THE COLONEL HENRY RYERSON                            CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE                 Jennifer C.S. Brylinski, President and Newsletter Author                       March 16, 2010, Meeting Program Highlights:                         The Great Shohola POW Train Wreck Just picture that hot July afternoon in 1864 up along the Delaware River between New York and Pennsylvania…  An Erie railroad locomotive pulling 17 cars and carrying over 800 Confederate prisoners is on its way north to Elmira Prison.  And it’s going to meet its fate when a coal train with 50 loaded cars starts barreling its way south along the same tracks!   Come and hear our March speaker, John Punola, talk about that frightful day.   What makes the talk especially poignant for us is that the train wreck site and casualty burial locations are located only about 40 miles north of Newton, NJ, along the Delaware River and is an easy drive for those who want to visit the location of a real Civil War tragedy. John Punola is a nationally known outdoor writer, book author, public speaker, and fisherman.  He has made many appearances on national television and his specialty is fishing for shad and smallmouth bass.  But it’s not all fishing with John; he also has a keen eye for history, and has authored some good historical articles.  We know you are going to enjoy his presentation about the Civil War Disaster at Shohola. Upcoming Civil War Round Table Events: April 20, 2010 – Rhonda Florian – The Lives of Southern Women May 18, 2010 – Annual Dinner Meeting, Lafayette House (6 – 9 PM) May 22, 2010 – Spring Tour – An Overview at the Antietam Battlefield The Colonel Henry Ryerson Civil War Round Table provides educational programs, tours, and fellowship for individuals interested in the Civil War Era.  Meetings are free and open to the public.  For more information please call Jennifer at 845-295-2603 during work hours, or check out the Round Table’s website at    www.ryersoncwrt. com        MEETING DATE:  Tuesday, March 16, 2010, At 7:30 PM     Sussex County Community College, Newton, NJ, in the Theatre (D-Building).
		THE EXCHANGE AND PAROLE SYSTEM DURING THE CIVIL WAR Before 1861, Americans never had to face the problem of handling large numbers of captured enemy soldiers. The Civil War abruptly changed that situation. In the beginning of the War, prisoners of war were exchanged right on the battlefield (private for a private, captain for a captain, etc.). Soon this system broke down and prisoners were brought to large "holding pens" on either side to wait for exchange or parole. In this system, after the exchange occurred, if one side still had prisoners left, those excess prisoners would be released on parole. Paroled prisoners were returned to their side, but were prohibited by an oath of honor from taking up arms until they were properly exchanged. Generally, each side maintained its own parole camps where their paroled soldiers were kept while they awaited exchange. In some cases the parolee was allowed to return home until exchanged. But even that system eventually had problems because many of the prisoners after being paroled would just immediately return to their military unit. In August of 1864, General U.S. Grant ended all exchanges of prisoners, an action militarily sound but with disastrous results for both Union and Confederate prisoners. The "holding pens" now became permanent prisons, most of which had no ability to handle the number of prisoners that would be sent to them. Neither side knew how to address the problem and neither made a concerted effort to do so. In place of badly needed attention there was inexperience, clumsiness, and indifference. Suffering and neglect of prisoners of war were present in both Union and Confederacy prisons. The prisons lacked resources, had inadequate facilities, overcrowded conditions, and were usually manned by second-rate officials. The two most infamous Civil War compounds went into operation in 1864. The South's Andersonville prison (officially known as Camp Sumter, Georgia) was the largest of all. It began receiving inmates before construction was completed. Some 52,300 Federal enlisted men were sent there; more than 13,200 perished from disease, exposure, and lack of medicines, giving it a death rate of around 28%. In the North, at a prison camp for Confederates at Elmira, New York, such scourges as diarrhea and pneumonia killed almost one-fourth of the captured soldiers (of 12,123 inmates, 2,963 died) over the course of the prison's twelve- month existence. The Federal prison at Rock Island inIllinois had a death rate of about 17%, and Fort Delaware south of Philadelphia had a death rate of about 13%. During and especially after the Civil War, each side pointed fingers of guilt at the other. Henry Wirz, commandant at Andersonville Prison, on charges of conspiracy and murder, was the only Confederate official to be tried and convicted of war crimes resulting from the Civil War. Perhaps no aspect of the bitter Civil War has triggered more accusations, more vehement passions, and more unresolved controversy than the mistreatment of captured Federal and Confederate troops held in prison camps.