Point Lookout Prisoner-of-War Camp
Posted by: 
king.hubi
N 38° 04.423 W 076° 20.464
18S E 382373 N 4214843
Historical Marker located at the Point Lookout Prison Memorial Plaza in Scotland, Maryland.
Waymark Code: WM9WHA
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 10/05/2010
Views: 16
This historical marker is located at the Point Lookout Prisoner-of-War Camp in Scotland, Maryland. The camp was established in the Civil War by the Unions after the Battle of Gattysburg.
Marker Text
POINT LOOKOUT
PRISONER-OF-WAR CAMP
(1863-1865)
AFTER THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG, THE
UNION ESTABLISHED A PRISONER-OF-
WAR DEPOT NEAR HERE. CONFEDERATE
SOLDIERS AND MARYLAND CIVILIANS
WERE IMPRISONED AND GUARDED BY 400
UNION TROOPS. WITH ONLY TENTS FOR
PROTECTION, 3,384 PRISONERS DIED.
STATE ROADS COMMISSION OF MARYLAND - ST. MARY'S COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
J. MILLARD TAWES, GOVERNOR - CHARLES E. FENWICK, PRESIDENT
The following text was taken from a nearby info-sign:
The memorial plaza is to honor the sacrifices of the 52,264 Confederate soldiers, sailors and civilians imprisoned near here during the War Between the States. Point Lookout prison camp was established immediately following the Battle of Gettysburg and was operated by the Union Army from September 1863 to June 1865.
The camp was built to hold 10,000 prisoners; at times it held more than double that amount of military and civilians. Due to inhumane conditions as well as active persecution, thousands of prisoners died (the record is incomplete and still being compiled). Even though there were funds to house and feed the prisoners adequately, they died to the elements, disease, starvation and indiscriminate shootings. Col. William Hoffman, Commissary General of Union Prisons, saved over two million dollars allotted for the care of Confederate prisoners by denying prisoners enough food to prevent starvation.
Point Lookout Prisoner of War Descendents Organization (PLPOW) was founded to honor the sacrifices of their ancestors as well as to bring to the public the true story of the inhumane treatment of prisoners at Point Lookout.
In 2002, the Maryland State Park Service and U.S. Veterans Administration began to require all speeches and re-enactments to be submitted for censoring as well as other discriminatory actions directed at only Southern heritage organizations. The most unacceptable directive for descendents to accept was prohibiting the display of the Confederate Flag over the mass grave of the thousands of men that fought and died under the Confederate banner.
In 2003, PLPOW purchased this land to erect a memorial plaza that would be free of government inerference and restrictions. This memorial will list the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of additional documented names of those that died that are not listed on the monument at the adjacent Federal Cemetery.
County (required): St. Mary's County
Location (required): Point Lookout Prison Memorial Plaza
More info about the site/marker (optional):
This marker shouldn't be confused with another marker of the same name and identical text located only 1.9 miles to the south in the Point Lookout State Park!
Website for more info (optional): [Web Link]
Marker Type (optional): Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
A photo of yourself and/or your GPS with the marker should be uploaded with each visit. The marker must be visible. If the marker is in a location that may be unsafe to pull over and stop, the best image you can provide (assuming you obtain the rest of the relevant information) should be sufficient.
If you submit a new waymark that gets accepted into the category, feel free to log a visit on it!