Salisbury Prison was a military prison of the Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 in Rowan County, North Carolina

Rowan County, North Carolina

-Demographics and economics:As of the census of 2010, there were 138,428 people, 53,140 households, and 37,058 families residing in the county. The population density was 270.7 people per square mile . There were 60,211 housing units at an average density of 117.7 per square mile...

. Today the site is Salisbury National Cemetery

Salisbury National Cemetery

Salisbury National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Salisbury, in Rowan County, North Carolina. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had 20,970 interments.- History :...

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In May of 1861, North Carolina seceded from the Union and the Confederacy sought a site in Rowan County for a military prison. An old cotton mill near the railroad line was selected as the location. In the early part of the war, prisoners were well cared for and even indulged in baseball as is recorded by Otto Boetticher. His drawing at Salisbury Confederate Prison is the first drawing ever of a baseball game in America. Later when the prison became overcrowded and the death rate rose from 2% to 28%, mass graves were used to accommodate the dead. The area of the prison is now a National Cemetery and continues to be a place of historical interest.