![]() What I liked most about this article is that it gave me an idea of what prisoner war camps were from Union Soldiers during the Civil War, the prisoners weren’t put into camp to be made comfortable, the camps were to show the union soldiers that they were under confederate control. ![]() There was a hospital for prisoners and an iron factory that was located on the island, but there were no barracks ever built for the prisoners, that’s why the continuous exposure to weather played a large role in the death toll on Belle Isle (“Belle Isle Civil War Prison”). Prisoners were given tents to sleep in but there were only 3,000 tents and there were almost 10,000 soldiers held there by 1863 (“Belle Isle Civil War Prison”). Holding only a few small shacks, the island afforded no protection from the elements to the Union soldiers who were captured and taken there. During the Civil War, this small and beautiful island was used as a Civil War Prison. From my experience in Richmond, VA, I learned that they use huge monuments and cemeteries to remember the major people in Richmond, especially Civil War Confederates as a sign of respect, but the way Belle Isle is made up today it wouldn’t hint to anyone that it was a place for inhumane containment.Īfter reading up on Belle Isle a little more I learned Belle Isle is located west of Richmond, Virginia on the James River. I know that Richmond has a lot of history, most of that history dating back towards moments including the Civil War that helped shape Richmond into the memorable place that it is today. Depressing right, well that’s how my visit to Belle Isle went, when I was told that a place so beautiful and innocent was a Prisoner of War camp for Union Soldiers during the Civil War. It is just a wonderful feeling in that particular moment of liberation and fresh air, only until you realize what you thought was a place of pure serenity, turns into a space of containment filled with loud restless cries, broken stone and metal tracks, and then that liberation you once felt is now gone. Imagine seeing people climbing into an old abandoned building for fun, riding down the bike trail or waving with big smiles at you from the bridge over your head. Imagine walking onto an island where the warm sand sneakily crawls between your toes, and you can hear the water kiss the rocks and then humble back down into a state of rest.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |