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Bibliography

Salisbury Confederate Prison

Bibliography

Last Updated 7/21/2020

The Salisbury Confederate prison came into being in 1861, and following the first battle of Bull Run at Manassas, Union prisoners of war streamed into Salisbury. Joining the POWs were Southern political prisoners and conscientious objectors, as well as Confederate and Federal deserters. Originally a cotton mill and, for a short time, a boys academy, the prison grounds had held a meat packing plant for the Confederate Army. It was also the site of the general muster ground, where local boys joined the Southern Army.

Life early on in the prison was harsh, but prisoners had the benefit of a large yard in which they could move about. Supplies and rations were tight but manageable. Parole and exchanges of prisoners made the Salisbury Prison little more than a way station for those individual soldiers returning home. When exchanges and paroles all but ceased late in the war, the prison soon became greatly overcrowded, and supplies fell to almost nothing.  Locals who had scant rations themselves could do little to help those behind the stockade. Many prisoners died and were buried outside the walls. This was the beginning of Salisbury’s National Cemetery.

Salisbury Prison gained added notoriety due to the fact that two noted journalists of the major newspaper of the day, the New York Tribune, were held there. Also there, was Col. Michael Corcoran, a popular New York Irishman, who had been chosen at random to receive the same fate as Southern privateers that the North had declared to be pirates. David Livingstone, the famous abolitionist, had a son who died in the prison under an assumed name, Rupert Vincent. The prison also held the very first POW of the war.

What follows is a bibliography of materials about the Salisbury Confederate Prison.  Rowan Public Library welcomes any suggestions about additions to this list.

*Designates materials NOT owned by Rowan Public Library

Contents:

  • Confederate Prison Symposium
    • Archeological Investigation of the Prison Site
    •  Reenactment of Journalist's Escape
    •  Return of the Prison Flag
    •  Prison Images
    •  A Historic Site?
    •  The Tunnel
    •   Louis Brown's History
    •   Prison's Postage Stamps
    •   General/Miscellaneous Articles
  • Other Secondary Sources
  • Historical Fiction

*Designates materials NOT owned by Rowan Public Library  

General Treatments  

Brown, Louis A.  The Salisbury Prison: A Case Study of Confederate Military Prisons, 1861-1865. Rev. and enl.  Statesville, NC: The Author, 1992.
    The most comprehensive treatment of the Salisbury Confederate Prison to date, this work cites many of the other works included in this bibliography.  It contains the extant lists of prisoners, guards, etc.

Raynor, George. Rebels and Yankees in Rowan County. (Vol. IV in the Piedmont Passages series.) Salisbury, NC: Salisbury Printing Company, 1991.
    An anthology of articles along personal interest lines. The different stories were derived from Raynor’s local history column in the Salisbury Post. Articles dealing with the prison include, “Yanks Made a Desperate Rush to Freedom,” and “She Nursed Soldiers at the Confederate Prison.”

Thompson, Bryce A. "A History of Salisbury Prison 1861-1865, a Research Paper Submitted to the Head of the Department of English, History, and Government, United States Naval Academy." February 17, 1964.
    A research paper, which provides an overview of the prison and its conditions. Midshipman First Class Thompson received an A- for his work.

Mangum, Adolphus W. “Salisbury Prison.” In Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-1865. Vol. IV. Walter McKenzie Clark, ed. Goldsboro, NC: State of North Carolina, 1901.
    A 27-page account written by a Confederate chaplain at the prison, which stresses the South’s inability to take care of the prisoners due to its lack of supplies, etc. Examples and specific stories are related.

Trent, Mack Parris.  “Civil War Prisons and Prisoners in North Carolina, 1861-1865.” M.A. Thesis East Carolina College, 1961.

Trotter, William R. Silk Flags and Cold Steel: The Civil War in North Carolina; The Piedmont. Winston-Salem: John F. Blair, 1988.
    This work contains a chapter entitled, “North Carolina’s Andersonville-The Prison at Salisbury,” which reiterates the standard history of the prison.

