A recent article in the Columbus Dispatch discussed the possibility that there are Union veterans buried in the Confederate cemetery at Camp Chase:
Photograph of the monument in the Camp Chase Cemetery from the records of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Dixie Chapter No. 1546.
While most of Camp Chase was dismantled and the cemetery is now a quiet place shielded from the bustle of a city neighborhood by walls, this story illustrates that there is more to know about the soldiers who trained, were imprisoned, and in some cases died there. The Ohio Historical Society continues to collect records of the soldiers, both Confederate and Union, who spent time in the camp.
In December 2011 we acquired a prison ledger that contains 450 legible names of Confederate prisoners, most are listed as being from Virginia. Most entries include prisoner name, age, height, complexion, eye and hair color, county of residence, and occupation, when known. It is also noted where and by whom a soldier was arrested and the charges brought against them. Inside the front cover the ledger was signed by Colonel Granville Moody, an Ohioan who was commander of the camp early in the war.
This legder and other records of Camp Chase are available for research in the Research Room at the Ohio History Center at I-71 and E. 17th Ave. Our hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 10 AM to 5 PM.
