Point Lookout Confederate POWs, W.L. Patteson, A. Cook, & J.D. Pierce, Two Letters from Prison

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Nov 18, 2016 - Nov 19, 2016

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• Lot Description
  Lot of 2, including: CSA prisoner-of-war, W.L. Patteson. ALS, 1p, 4.75 x 8 in., Point Lookout Md. July 27, 1864. Addressed to Mrs. Clay of Kentucky. Patteson indicates he has been in the Union prison camp for some time, and is in need of a few articles of clothing. He provides his clothing sizes as well as a wish for some good chewing tobacco.
  
  CSA prisoners-of-war, A. Cook and J.D. Pierce. ALS, 1p, 5 x 7.75 in., Point Lookout Md. August 1, 1864. Addressed to Mrs. Clay of Kentucky, thanking her for the items she sent them. They express the hope that some day we will be able to repay you for your kindness. Cook and Pierce indicate they are from near Hamburg, SC. 
  
  Before the war, Point Lookout was a fashionable resort where the elite spent their leisure time. After the Battle of Gettysburg, it became the largest and most secure prison for the Union. Out of the 52,000 Confederate soldiers incarcerated there, only 50 prisoners managed to escape but over 4,000 died under horrid conditions. W.L. Patteson, A. Cook, and J.D. Pierce were many of the unfortunate soldiers interred at the camp that managed to survive. 
  
  William Lee Patteson enlisted in the Confederate army on July 23, 1862. That same day he mustered in as a private in Dance's Company, Virginia Artillery, also known as the Powhatan Artillery. He and his regiment were on duty in the Richmond area and fought in various conflicts from the Maryland Campaign to Cold Harbor. Later, it participated in the siege of Petersburg and the Appomattox Campaign. The Battery lost twenty percent of the 78 engaged at Gettysburg and had many captured at Sayler's Creek on April 6, 1865. Patteson, erroneously listed as Patterson, became a POW at Waterloo, PA on July 4, 1863. He was confined to Fort Delaware five days later then transferred to Point Lookout on October 22, 1863. He was exchanged on February 18, 1865 and sent to Camp Lee the next day. He was surrendered at Appomattox Court House on March 9, 1865. 
  
  Job D. Pierce enlisted in the army on April 7, 1862. He mustered in as a private of the 11th North Carolina Infantry, Co. F. The 11th North Carolina fought on many battlefields from Gettysburg to Cold Harbor, endured the hardships of the Petersburg trenches, and saw action around Appomattox. It lost over half of the 617 men at Gettysburg. Pierce managed to escape death and capture at Gettysburg, but was listed as a POW at Burgess’ Mill, VA on October 27, 1864. He was confined at Point Lookout sometime before the end of the month. His co-author of the letter, A. Cook, is most likely John Cook. 
  
  John Cook was also a member of the 11th North Carolina Infantry. He enlisted on May 5, 1862 and mustered in as a private in Co. B. He was wounded at Gettysburg on July 1st and captured the next day. First confined at Fort Delaware, he then transferred to Point Lookout on October 15, 1863. He was paroled on February 18, 1865 and transferred the next day. He most likely returned to the front but was captured again at Petersburg on April 2, 1865 and sent to Point Lookout again two days later. He and Pierce took an Oath of Allegiance at Point Lookout on June 26 and 16, 1865. 
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