Illinois – Experiencing the Struggle for Survival at Camp Douglas

Confederate prisoners at Camp Douglas.

Library of Congress

Recipient: Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation

Amount: $30,367.00

South of Chicago, and adjacent to the Illinois Central Railroad, the stark walls of Camp Douglas’s sprawling 60-acre complex served two purposes. For the people of Illinois joining the Union cause, the camp was their first stop during the Civil War—a training center where they learned the basics of being a soldier, like marching and eating rations. But for many Confederate prisoners of war, captured on far away battlefields, the camp was their final fight—a struggle to survive cold weather, poor sanitation, and hunger rather than evading Union bullets. From 1862 to 1865, Camp Douglas served its dual roles, witnessing the formation of multiple Illinois infantry regiments and confining approximately 30,000 Confederates prisoners. Today the site stands as a stark reminder of the more than 4,000 Confederate prisoners of war who died within the walls of Camp Douglas and of the Civil War military prisons—both in north and south—that claimed the lives of 56,000 captured soldiers.

A 2022 Preservation Planning Grant awarded by the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program supports the Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation in the design and production of traveling exhibits that explain Camp Douglas’s role as a Union training center and prisoner of war camp during the Civil War. The foundation’s project will acknowledge the experience of Union guards and Confederate prisoners through firsthand accounts and invite visitors to experience and explore life—and death—at the camp.

Preservation Planning Grants are the American Battlefield Protection Program's broadest and most inclusive grant program, promoting the stewardship of battlefields and sites of armed conflict on American soil. In addition, the program administers three other grants: Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants, the newly authorized Battlefield Restoration and Battlefield Interpretation grant programs. This financial assistance generates community-driven stewardship of historic resources at the state, tribal and local levels.

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Check out the American Battlefield Protection Program's website for more information about various grant offerings and eligibility.

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