Lot
3155 
Confederacy, Prison Hospital, Danville, Va., folded letter A.E. Mason, Saddler 6th Ky Cav to his wife in Bardstown Ky., manuscript "by FlagTruce" across top, postmarked red "Danville, Va. Dec 27" (1863) cds and matching arc "Due 10", exchanged with black "Old Point Comfort, Va. Jan 26" double circle postmark and "Due 6" in circle, contents include "Dear Wife, This being the first Christmas that I have been absent from home I suppose you all miss me and think Cris Kringle has not paid his wonted visit to the family hearth… But the day will come when an exchange of prisoners will take place.", Very Fine.Estimate $1,000 - 1,500.
AN IMPORTANT RARITY AS THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED PRISONER OF WAR COVER FROM THE DANVILLE PRISON HOSPITAL.
The prison in Danville consisted of six tobacco warehouses plus a hospital. All were located in the center of town and as usual were most unpopular with local inhabitants. The Danville prisons were used from November 1863 through the end of the war.
At a distance of about six blocks from Building #6 was located the prison hospital. Although few medicines were available in the South, due to the blockade, at least during cold weather, prisoners in the hospital had heat. Bunks were also provided for sick patients, whereas almost all the other prisoners slept on the bare floor. The hospital had been built as a Confederate hospital, but necessity had transformed it into a hospital for the prisoners.
While A.E. Mason, Saddler 6th Ky. Cav, was in Danville Prison Hospital from Dec. 12, 1863 tp Feb. 9. 1864.
Realized: $1,600