Ashe, Capt. Samuel A. “Treatment of Prisoners 1864-1865.” Confederate Veteran (May 1927): 172-174.
    The “Southern” explanation for the treatment of Salisbury’s POWs.

Cartland, Fernando G. Southern Heroes : or Friends in War Time. Cambridge, MA: Riverside Press, 1895.
   Noting that more Friends (Quakers) were confined at Salisbury than any other Confederate Prison, Cartland relies upon apparent first-hand accounts, among them G. M. Gidney of Poughkeepsie, NY, to give a general description of the prison. He includes the story of one man who was mistaken for dead and transported to the Dead House, only to be discovered and returned to health.

Goss, Warren Lee. The Soldiers Story of His Captivity at Andersonville, Belle Isle, and Other Rebel Prisons. Boston: Richardson, 1872.
    Goss collected eyewitness accounts of the prisons and wrote a general treatment of them.

Cox, Cleve Horton. “Salisbury, the Confederate Prison and General Stoneman 1860-1865.”
    A college research paper that gives a basic overview of the conditions at the prison, and Union General Stoneman’s raid into Salisbury. Cox’s grade for the paper is unknown.

Parrish, Janet Marie. “The Salisbury Penitentiary, a senior thesis prepared for the History Department of Westhampton College, University of Richmond, March, 1962.”
    A college thesis that covers general information about the prison and its becoming a national cemetery. An index to the thesis was provided by Edith Clark.

*Pompey, Sherman Lee. The Confederate Military Prison and the National Cemetery at Salisbury, North Carolina: A Study Into the History and Men That Were Interned and Interred at Salisbury During the Civil War With Military Data on Some Of These Men. Florence, OR: Western Oregon Genealogical Research Library, 1981.

Speer, Lonnie. Portals to Hell: Military Prisons of the Civil War. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997.

Ford, Annette Gee. The Captive: Major John H. Gee, Commandant of the Confederate Prison at Salisbury, North Carolina 1864-1865: A Biographical Sketch with Complete Court-Martial Transcript.  Quincy, Fl: The Author, 2000.  
    John Henry Gee was court-martialed for his role at the Salisbury Prison, following the war. This work contains a biographical sketch and a complete transcript of his trial.

*Designates materials NOT owned by Rowan Public Library  

Personal Accounts

Abbot, A. O. Prison Life in the South: At Richmond, Macon, Savannah, Charleston, Raleigh, Goldsboro, and Andersonville During the Years of 1864-1865. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1865.  
    A heated account of conditions in the prisons.

Bates, W. C., ed. Stars and Stripes in Rebeldom: A series of Papers Written by Federal Prisoners  (Privates ) in Richmond, Tuscaloosa, New Orleans and Salisbury, N.C.,  Boston: T.O.H.P. Burnham, 1862.
    Early in the war, Union prisoners housed in a floating prison in New Orleans founded a literary society and this society “published” a journal, Stars and Stripes, which was passed from soldier to soldier. The president of the literary society, W. C. Bates, published this series of journals while the war was still going on. Salisbury is treated in the appendix. Particularly interesting is the description of the theatrical performances that the POWs produced at the prison at that time.

Booth, Benjamin F. Dark Days of the Rebellion: Life in Southern Military Prisons. Edited by Steve Meyer. Garrison, IA: Meyer Publishing Company, 1995.  
    A revised personal account of a soldier, who was incarcerated in the prison, and, who for a time, maintained the prison’s dead book. Originally self-published in 1897, the author found little audience for his blistering attack on the Confederates who held him in Salisbury.  Based upon a diary that was concealed on scraps of paper in his shoe, this work contains highly descriptive accounts of some of the activities in the prison.

Brown, Louis A., ed. "The Correspondence of David Olando McRaven and Amanda Nance McRaven.” North Carolina Historical Review 26 (January 1949)  
    David McRaven, a member of the senior reserves, wrote letters home to his wife in Iredell County.  It is one of the few first-hand accounts of the prison from a guard.

