Lot
3109 
Confederacy, Castle Thunder, Richmond, Va., folded letter datelined "Room No. 10 Castle Thunder, Richmond March 4th 1864" to Washington, D.C., postmarked "Old Point Comfort, Va. Mar 4" double circle with "Due 6" handstamp in circle, Very Fine.Estimate $1,000 - 1,500.
A VERY RARE USAGE FROM CASTLE THUNDER WITH ONLY 11 COVERS RECORDED FROM THIS CAMP, ESPECIALLY CONTAINING THE FULL LETTER.
Letter from Thaddeus A. Jones, a northern sympathizer, to his wife sending a long list of needs, including clothing, writing materials and soap. Directing her to send them "plainly to Room No. 10." Also included is an 1867 letter of recommendation for Thaddeus Jones from the Late President of the White Sulphur Springs Co. giving high praise and includes, "He was arrested during the war while attempting to remove to the North & was imprisoned a long time."
Castle Thunder opened in August 1862. Generally thought of as one building, Castle Thunder was actually a three-building complex. Greaner's Tobacco Warehouse and attached to either side were Palmer's Factory and Whitlock's Warehouse.
Captain George W. Alexander was in charge. When the war ended in 1865, there was public outcry at the treatment of Union prisoners held at Castle Thunder. In order to escape potential imprisonment, Alexander fled to Canada and then later returned in the 1870s.
In the beginning prisoners were segregated by type. Greaner's held Confederate deserters and disloyal citizens. Whitlock's held blacks and women. Federal deserters were placed in Palmer's Factory. As the war wore on and prison congestion became even more acute, these lines would blur.
Realized: $800