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Finding Camp Lawton

CNN posted this interesting story today about what some folks have called, “one of the most significant Civil War discoveries in decades.”

Some students from Georgia Southern have found what may be, “the exact location of a stockade and dozens of personal artifacts belonging to” Union Prisoners at Camp Lawton, a Confederate prison that housed about 10,000 men. Camp Lawton was built to replace the notorious Andersonville Prison, but it wasn’t much of an improvement.

The article mentions Pvt. Robert Knox Sneden, a Union map maker who painted some watercolors of the prison and kept a journal of his experiences at Camp Lawton. A quick search of Footnote turned up this copy of one of Sneden’s maps of Camp Lawton:
Camp Lawton Map

4 Comments

  1. bark417 says:

    My great-granduncle David Monroe died in this camp on 20 Nov 1864. No information re his burial has been found. His widow’s civil war pension file indicates he enlisted August 11, 1862 at Tallula, Menard Co., Illinois in Co. F, 114th Regiment, Illinois Volunteers to serve 3 years. Mustered in as corporal on 18 Sep 1862 at Camp Butler, Illnois. Captured 10 June 1864 at Battle of Guntown, Mississippi. Died 20 Nov 1864 at Camp Millen, Georgia per affadavit of Dennis Bergen and Henry C. Wilson, also in Co. F and fellow prisoners. Attended David in his last hours. Died of dropsy & general debility. Family lore says David was a prisoner in Andersonville. This may be true and he was transferred to Millen after that camp opened.

  2. cindyf says:

    bark417,
    Your great-uncle David Monroe was indeed a prisoner at Andersonville and was sent to Millen 11/11/1864
    the below link will take you to the Andersonville prisoner lookup site.
    http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/andSearchp.cfm

    My husband’s great-grandfather was in the 112th IL Vol Inf and was captured 9/26/1863 and sent to Andersonville and was also transfered to Millen (10/31/1864). He was exchanged @ Savannah on 11/20/1864. He was in the hospital for 40 day and then on furlough for 30 days before rejoining his company in NC! How difficult that had to have been after enduring what he had been through! He did survive to marry and raise a family.

  3. Lynn says:

    Where can i find lists of prisoners of war from the Civil War? Is there some way to track where a Union soldier would have been sent if you know in ?what battle he was captured?

  4. Marty Porter says:

    Lynn you need to obtain a copy of your ancestor’s military service records from the National Archives which will answer you questions. Good luck.