Browne, Junius Henri. Four Years in Secessia: Adventures Within and Beyond the Union Lines . . . Hartford: O. D. Case and Company, 1865.  
    The story of a New York Tribune journalist who was captured, this work describes Libby Prison, Castle Thunder Prison, as well as Salisbury where Browne describes the tunnels and tunneling in more detail than any of the other first-person accounts. He escaped from the prison.

Bush, Watson W. “Experiences at Salisbury Prison, South [sic] Carolina and Danville, Virginia During the Civil War.” Conrad Bush, ed. Historical Wyoming. 44(July 1997): 9-14.  
    An account apparently based upon a war-time diary, which treats the former POWs’ circumstances in general terms.

Chase, Herber (Oct. 5, 1835—Nov. 27, 1864): A Prisoner in Salisbury, A Compilation of His Letters, etc.  Compiled by Judith Anderson. Tahlequah, OK: The compiler, February 1999.  
    Chase, a soldier from Maine, wrote several letters to his wrote during the war. One of these letters was written eight days before his death in the Salisbury Prison. A fellow prisoner promised to carry a photograph and a few other items to Chase’s wife, but he too perished in Salisbury. An acquaintance of his, however, did manage to find Mrs. Chase and return the items. While Chase’s short letter from the prison is not all that noteworthy, the story revealed in the correspondence following his death is especially poignant.

Cook, Washington Irvin. My Biography.  
    Originally published in the Greenville Progress in March through May of 1944, this is a photocopy of a booklet created from the newspaper articles. Cook was a Pennsylvania volunteer who was captured in the Spring of 1864. He describes the dead wagon and tunneling, as well as his arrangement with guards by which he sold bread within the prison walls. He later escaped from the prison while out on a work train.

Cooper, A.  In and Out of Rebel Prisons. Oswego, NY: R. J. Oliphant, 1888.  
    An attack on the South’s treatment of Union POWs by one of the escapees of the prison, covering Andersonville, Columbia, SC [Camp Sorghum], and other prisons. Cooper, a lieutenant, is recaptured and returned to prison. He describes various events in his escape attempts, many having occurred in North Carolina

Corcoran, Michael. The Captivity of General Corcoran: The Only Authentic and Reliable Narrative of the Trials and Sufferings Endured, During His Twelve Months’ Imprisonment in Richmond, and Other Southern Cities by Brigadier General Michael Corcoran, the Hero of Bull Run.  Philadelphia: Barkley and Co., 1862.  
    Corcoran was the "hostage" of the Confederate government, which promised to give him the same punishment as the North would dole out to Southern privateers, which the U.S. deemed to be  pirates. Corcoran was held in Salisbury.

*Crossley, William J. “Extracts From My Diary . . . From July 1861 to June 1862.” Soldiers and Sailors Historical Society of Rhode Island, Personal Narratives. IV series, #4. Providence, RI: 1903.

Darby, George W. originally appearing as Incidents and Adventures in Rebeldom, Libby, Belles Isle, Salisbury, Pittsburgh, PA: Press of Rawsthorne Engraving and Printing Co., 1899 also as The Civil War Memories of Sergeant George W. Darby, 1861-1865 (1999).

Decker, Doug, ed.  Diary & Letters from Samuel McLain, drummer with Co. I, 144th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  Portland, OR: The Editor, 1992.  
    A diary and letters of a drummer, heavily annotated by the soldier’s great grandson with only the last several entries describing the prison in Salisbury. These diary notations primarily concern rations and lack of shelter.

Dhalle, Kathy, compiler. Remembering Salisbury: Stories from the Prisoners of War, 1882-1934. Edited by Asa K. Gage. Marietta, GA: The Editor, 1996.  
   The National Tribune, a Union Veterans’ newspaper, printed letters written by Salisbury Prison veterans who recounted their experiences in the prison. This work brings together a remarkable number of first-hand accounts.

