GOD & TEXAS: Camp Ford

The life of a prisoner can be lonely. Even the well-managed penitentiary separates inmates from family and friends and fosters feelings of powerlessness and neglect. But during the Civil War, detention centers were especially severe and intimidating. 

Some historians report that over 400,000 Confederate and Union soldiers were incarcerated in 150 distinct locations. Of those, over 56,000 soldiers died in captivity. Two of the worst prisons were the Elmira Prison in New York, and the Andersonville/Camp Sumter facility in Georgia. 

The Elmira Prison for Confederate prisoners became known as “Hellmira” due to the shocking death rate and horrid living conditions. And the Andersonville complex for Union captives was even worse! Robert Kellog, age 20, recorded his first impression as a prisoner at the Georgia facility: “As we entered the place, a spectacle met our eyes that almost froze our blood with horror…before us were forms that had once been active and erect—stalwart men, now nothing but mere walking skeletons, covered with filth and vermin…Many of our men exclaimed with earnestness, 'Can this be hell?'"

Camp Ford was the largest Confederate prisoner of war camp west of the Mississippi River, and was located four miles northeast of Tyler, in Smith County, Texas. Named in honor of Col. John S. (Rip) Ford, the facility opened in 1862 as a training camp for Confederate troops. But by July 1863, its inhabitants were exclusively Union prisoners. In the two years of operation, at least 6,000 prisoners were detained inside and approximately 286 prisoners died.

The first prisoners at Camp Ford found no indoor accommodations. To protect themselves from the weather, inmates dug holes in the hillside and placed A-shaped branches over the doorway. They called these dwellings “shebangs.” 

To fight boredom, some of the soldiers tore down trees and used their woodworking skills to make furniture, smoking pipes, and chess pieces. Captain William H. May used his experience as an editor to hand print several publications of a newspaper he titled, “The Old Flag.” Using a steel pen dipped in ink, he included original fiction articles, artworks, political rumors, and humorous anecdotes. 

There was among the Camp Ford inmates a desire for religious services. Some of the prisoners were chaplains and they provided worship opportunities twice on Sunday and prayer meetings most evenings. Occasionally they invited the Confederate chaplain to preach. As one prisoner stated, “We are not without God’s Word here. So you see, we are not deprived of that blessing!”

The Old Flag newspaper featured this poignant poem:

All kindly acts are for the dear Lord’s sake,

     And His sweet love and recompense they claim,

I was in prison - thus our Savior spake,

     And unto me You came!

This poem was inspired by the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 25:36, “I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Like Jesus, let us remember those who are imprisoned by the law or by addictions, and bring them the freedom found only in Christ. 

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