How can I research a Civil War prisoner of war at Johnson's Island?

Answer

Confederate Civil War Service Records [US, Civil War Service Records (CMSR)] are available on Fold3. Fold3 is an online subscription database for military records, and you may be able to access it remotely through your public library with your library card. The Civil War Service Records for Confederate soldiers were made from a variety of sources, including Union prison registers and rolls, so this is a good starting point to determine if your person served time in a prisoner of war camp. 

Another database that may be useful is U.S., Civil War Prisoner of War Records, 1861-1865 on Ancestry.com. This database contains records relating to Civil War Prisoners of War (POW). The database is comprised of four National Archives (NARA) microfilm series.

NARA United States Records of Confederate Prisoners of War, 1861-1865 are also on FamilySearch. Although not name searchable, you can use the browse feature to select records from Johnson's Island and page through much like viewing microfilm.

 

The following items are available to researchers in the Archives & Library at the Ohio History Center:

SAS 1425 Military prison record, Camp Chase and Johnson's Island - Entries include prisoner's name, characteristics (rank or occupation), date received, home state, where imprisoned, discharge information, and remarks. Includes index.

SAS 2235 Book of the Confederate dead - Lists Confederate prisoners who were buried in Ohio at Camp Chase, Camp Dennison, and Johnson's Island. Entries include name, date of death, company, regiment, and grave number. Maps of cemeteries are provided.

MSS 261 Johnson's Island collection - Correspondence from Confederate soldiers at a Union prison camp near Sandusky, Ohio, list of prisoners, account book, and prisoner's autograph book.

See also: Johnson's Island POW Research: Friends and Descendents of Johnson's Island (heidelberg.edu).

  • Last Updated Jan 03, 2025
  • Views 164
  • Answered By Reference Team

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