06/19/2026
Visit Pamplin Historical Park this Saturday for the first of four "Focus Weekend" events. This program highlights the experience of captured prisoners, which was a major facet of Civil War combat. An estimated 400,000 to 600,000 soldiers became prisoners during the war. Union General Horatio Wright’s U.S. Army VI Corps captured 3,000 Confederates at the Breakthrough Battle on April 2, 1865 alone.
Imprisoned officers, often received better treatment than their enlisted counterparts. Even after the official exchange system broke down, high-ranking men were still traded for one another. Much emphasis is also given to the prison experience, and comparatively little to the process beforehand. A processing program will reveal what the moment of capture looks like and the items and information surrendered to facilitate prisoner transport.
Three programs are scheduled for the day:
11:00 AM: “Hopeless and Gloomy Enough” is a thematic tour of Duty Called Me Here which will discuss; desertion and prisons using the artifacts and overarching themes in each room, as well as the story of Henry Robinson Berkeley, a comrade who experienced capture.
12:00 PM: "Immortal 600 Presentation" is a presentation on the Federal and Confederate forces using prisoners to deter bombardment, and the 600 Confederate officers which endured hardship at Fort Pulaski during the Battle of Charleston.
2:00 PM: "Prisoner Processing" will highlight the experience of soldiers immediately after capture or surrender, and what they give up in order to be processed and transported to a prison.
All event activities and programs are included with regular daily paid admission. This is the first "Focus Weekend" in a series of four. The other programs are; "Tools of the Trade" on July 11, "To***co" on August 8, and "Religion" on September 19, 2026. Visit pamplinpark.org for more information.
