Johnson's Island Hoffman's Battalion

Johnson's Island Hoffman's Battalion

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons

This photograph depicts Hoffman's Battalion, the volunteer unit assigned to guard the Confederate prisoners at Johnson's Island. Hoffman's Battalion guarded the island from the Spring of 1832 until January 1864. At that time six more companies were added and the group became the 128th O.V.I. The 128th stood guard until July 10, 1865, when the prison closed. Johnson's Island, the site of a Civil War prison camp, is located in Sandusky Bay. Lt. Col. William Hoffman leased the island from Leonard B. Johnson in 1861 for use as a prison camp for Confederate prisoners. Due to the abundant natural resources on the island, the conditions were not as harsh as those in many Southern prison camps. Prisoners did suffer from disease, poor nutrition, and exposure to harsh Lake Erie winters. Created to hold Confederate officers, the prison housed about 3, 000 prisoners by the end of the war.

unknown

Sandusky Library/Follett House Museum, Johnson's Island Prison Collection, Audiovisual material 40

circa 1862-1865

Callie McCune

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http://www.ohiomemory.org/u?/p267401coll36,11728

Johnson's Island, Sandusky (Ohio), Erie County (Ohio)

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