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Within Johnson's
Island, surrounded by mostly private residential property, lies the
Confederate Stockade Cemetery. It is located near
Marblehead Peninsula on Lake Erie near Sandusky. The entire island
served as a prison camp for Civil War Confederate soldiers between 1862
and 1865.
This site cannot do justice to
this island's history and legacy. Much has been researched about
the stockade that cannot, unfortunately, be covered here.
What can be told is that the
stockade was comprised of about one dozen barracks, hastily built to
house and contain the Union's growing Confederate POW population.
While the prison was designed to hold approximately 2,500 Confederate
prisoners, it quickly became overcrowded. During the 40 months of
operation, over 10,000 prisoners passed through here.
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The North's
version of the prison's history tends to downplay the living
conditions and treatment of its prisoners. To be sure, the
Confederate prisoners did create their own community of sorts,
developing their own trade system, and had even established a
theatre. However, life was particularly harsh for the
soldiers. Credible stories were found of of mistreatment
towards the soldiers during the latter years, and food and other
resources grew increasingly scarce as the prison became more
overpopulated. Furthermore, the barracks were built from
materials that were not designed to withstand Lake Erie's
extreme climate changes--prisoners suffocated in the summers and
froze in the winter. Many died from disease and illness.
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It is said that
209 Confederate soldiers are buried in the cemetery.
However, it is widely believed that the remains of the soldiers
are not contained within this small spot of land designated as
the "official" cemetery and are instead scattered around most of
the island. The marble markers found at the cemetery are
not original. The markers were carved in the early 1900's
as part of a preservation effort, based upon the only available
death records--old wooden grave markers and journals and records
kept by the prisoners themselves. The most recent
archaeological research (including infrared scans of the island)
strongly suggest that more than 100 additional, unmarked
graves exist throughout the island.
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Not
surprisingly, the cemetery has a reputation of
being haunted. The spirits of uniformed
Confederate soldiers are said to be seen wandering the
island. |
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While
most of the markers are the same, this marker--with its
prominent, Masonic carving--stood out. |
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Below, the
iron gate entrance, which faces Lake Erie.
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This
statue, erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy of
the Cincinnati, Ohio Chapter, is also said to be
haunted.
Named
"The Lookout," he stands watch over the remains of the
soldiers.
It is
said that he changes position at midnight.
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Below are some
close-ups of the inscriptions at the base of the
statue.
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"Erected by the Robert Patton Chapter United
Daughters of the Confederacy of Cincinnati, Ohio.
In memory of the Southern Soldiers Who died
in the Federal Prison of this island during the war between the
states.
Dead but sceptered sovereigns who still
rule us from the dust.
The stone upon which this is inscribed was
placed by the Grand Lodge of the Mississippi in remembrance of the
masons who sleep here."
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"Confederate Soldiers.
They
were Masons.
1861 to
1865."
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Here, a shot taken of the barren, outside grounds of the
cemetery near the Lake Erie shore. |
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Another photo
of the undeveloped land surrounding the Stockade Cemetery,
overlooking Lake Erie. A glimpse of what the
Confederate prisoners would have seen, peering through the gaps
of the barracks' walls. |
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UPDATES
In November
2003, I returned to the Island with Groovie from
Ghost Roads of Ohio.
Unlike the last time I
visited the cemetery in June 2002, the cemetery was empty of
any visitors except ourselves and a maintenance worker.
The wind off the lake had a biting chill, and the
late-afternoon autumn sun cast strange shadows across the
graveyard, which can be seen in the new photos shown near
the top of the page.
In the Summer
of 2003, two new memorial markers were dedicated at the
cemetery. The names of all known soldiers buried here
are inscribed on one side of each marker. Below are
close-ups of the markers, showing the sides containing
historical information about the cemetery.
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To the
left, a close-up of the map inscribed on one of the
markers. The horizontal dashes represent the actual graves. The vertical lines represent
the placement of the grave markers. As can be seen
from this map, the markers are a little off. Large
blocks of graves are unmarked, while some groups of
stones cover no graves at all. Also, several
soldiers are buried outside the cemetery's boundaries. |
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