Prison - Pens of the North
Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp #2071
by Bobby Tully

Fort Delaware was built on Pea Patch Island, a marshy island located on the Delaware River, midway between Delaware and Fort Mott, New Jersey. During the War Between the States, the six acre fort served as a prison for Confederate prisoners. The majority of the prisoners were captured at the battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, many from the 26th Georgia Regiment, CSA. The Confederates dreaded General Albin F. Schoepf who was Commander of the fort. The soldiers knew him as "General Terror." It is estimated that 2,700 Confederate sol- diers died while captive at Fort Delaware. About 2,400 of them are interred at Finn's Point National Cemetery located across the Delaware River near Fort Mott State Park. Some famous Confederates who were held prisoner of Fort Delaware include General James F. Archer and Burton H. Harrison, the private secretary of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America. "Not long after my arrival I heard a cry 'Rat call! Rat call!' I went out to see what this meant. A number of prisoners were moving and some running up near the partition, over which a sargeant {sic) was standing and presently he began throwing rats down. The prisoners scrambled for the rats like school boys for apples, none but some of the most needy were the large majority, would scramble for these rats. Of course but few were lucky enough to get a rat. The rats were cleaned, put in saltwater a while and fried. Their flesh was tender and not unpleasant to the taste," John Sterling captain Company A 26th Battalion Virginia Infantry.

We need to remember our heritage.