Civil War Prison History & Genealogy Research
Camp Chase (Columbus, Ohio)
Camp Chase began as a Union training camp in 1861 and later served as a prisoner-of-war camp holding Confederate prisoners during the Civil War. Today, the Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery preserves the burial ground associated with the camp and serves as a lasting memorial.
Camp Chase at a Glance
- Originally a Union training camp, converted to a POW camp early in the war
- Named for Salmon P. Chase (Lincoln’s Treasury Secretary; former Ohio governor)
- Peak prison population noted by VA as 8,000 men (by 1863)
- NPS lesson notes prison population peak 9,423 (Jan 31, 1865)
- Cemetery is under two acres, with more than 2,000 headstones
- Federal government purchased the cemetery site in 1879
- Disease outbreaks occurred; VA notes a smallpox epidemic in late 1864
- Grave marking/memorial work led by William H. Knauss in the late 1800s/early 1900
What Was Camp Chase?
Camp Chase, located near Columbus, Ohio, began as a Union training camp and later operated as a prisoner-of-war camp during the Civil War. This section summarizes the camp’s purpose, evolution, and why it remains historically significant today.
Camp Chase served multiple roles during the Civil War, beginning as a training camp and later functioning as a prison camp for Confederate prisoners of war. As captures increased, prisoner facilities across the country faced intense pressure on shelter, food supply, sanitation, and medical care.
Camp Chase’s wartime story is preserved today through the cemetery landscape and historical documentation. For researchers, the site matters not only as a place-name in records, but also as context for understanding confinement, illness, mortality, and postwar memorialization.
Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery
Today, the Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery preserves the burial ground associated with the wartime prison camp and serves as a lasting memorial to those who died in captivity.
Camp Chase Timeline
A chronological overview of the prison’s construction, rapid overcrowding, peak population, and closure.
In 1861, Camp Chase was established west of Columbus as a Union camp used for training and mustering troops. A local historical marker summary notes the camp was established in May 1861 on land leased by the U.S. government, and it served multiple roles during the war (training, parole/muster functions, and prisoner holding).
Why it matters: Camp Chase’s “training camp” origin helps explain why it already had infrastructure that could later be adapted for prisoner confinement.
Camp Chase shifted from a training camp for Union Army recruits to a prisoner facility early in the war as prisoners began arriving. The NPS lesson (drawing from the National Register nomination) describes this transition as the camp being converted to a military prison when the first prisoners of war arrived.
Why it matters: This marks the turning point from a troop camp to a prison system that would expand dramatically as captures increased.
<p>Union victories at Fort Donelson (February 16, 1862) and at Island No. 10 (April 8, 1862) brought an influx of Confederate prisoners into Northern prison camps. The VA cemetery history specifically notes that these victories drove additional prisoners to Camp Chase, including officers captured in these actions (with some senior officers sent elsewhere).</p>
<p class=”av-why-line”><strong>Why it matters:</strong> These early 1862 captures help explain why Camp Chase’s prisoner population grew quickly beyond a “small holding” role.</p>
By 1863, Camp Chase had become one of the major Union-run facilities for Confederate prisoners. The VA cemetery history states that by 1863 Camp Chase held about 8,000 men, described there as the peak of the prison population.
Why it matters: Peak-population figures provide critical context for overcrowding, living conditions, and the risk of disease outbreaks in prison camps.
Like many Civil War prisons, Camp Chase faced severe public health challenges. The VA notes that the prison was ravaged by disease and that a smallpox epidemic in late 1864 resulted in many deaths.
Why it matters: Disease outbreaks—especially smallpox—directly affected mortality and can explain sudden clusters of deaths in records tied to the camp and cemetery.
Camp Chase’s prisoner population reached another widely cited high point late in the war. The NPS Teaching with Historic Places lesson reports that Camp Chase’s prison population peaked at 9,423 on January 31, 1865.
Why it matters: This late-war peak underscores how prison conditions could worsen even near the end of the conflict, especially during winter months.
Camp Chase continued operating through the end of the war, but prisoner confinement ended in 1865. The VA interpretive sign states that by July 1865 all remaining prisoners had been released, marking the conclusion of the camp’s prisoner function.