*Duel, James F. “Horrors of Rebel Prisons.” History of the Forty-Fifth Regiment, Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1865. Allen D. Albert, ed. Williamsport, PA : Grit Publishing Company, 1912. Pp. 324-332.  
    A very embittered account concerning nutrition, the burial detail, with descriptions of hospital and tent interiors and a liberation day.

Duncan, Alexander. “My Experiences in Libby and Salisbury Prisons.” History of the Forty-fifth Regiment, Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1865. Allen D. Albert, ed. Williamsport, PA: Grit Publishing Company, 1912. Pp. 332-335.  
    This account describes the prison, i.e. “Twenty trees, seven water wells,” as well as life below ground. It also tells about liberation day.

Durkin, Joseph T., ed., John Dooley, Confederate Soldier: His War Journal. Washington: Georgetown University Press, 1945.
    Dooley was a Confederate soldier who traveled through Salisbury. He recorded his impression of the town in April of 1865.

Ellis, Daniel. Thrilling Adventures of Daniel Ellis, the Great Guide of East Tennessee For a Period of Nearly Four Years During the Great Southern Rebellion, Written by Himself.  
    Ellis was the guide for the Northern journalists who escaped from the prison.

Felci, Thomas, ed. Patrick Henry Campbell’s Civil War Diary and the History of the 107th Pennsylvania Volunteers. Staten Island, NY: The Editor, 199?  
   A photocopy of a typescript of a POW’s diary, containing only that portion which relates to his time spent at the Salisbury Confederate Prison. He depicts rations, lice, and confrontations between guards and prisoners.

Fosdick, Charles.  Five Hundred Days in Rebel Prisons. Chicago: G.F. Goskreutz, 1887.

Freeman, M. O. and Elizabeth Fisk Freeman Grosh, eds.  "The Civil War Diaries of Henry Oliver Spencer."      A typescript of a journal maintained by a New York soldier who was captured and held in the Salisbury Prison, along with photocopies of some of the original entries, photographs, and compiled service material from the National Archives. Spencer died in the prison and a civilian sent his diary home to his family.

Galloway, Richard P. One Battle Too Many: An American Civil War Chronicle: The Writings of Simon Bolivar Hulbert, Private, Company E., 100th Regiment, New York State Volunteers, 1861-1864. Gaithersburg, MD: Olde Soldier Books, 1987.  
    This set of diaries and letters tells a story of a soldier who was captured early and exchanged from Salisbury (before subsequently being captured a second time to die at Andersonville). A prolific letter writer and diary keeper, Hulbert’s account is enhanced further by the annotations of the editor. It stresses the friendly interactions between the Northern and Southern soldiers in Salisbury.

Gilmer, George R. Assault on Fort Gilmer and Reminiscences of Prison Life. Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors Historical Society, 1897.  
    A very brief statement about the prison from an African American Union soldier.

Glazier, Willard W. The Capture, Prison Pen, and Escape, Giving an Account of Prison Life in the South. . .  Albany: J. Munsell, 1866.  
    Written by a Lieutenant in the Harris Light Infantry and based upon his diary, which he slipped out of the prison during an escape, this work contains extensive coverage of Libby prison and Columbia, SC’s Camp Sorghum. Glazier never was incarcerated in Salisbury, but bases his treatment of Salisbury on quotes from Albert D. Richardson and Junius Henri Browne.

Hyde, Solon. A Captive of War. New York, 1900.  
    Hyde was held in the prison only one night. Information concerning the prison found in this work came as a result of his interviews with other Salisbury POWs.

Jordan, Alvia. “Autobiography of Alvia Jordan.”  
    The typescript copy of a personal memoir of a man who escaped from both Andersonville and Salisbury. The original is held by his descendants. Rowan Public Library holds the only copy outside the family’s hands.

Kellogg, Robert H. Life and Death in Rebel Prisons. Freeport, NY: Books For Libraries Press, 1971.  
    A reprint of the 1865 account of a Connecticut Sergeant-Major and former POW who interviewed other former POWs about their experiences in various southern prisons. Salisbury’s coverage is eleven pages. Rowan Public Library has the original edition, as well.

