Alton Military Prison and Confederate Cemetery - Alton, Illinois
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 38° 53.479 W 090° 11.373
15S E 743754 N 4308471
Historic Civil War era prison site in Alton, Illinois.
Waymark Code: WMRK1
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 09/27/2006
Views: 136
Constructed in 1830-31 the Illinois State Penitentiary in Alton was persistently criticized for its unsanitary conditions by Dorothea Dix, a pioneer in prison reform. The prison was closed in 1860 when the last prisoners were transferred to the new state penitentiary in Joliet. With the advent of the Civil War, the prison was reopened as the Alton Federal Military Prison. The prison was used to incarcerate Confederate prisoners with the first prisoners to arrive February 9, 1862. Over the next three years over 11,764 Confederate prisoners would enter the prison. The conditions at the prison were harsh and deaths averaged six to ten a day. The prison was again closed July 7, 1865. Currently only one short stone wall of the prison remain on site.
The Confederate Cemetery with a monument to 1,543 Confederate soldiers who died at the prison is located at N38° 55.110 W090° 11.721.
Type of site: Prison
Address:
Broadway and Williams Streets
Alton, Illinois
Admission Charged: No Charge
Website: [Web Link]
Driving Directions:
From I-270: take Rte. 367 north. Cross Clark Bridge and turn left at the Alton end of the bridge. Follow 67 to Broadway; turn left. Proceed 2 blocks to Williams St. and turn right. Proceed one-half block; the prison site is on the left.
Phone Number: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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