Camp Ford
Tyler, Smith County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Camp Ford, stockade prison of federal soldiers during the Civil War
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Camp Ford was a Confederate stockade near Tyler that held captured Union soldiers during the Civil War, growing into the largest prisoner-of-war camp west of the Mississippi River. Prisoners built log huts inside the log-walled enclosure, enduring crowding and shortages until the war's end. Though this marker's text is spare, the site stands for the grim experience of thousands of captured federal troops in Texas.
Why it matters
As the major Union POW camp in the Trans-Mississippi, Camp Ford preserves the often-overlooked story of captivity and survival on the western edge of the Civil War.
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