Why it matters: “Released by July 1865” provides a practical endpoint for prisoner-related record searches and helps date the final administrative activity tied to the camp.
After the war, the burial ground and memorial landscape evolved over decades. The VA interpretive sign notes that the U.S. government bought the property in 1879, and that privately funded improvements and annual memorial observances began in the 1890s under the direction of William H. Knauss, a former Union soldier. The VA cemetery history also credits Knauss with leading efforts to mark graves and notes that in 1904 Congress allocated funds for cemetery maintenance.
Why it matters: This period explains why many graves were initially marked in temporary ways and why more formal markers and maintenance developed later.
Conditions and Prisoner Accounts
Civil War prison camps were shaped by overcrowding, exposure to weather, limited shelter, inadequate rations, and outbreaks of communicable disease. The excerpted primary account below is presented for historical context and should be read alongside broader documentation and research.
A Prisoner’s View of Camp Chase
Having made my escape from the Federal prison located near Columbus, Ohio, I deem it due to the 240 brave but unfortunate Southern men whom I left incarcerated there on the 29th of October last to make known to the South and to the world the suffering and indignities to which they are subjected by their inhuman jailers. It will be remembered that Columbus is in a very cold country. The winter winds blow fiercely from those Northern fresh-water lakes over the State of Ohio and Camp Chase prison receives its full share of the chilling blasts. Yet while I was prisoner there, including the month of October, when the weather was very rainy and cold, no fires were allowed in the prison to warm the half naked and shivering prisoners. Promises were made from time to time by the subordinate officers that the prison should be warmed either by stoves or by a steam-heating apparatus but up to the 29th day of October no steps had been taken looking to that end. To add to the discomfort of the poor prisoners the wretched shanties, their only shelter, leaked badly, keeping the floors, their only bed, and even their scanty bed clothing soaked with water. This treatment of human beings by those calling themselves Christians is unparalleled. The food furnished the prisoners, with the exception of the bread, was of the most inferior kind and in insufficient quantities for the sustenance of the famishing men. The pork was absolutely rotten. But the great complaint was the difficulty in obtaining enough wood to cook the half-spoiled and scanty meal, only five small sticks per day being allowed for a mess of twenty-five men and that often not furnished until away in the night, leaving the men starving for want of their scanty meals during the entire day. It is but justice to the ladies of Columbus to say that they offered to furnish comfortable beds and bedding for us but were denied the privilege by the commandant because he said it was not permitted by the orders. When these kind-hearted ladies visited us in our vile prison and beheld our wretched condition they involuntarily burst into tears. They gave us all they were permitted to bestow–their sympathy and tears. I do not whine nor ask the sympathies of any one. I am loose from Yankee despotism and with my musket in one hand and the black flag of extermination to the foe in the other I intend to avenge my own and my country’s wrongs.
Source: Touring Ohio, “Camp Chase” (section titled “A prisoner’s view of Camp Chase”).
Interpreting Primary Accounts
The conditions described in prisoner letters—cold exposure, inadequate shelter, limited fuel, poor rations, and illness—appear across many Civil War prison narratives. Overcrowding and strained supply systems could quickly overwhelm sanitation and medical care.
Why it matters: Pairing a personal account with documented timelines and record types helps researchers interpret what happened without relying on a single viewpoint.
Conditions as noted were common for both Union and Confederate prisoner of war camps. Camp Chase was originally built to house approximately 4,000 men. By the end of the war there were approximately 10,000 prisoners of war housed there. Conditions were so bad that both the Union and Confederate sides exchanged prisoners to attempt to alleviate the inhumanity.
Absolutely no one with any moral, ethical or the slightest shred of human decency would condone slavery. I am certain that Americans would agree the facts surrounding the period of time that lead up to and including the American Civil War was one of the darkest periods in American history. The reasons for the American Civil War should never be forgotten.
In an article on Virginia Tech’s website entitled History Repeating there are references to quotes from Irish Statesman Edmund Burke (he was actually misquoted but the misquote was “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it”). Spanish philosopher George Santayana’s aphorism “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” is mentioned as well as British statesman Winston Churchill who wrote, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
Simply “erasing” our history does not make it disappear. Reparations are not a way to heal 160 year old wounds, they will just bring them to the surface and potentially create new ones. The destruction, mutilation and removal of national monuments, renaming of places and failing to teach our children American History can and will lead us down a path to repeat tragic instances in our history.
