Symposium ends with tour of prison site

The three-day 13th annual Salisbury Confederate Prison Symposium, sponsored by the Robert F. Hoke Chapter No. 78 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, ended with a tour of the prison site on Sunday, April 25.

Ed and Sue Curtis served as guides. The tour started in the 300 block of East Bank Street on property now owned by the Salisbury Confederate Prison Association.

The association plans to conduct an archaeological dig on this property and later develop it as a memorial park dedicated to the prisoners and prison personnel of 1861-1865.

The symposium started Friday evening with the traditional "Reunion of Descendants and Friends" and "Friendship Banquet."

People from nine states (New York, Colorado, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and North Carolina) and Canada gathered at the Landmark Church fellowship hall to view displays, renew acquaintances, discuss Civil War ancestors who were at the Salisbury prison and make new friends.

All registrants received a small piece of wood from a large magnolia tree that was cut down at the trench area of the Historic Salisbury National Cemetery. The tree was estimated to be more than 150 years old and would have "witnessed" the burials of prisoners in what at the time was an abandoned cornfield.

Effie Leatherman of Arizona brought copies of her recently published book "Midlin Times," a transcription of the diary of her Wisconsin ancestor who was at the prison.

Also in attendance was Dr. Mike McCully, professor of economics at High Point University, whose ancestor was in the same unit as Leatherman's and who provided her with support for her book.

Ray Barber of Charlotte had his database available and evening speaker Robert Eberly Jr. of South Carolina brought his book, "Bouquets from the Cannon's Mouth, Soldering with the Eighth Regiment of the Pennsylvania Reserves."

Eberly had two relatives who were imprisoned at Salisbury. Annette Gee Ford of Florida had copies of her book, "The Captive," which contains the complete court-martial transcript of her ancestor, Maj. John H. Gee, who was prison commandant in the fall of 1864 when conditions were at their worst.

Approximately 40 percent of the attendees were descendants of those who were at the prison.

Six family members from Ohio and North Carolina met for a reunion and to remember their New York POW ancestor.

The Friendship Banquet began with welcomes from Robert F. Hoke Chapter President Sue Curtis and Salisbury Confederate Prison Association newsletter editor Ed Curtis.

Veterans of the U.S. military who were present were honored with red, white and blue lapel ribbons. After the Rev. Lee Gosh, a WWII veteran, gave the blessing, a Southern cuisine buffet meal was served by Debbie Suggs Catering.

Eberly's keynote address was "You Come to Honor the Soldiers of '61." Eberly, a Pennsylvania native, spoke about the dedication of the Pennsylvania Monument at the Salisbury National Cemetery in 1910.

Eva Millsaps sang "Let There Be Peace On Earth" for the benediction.

The Saturday lectures were held in the Tom Smith Auditorium in Ketner Hall on the campus of Catawba College.

Dr. Gary Freeze, author and Professor of American History at the college, presented the opening talk, an introduction to the history of the prison. Freeze also spoke about how the Civil War impacted individual neighborhoods in the North and South.

Mark Pearce of Ontario, Canada, gave a slide presentation on the life of his great-great-grandfather, Reuben Pearce, who was in the 2nd New York Mounted Rifles and who was a POW who survived his stay in Salisbury.

William Marley of Virginia, whose ancestor served in the 68th Regiment N.C. Troops, used slides to trace the history of this unit, which included a period of guard duty at the Salisbury Prison.

Dr. Charles Cooke of Virginia, a medical historian and a descendant of a Salisbury guard, delivered a talk about the problem of starvation at Northern and Southern prisons.

At the completion of the lectures, the Salisbury Confederate Prison Association held its annual meeting. Five members were elected to the Board of Directors for 2010-2012.

The 10 a.m. Sunday service for Confederate veterans interred at the Old Lutheran Cemetery, some of whom were guards at the Prison, featured a memorial address by Confederate descendant Annette Gee Ford.

Union descendant Mark Pearce read the poem, "The Blue and the Gray." At the 11 a.m. service for the Union POWs who died at the prison, held at the National Cemetery, the memorial address was presented by Bill Searfoss of New York who has erected several gravestones in his area for Salisbury prisoners.

The poem was read by Confederate descendant Sherry Wilhoit. At both services Eva Millsaps sang traditional hymns, the Hoke Chapter released white balloons in memory of the deceased, and the Iredell Blues of the 4th NC State Troops served as the color guard.

At the second service, the 100th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Monument was recognized with a special memorial address given by historian Bill Weidner, a resident and native of Pennsylvania.

The 14th annual Salisbury Confederate Prison Symposium will be held April 8-10, 2011. Information on the slate of speakers will be announced later.