*McCowan, Archibald. The Prisoners of War; A Reminiscence of the Rebellion. New York: Abbey Press, ?     
   

McElray, E. W. “My Experience in Prison Life.” in History of the Forty-fifth Regiment, Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1865. Allen D. Albert, ed. Williamsport, PA: Grit Publishing Company, 1912. Pp. 336-351.  
    Perhaps the most brutal indictment of the conditions and treatment of the prisoners, this is a day-by day diary kept from Oct.7, 1864 to Feb 25, 1865 and contains weather details, guard/POW antagonisms, and information about prison food. It also contains a death roster of the 45th PA infantry as kept by one who was there.

McLaughlin, Florence, ed. "Diary of Salisbury Prison by James W. Eberhart." Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, (July 1973).

*Parsons, Byron. "Life as a Prisoner of War at Libby Prison in Richmond, VA., and at Salisbury, NC, and Danville, VA, and the Exchange of Prisoners." John R. Selbis, comp. #697 in Civil War Manuscripts: A Guide to Collections in Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. Washington: Library of Congress, 1986.  
    A major in the 94th NY volunteers, Parsons kept a two-volume diary covering Jan. 1, 1864-Oct. 14, 1865.

*Prey, G. G. Recollection of Three Rebel Prisons: Libby, Salisbury, Danville. Warsaw, NY: Western New-Yorker Printing House, 1896.

Richardson, Albert D.  The Secret Service, The Field, The Dungeon, and the Escape. Hartford, CT: American Publishing Co., 1865.
    The bitter personal account of a popular Northern newspaper correspondent for the New York Tribune who was in the Salisbury Prison and escaped along with Junius Henri Browne.

Small, Harold Adams, ed. The Road to Richmond: the Civil War memoirs of Major Abner R. Small of the Sixteenth Maine Volunteers ; together with the diary which he kept when he was a prisoner of war. Berkley, CA: University of California Press, 1939.
    The Civil War Memoir of Major Abner R. Small of Maine and the diary which he kept while in the prison.

Sprague, Homer B. Lights and Shadows in Confederate Prisons, a Personal Experience 1864-5.  New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1915.  
    A brevet Colonel in the 13th Connecticut volunteers gives his account of life in the prison including the story of a failed escape attempt, along with a detailed physical description of the facility.

Swift, George W.  Experiences of a Falmouth Boy in Rebel Prisons. Falmouth: The Independent Press, 1899. (UMI reprint from microfilm).  
    A corporal with the Massachusetts volunteers, Swift was captured in 1864 and wrote of his day-to-day experiences as a POW some thirty years after the event. This work is similar to Benjamin Booth’s account.

Wood, William Nicol. “Salisbury Recollections.” 1964.  
    A typescript of the recollections of a New Orleans child war refugee who stayed in the Yadkin House Hotel during the last days of the war.  The story is given as told to his granddaughter, and notes conditions of the prison, the tunnels, and an escape attempt.

*Yerger, William H. “The Battle of the Weldon Railroad, Capture of the Remnants of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps, Life in Salisbury Prison.” Grand Army Scout and Soldier’s Mail (May 17, 1884).

*Young, James. Being Ten Month's Experience of a Union Soldier in the Military Prisons of Richmond, New Orleans, and Salisbury. Baltimore: Printed by James Young, 1864. 

Morton, Joseph W. Sparks From the Camp Fire; or Tales of the Old Veterans. Thrilling Stories of Heroic Deeds, Brave Encounters, Desperate Battles, Bold Achievements, Reckless Daring, Lofty Patriotism, Terrible Suffering and Wondrous Fortitude. Washington, DC: The National Tribune, 1899.  
    Purportedly based upon the stories of veterans. The Salisbury Prison section appears to be derived from Richardson and Browne’s accounts. A photocopy of the Salisbury Prison section of this work is in the Salisbury Prison file of the McCubbins Collection, Rowan Public Library.

*Designates materials NOT owned by Rowan Public Library  

The National Cemetery

United States Quartermaster’s Department. Roll of Honor (No. XIV): Names of Soldiers Who In the Defense of the American Union Suffered Martrydom in the Prison Pens Throughout the South. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1868.  
    A typescript copy of the Union soldiers who were buried outside of the Salisbury Confederate Prison. These gravesites eventually became the Salisbury National Cemetery.

Walker, James D. Pennsylvania at Salisbury, North Carolina: Ceremonies at the Dedication of the Memorial Erected by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the National Cemetery at Salisbury, North Carolina. Philadelphia[?]: C. E. Aughinbaugh, 1912.  
    A commemorative book holding the announcement inviting all former POWs from Pennsylvania who were held at Salisbury, to attend the dedication ceremony of the Pennsylvania Memorial, newspaper accounts of the dedication ceremony, the prayer, introductions and speeches delivered, as well as a listing of the guests present during the ceremony.

Report of the Maine Commissioners on the Monument Erected at Salisbury, N.C. Waterville [ME?]: Sentinel Publishing Company, 1908.  
    A photocopy of the commemorative booklet created for the dedication of the Maine memorial including the state law creating the Maine Memorial Commission, the report of the commission, and speeches, prayers and songs delivered at the dedication ceremony. Also included is a listing of the 203 Maine men who died in Salisbury.

Flint, Patsy.  Salisbury Confederate Prison and National Cemetery Driving Tour. Salisbury, NC: Historic Salisbury Foundation, 1988.
    A booklet designed to accompany an audiocassette tape, which describes the site of the prison and national cemetery. Included in the booklet is an overview of the prison, a brief look at Stoneman’s raid into Salisbury, and a map of the supposed boundaries of the prison.

Mack, Oscar. "Report of Inspection of National Cemeteries, 1870-71." Executive Document #79, 42nd Congress Second Session. Reported and Ordered Printed May 17, 1872. Washington, DC: National Archives.  
    A copy of this report may be found in the Louis Brown Collection, Rowan Public Library.

*Quartermaster General. Statement of The Disposition of the Bodies of Deceased Union Soldiers and Prisoners of War Whose Remains Have Been Removed to National Cemeteries in the Southern and Western States. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1898.

*Quartermaster General. Annual Report of the Quartermaster General To the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1875. Washington: Government Printing Office

A Pilgrimage to the Shrines of Patriotism Being the Report of the Commission to Dedicate the Monument Erected by the State of New York in Andersonville, Georgia, to Commemorate the Heroism, Sacrifices, and Patriotism of More than Nine Thousand of Her Sons Who Were Confined in that Prison with an Account of Services of the New York Resident Surviving Andersonville Veterans Held Thereat and Also En Route at Richmond and Danville, Virginia, Salisbury, North Carolina and Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, April 26-30, 1914. Albany: J.B. Lyon Company, 1916.
    What appears to be a photocopy of the pages from this work that pertain to Salisbury is available in the Salisbury Federal Prison Files of the McCubbins Collection, Rowan Public Library.

*Designates materials NOT owned by Rowan Public Library  

Archival/Manuscript Materials

Letters Orders, and Circulars Issued and received, Military Prison Hospital, Salisbury, North Carolina, 1864-1865. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1973. Microfilm

General Courts-Martial of John H. Gee, file NM 3972. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1974. Microfilm.  
    This does not appear to be the transcript of the entire trial.

Index of Prisoners of War of the United States Army Who Enlisted in the Rebel Service at Salisbury, NC. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1974. Microfilm  
    The origin of this list is unknown. Louis Brown thinks that it was created by General Bradley Johnson. It contains the names, addresses, and rank of the “galvanized” Yankees.

Original Register of Federal Prisoners of War of the United States Army Confined in Prison Hospital, Salisbury, NC 1864-1865. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1965. Microfilm.  
    This register is from the Commissary General of Prisoners’ Office. It consists of those who entered the hospital, their rank, cause of admission and their release (or death). This is a copy of an original record, which was made in 1880. The whereabouts of the original is unknown.