In essence we should be striving for equality amongst all Americans regardless of race, religion, socioeconomic factors or political affiliation. Only where we can see where we went wrong can we learn and grow better.
Camp Chase was one of the many prisoner of war camps operated by Union Army and the Confederate Army. Conditions were extremely poor and the men imprisoned in them typically were malnourished and very prone to communicable diseases such as small pox and cholera. During the Civil War (1861-1865) nearly 409,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were captured and imprisoned. During that period there were a total of 12 union prison camps and 14 confederate prison camps. On average 12% of prisoners in northern camps died and 15% in southern camps.
Researching a Camp Chase Prisoner or Ancestor
If your ancestor was confined at Camp Chase—or if you are investigating a prisoner mentioned in unit records—this section outlines practical steps and the types of records most likely to help. Use it as a starting workflow for names, service details, burial information, and variant spellings.
How to Start
Begin with the soldier’s name, unit, and service details, then follow a consistent search path through prisoner, burial, and postwar records while checking spelling variants.
- Identify the soldier’s full name and unit (plus aliases/initials)
- Confirm service details in compiled service or pension records
- Search for prisoner references and confinement mentions
- Check burial/cemetery references if death in captivity is suspected
- Re-check with variant spellings and regiment-level context
Records You May Find
Depending on the individual, records may include prisoner references, hospital or illness notes, burial information, transfer/release details, and later pension or memorial documentation.
- Prisoner lists / registers
- Illness or hospital references
- Death and burial entries
- Transfer or release notes
- Postwar memorialization references
Primary Sources and Research Links
These links point to reputable reference pages and documents that support the facts summarized on this page and can help you go deeper. When possible, compare multiple sources and record types to confirm identities and timelines.
National Park Service
These NPS resources provide historical background and interpretive context, including summaries used in public history and educational materials.
Not to Be Forgotten: Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery (TwHP)
NPS Teaching with Historic Places overview with key dates, population figures, and historical context tied to the National Register documentation.
Camp Chase Site (National Register PDF)
National Register documentation PDF describing Camp Chase’s development, roles, and historical significance
Teaching with Historic Places – Lessons by Period
NPS index of Teaching with Historic Places materials (useful for finding additional Civil War site lessons).
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
These VA references document the cemetery’s history and interpretive materials, and they are especially useful for burial and memorial context.
Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery (VA history page)
VA National Cemetery Administration history summary including Knauss-led memorial work and later federal maintenance funding.
VA Interpretive Sign (PDF)
Official interpretive sign PDF with concise timeline points (including the July 1865 release statement).
VA Rostrum Report (PDF)
VA rostrum report summarizing cemetery history, size, federal purchase, and preservation context.
Federal Stewardship of Confederate Dead (PDF)
NCA historical overview document that includes Camp Chase in the larger context of federal stewardship of Confederate burials.
Additional Reading
These supplemental sources provide local history narrative and reproduced accounts that can add detail, but should be cross-checked against primary documentation when possible.
Touring Ohio – Camp Chase
Local history narrative including the reproduced “A prisoner’s view of Camp Chase” letter excerpt attributed to A. J. Morey.
Virginia Tech – “History Repeating”
Teaching Columbus – Camp Chase (Ohio Historical Marker)
Summary text tied to the Ohio Historical Marker, including notable camp history and postwar details.
Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery
Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery is the best-preserved physical reminder of the wartime prison camp and the men who died in captivity. These images provide visual context for headstone patterns, layout, and memorial elements that can support family history research and interpretation of burial records.
Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio.
Headstone rows and cemetery layout: Wide view showing the uniform alignment of markers across the cemetery, with the stone arch visible in the background for orientation.
Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio.
Marked graves with memorial flags: Closer view of individual headstones and memorial flags, illustrating how the cemetery is maintained and commemorated today.
Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio.
Arch monument from the eastern side: Side perspective of the arch and statue surrounded by headstones, showing how the central memorial feature sits within the broader burial rows.
Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio.