinUT
December 3rd, 2005, 09:35 PM
Cahaba Prison camp
Cahaba Federal Prison was located in an area near Cahaba (once known as Cahawba), Alabama on the banks of the Alabama and Cahaba Rivers.
Once designated as a cotton warehouse, it held over 5000 Union soldiers between 1863 and 1865.The 16,000 foot prison was surrounded by a tall brick wall. Prisoners were contained in old decrepit buildings which held no provisions for bedding. Instead, prisoners slept on bare floors with one fireplace in the building to keep them warm. The water supply was an artesian well which had become extremely polluted by the sewer runoff from the town and the prison itself. According to stories told, the river often flooded and covered the floors of the buildings in waters running 1-4 feet deep.
The commanding officer at Cahaba Prison was Captain H. A. M. Henderson. He was a Methodist minister. Due to his overseeing of this prison, prisoners were treated fairly and the death rate was extremely low in comparison to most other Civil War Prison Camps.
Today, Cahaba is a ghost town. Archaeologists are working on uncovering the past of Cahaba Prison and town. It has become an important archaeological site as well as a place to visit and see the ruins.
Cahaba is located 14 miles southwest of Selma, off Highway 22 and County Road 9, at 9518 Cahaba Road, Orrville, Alabama.
rustycoinUT
Cahaba Federal Prison was located in an area near Cahaba (once known as Cahawba), Alabama on the banks of the Alabama and Cahaba Rivers.
Once designated as a cotton warehouse, it held over 5000 Union soldiers between 1863 and 1865.The 16,000 foot prison was surrounded by a tall brick wall. Prisoners were contained in old decrepit buildings which held no provisions for bedding. Instead, prisoners slept on bare floors with one fireplace in the building to keep them warm. The water supply was an artesian well which had become extremely polluted by the sewer runoff from the town and the prison itself. According to stories told, the river often flooded and covered the floors of the buildings in waters running 1-4 feet deep.
The commanding officer at Cahaba Prison was Captain H. A. M. Henderson. He was a Methodist minister. Due to his overseeing of this prison, prisoners were treated fairly and the death rate was extremely low in comparison to most other Civil War Prison Camps.
Today, Cahaba is a ghost town. Archaeologists are working on uncovering the past of Cahaba Prison and town. It has become an important archaeological site as well as a place to visit and see the ruins.
Cahaba is located 14 miles southwest of Selma, off Highway 22 and County Road 9, at 9518 Cahaba Road, Orrville, Alabama.
rustycoinUT