GDG- Rebel prisoner guards at Gettysburg

[Richard & Sue Ann Schaus]

Hi Tom,

I've been doing some research on your questions.

Not much, so far, regarding what units were detailed to perform prison
guard duty.  The guards may have been the sick lame and lazy of numerous
regiments, since Lee really did not have the manpower to detail entire
units to guard POWs, but that's just my speculation so far.

I did find an account of a Gettysburg POW, 1LT Albert Waliber, 26th WI.

He wrote that after his capture on 1 July, "Rebel officers desired to
know the strength of our forces,--whether the entire Army of the Potomac
had arrived,--who General Hooker's successor was, and how far it was to
Baltimore.  To all of these questions "I don't know" was the answer."
He wrote that on the morning of 3 July they were located near Gen.
Pickett's HQ, and saw Pickett.
On 4 July he was in a field surrounded by a fence, "on the outside of
which sentinels were posted,--weatherbeaten fellows, clad in torn
garments, who eyed us malignatly."  ("From Gettysburg to Libby Prison",
"The Gettysburg Papers", Vol I, pp 192-3).

I'll keep looking.

VR, Rick Schaus


-----Original Message-----
From: gettysburg-bounces at arthes.com
[mailto:gettysburg-bounces at arthes.com] On Behalf Of Tom Ryan
Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2006 9:04 PM
To: GDG
Subject: GDG- Rebel prisoner guards at Gettysburg

Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:


	<<Does anyone have information about what Confederate units were
assigned to
guard Union prisoners at Gettysburg while the battle was underway?  I
know
that Pickett's division drew the assignment to guard Union prisoners
during
the retreat, but am trying to identify those units who pulled this duty
at
Gettysburg.

	Gregory Coco's book "A Strange and Blighted Land" places one
prisoner
collecting point along the Carlisle Road north of Gettysburg (probably
the
Samuel Cobean farm) which presemably would have been under the control
of
Ewell's corps, and another near A.P. Hill's headquarters two miles to
the
west.  The only info given about a prisoner guard unit is that an
unidentified Georgia regiment accompanied paroled Union prisoners to
Carlisle to be turned over to Union authorities.

	I assume the corps provost guard units were placed in charge of
Union
prisoners at Gettysburg, but I do not know which units served in that
capacity or whether they actually had prison guard duty at Gettysburg.
Since Lee had left his headquarters provost guard battalion, the 1st
Virginia, behind in Winchester, they were not available for this duty at
Gettysburg.

	I would also like to find out if there were any incidences of
Union
prisoners being questioned by their Confederate captors in order to
gather
intelligence about the Union army at Gettysburg.

	Appreciate any help you can give.>>

Tom Ryan

 
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