The 12th Annual Salisbury Confederate Prison Symposium, sponsored by Robert F. Hoke Chapter No. 78 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, concluded the afternoon of April 26 with a tour of the prison site for attendees.
Earlier that morning, two public memorial services were conducted.
Annette G. Ford of Florida, a descendant of a prison commandant, delivered the memorial address at the Old Lutheran Cemetery, where Confederate soldiers who died in Salisbury hospitals or while on duty or incarcerated themselves at the prison.
Dr. Geoffrey C. Ryder of Colorado, a descendant of a Salisbury prisoner of war, presented the memorial speech at the historic Salisbury National Cemetery, where Union prisoners of war who died at the prison are interred.
Re-enactors from the 2nd U.S. Regulars fired volleys at both services and Taps was played by their bugler after the placing of wreaths.
The three-day symposium drew individuals from nine states and Canada. It began the evening of April 24 at Landmark Church.
The Reunion of Descendants and Friends provided an opportunity for registrants to meet one another, renew old friendships and share genealogical and historical information. The Friendship Banquet which followed featured a keynote address by Mary “Larry” Hines of Raleigh, descendant of Dr. Braxton Craven, the first Commandant of the Salisbury Confederate Prison.
Hines spoke about Craven’s life as an educator, soldier and minister. Veterans of today were recognized by the Hoke Chapter with red-white-and-blue lapel ribbons as soloist Eva Millsaps sang “Veterans of the USA.”
Dr. Gary Freeze, professor of American history at Catawba College, presented the initial lecture Saturday morning in the Tom Smith Auditorium. He provided an introduction to the prison’s background and paid tribute to Louis Brown, deceased author, who wrote the definitive book on the facility, “The Salisbury Prison.”
Five other presentations followed Freeze.
Anne Wilson of Michigan spoke about her ancestor, prisoner William E. Hughes, who married the daughter of a Salisbury Prison guard after the war and lived in the Lexington area.
Dr. Lawrence Lohr, a N.C. native and emeritus professor at the University of Michigan, spoke on Union officers who were at Salisbury in July 1862. One of these officers was Maj. Otto Boetticher who drew the famous lithograph of prisoners playing baseball.
Lohr owns an original document bearing Boetticher’s signature.
Matthew Poteat, another native of the Tar Heel state who is an assistant professor of history at Central Virginia Community College in Lynchburg, talked about Gov. Henry Toole Clark.
Clark was in office when the military prison was established in Salisbury and is the subject of Poteat’s new book, “Henry Toole Clark: Civil War Governor of North Carolina.”
It is the first and only biography written on this governor.
Ed and Sue Curtis of Salisbury gave a slide presentation on “Faces of the Prison,” which featured biographical sketches on 40 Confederate, Union and civilian individuals associated with the prison.
Bill Searfoss of New York concluded the day’s lectures with a review of the Union soldiers from his native Chenango County who were prisoners of war at Salisbury.
He followed their military careers and, for those who survived, their civilian lives after the war.
Following the Saturday afternoon lectures, the Salisbury Confederate Prison Association held its annual meeting.
The organization celebrated its 10th anniversary, and President Sue Curtis announced that those on the membership roll hail from 29 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.
The Prison Association conducted a dedication ceremony Sunday evening for the property it received as a donation at 320 E. Bank St.
The land is on the prison site, and the association plans to sponsor an archaeological dig on the property in the future. The group also has plans to develop a small memorial park on the property to remember all who were at the prison.
Next year’s symposium will again be held in April. The dates will be announced soon.