The Prison on the Point at Point Lookout

Point Lookout is the tip of the peninsula where the Potomac River meets the Chesapeake Bay, and it is a popular place to fish from a pier, the causeway shore or a boat ramp. It was also, for two years during the Civil War, one of the largest prison camps for Confederate soldiers. This is a short history, drawn from Maryland’s state park page.

A hospital, then a prison

In 1862 the federal government built Hammond Hospital at the tip of the point. After the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, Union authorities began sending Confederate prisoners there, and a wooden-walled prison pen was built on the bay shore. The park’s page says about 50,000 men were held there between 1863 and 1865 and that nearly 4,000 died.

In 1864 Confederate General Bradley T. Johnson planned a raid to free the prisoners. The park’s account says he abandoned it after the plans were published.

One number, two figures

The park’s own welcome text gives a different prisoner count, “as many as 52,264,” and the page does not reconcile it with the figure of about 50,000. Both come from the same official source, so we give both and do not pick one.

Connection to the waterway

The state park now holds the fishing pier, causeway shore access and the boat ramp on the same ground. Living-history events such as Blue and Gray Days are held in June at Civil War Fort #3. If you fish here, you are fishing on the land where the camp stood.

The park today

Point Lookout State Park sits at the southern tip of Maryland, in St. Mary’s County, where the Potomac meets the Chesapeake Bay. A 710-foot fishing pier is open from mid-April to mid-December, and pets are not allowed on it. The park also has several shore fishing areas and a boat launch. The launch fee is $10, paid at the tollbooth, and it is valid 24 hours a day year-round.

Park hours are 7 a.m. to sunset from May through September and 8 a.m. to sunset from October through April. Night fishing is not allowed, and licenses are not sold in the park. Anglers 16 and older need a Coastal Sport Fishing license. The DNR page we read does not list the species anglers catch here, so we do not name any.

Living history on the same ground

The Civil War history is part of the park’s present. Living history events such as Blue and Gray Days are held in June at Civil War Fort #3. The fishing pier, the causeway shore access and the boat ramp all sit on the same ground as the old prison camp.

What anglers can take from it

Treat the grounds with the respect due a burial site, stay on marked paths and use the posted fishing areas. Rules, fees and hours for the park are on the DNR page and can change, so check before you go. More stories from Maryland waters are in the Dock Tales index.

Sources and caveats

This tale rests on one official source, the Maryland DNR page for Point Lookout State Park. The figure mismatch noted above is unresolved. We did not find a second historical source, such as the National Park Service or a historical society, and one would strengthen this story.