Parole Lists, May 1862, Salisbury, North Carolina. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1965. Microfilm.

CSA Army Dept. of Henrico. Prisoner lists. Virginia Historical Society, Richmond.
    Lists of prisoners apparently sent to Richmond prisons. Some lists contain only men sent from Salisbury.  These have been photocopied and are held by Rowan Public Library. Some lists appear to hold prisoners from several facilities. Those that specifically stated “sent from Salisbury” have been abstracted and are filed with the photocopies.

Roll of Honor (No. XIV): Names of Soldiers Who, in Defense of the American Union Suffered Martyrdom in the Prison Pens Throughout the South. Washington, DC: National Archives. Microfilm.
    A typescript is also available at Rowan Public Library.

Quartermaster Department, Letters and Telegrams Sent: February 1864 to January 1865, Chapter V, volume 20-21. Washington, DC: National Archives. Microfilm.  

Samuel R. Harrison Rowan County Furniture and Coffins, 1859-1861. Raleigh, NC: State Archives of North Carolina, 1991. Microfilm.  
    A Salisbury casket maker’s record book. It reveals the purchases of caskets for the prison during the first few months of its existence.

Rowan County, North Carolina, Book of Deeds, XXXIV: 382, XXXVIII: 206-207, XXXIX: 543, XXXXII: 354.
    Deed records list the owners and dimensions of the prison site.

 Louis Brown Collection, Rowan Public Library, Salisbury North Carolina.  
    This collection contains the research notes of Louis Brown who wrote the most comprehensive treatment of the prison.  Photocopies of many of the sources he cites in his work may be found in this manuscript collection. Some of these sources from his research notes have been duplicated, cataloged separately, and are available in Rowan Public Library’s History Room.

A single letter. Gilbert Brown to Elizabeth Tinsley.  
    Photocopy, location of original unknown. The letter of a guard to his wife.

A single letter. “Dear Sarah” from N. (Shepherd or Alexander?)” January 4, 1865. Charlotte, NC: Mint Museum.  
    A guard’s letter home to his wife complaining about his health and describing the lack of food and supplies at the prison. A photocopy may be found in the Salisbury Confederate Prison Materials, Rowan Public Library.

A single letter. R.C. Craven to Pamelia Craven. Nov. 27th, 1864.
    The letter of a guard to his wife, which describes an attempted prison break. A photocopy of the letter and a typescript is held by Rowan Public Library. The original is in private hands. 

John S. Crocker Civil War Correspondence. Brockett Collection. Department of Manuscripts and University Archives. Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Libraries.
    General John S. Crocker was a prisoner in Salisbury from May through July of 1862 when he was exchanged. He gives a fairly favorable review of the facilities. A photocopy of these materials is available in the Louis Brown Collection.

Dill Correspondence. Scattered in private, unknown hands.
    The Dill correspondence consisting of four letters from William H. Dill and Daniel M. Dill, brothers from Gray, Maine. They were captured at the battle of Seven Pines and transferred to the Salisbury Prison in June of 1862.These letters were discovered in Maine (Confederate Philatelist Sept.-Oct 1997) and sold at auction in 1999. The auction house of Robert A. Siegel aided Rowan Public Library in obtaining photocopies of two of the four letters.

Godwin Family Papers. Virginia Historical Society, Richmond.  
    Two letters written by a clerk with the Confederate Provost Marshall’s Office. He was stationed primarily in Petersburg but did venture to Salisbury for a brief period. His letters briefly describes the scene in Salisbury in 1864.

Charles Carrol Gray Diary. Southern Historical Collection. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  
    Gray was a medical doctor imprisoned in Salisbury from May 17 to July 28, 1862. A copy may be found in the Louis Brown Collection, Rowan Public Library.

Joseph W. Hall Manuscripts. Manuscript Dept. Duke University Library.
    Joseph (or Josephus) Hall w