What was prison life like in St. Louis during the Civil War?
What was prison life like in St. Louis during the Civil War? Over the course of the war, the Union Army turned to two different prisons in downtown St. Louis to control rebellious citizens and send a message to the entire city. Painting of Gratiot Street Prison by Martin Stadler, c. 1864-65 When the Union Army seized control of St. Louis in 1861, it had a problem. While a large portion of the immigrant population was anti-slavery, much of the native residents, whose wealth and economic ties relied on the âPeculiar Institution,â were openly hostile to their new occupying military gov...
Source: stlmag.com