Pvt. Henry F. Atkinson, of the Unassigned Conscripts, North Carolina died a CSA Prisoner of War. On the morning of June 28, 1864, Col. George W. Kirk's force, a force under Major Gen. W. T. Sherman…commanding Military Division of the Mississippi, attacked and destroyed Camp Vance, a Confederate training camp at Berry's Mill Pond. Camp Vance was located in Burke County, North Carolina, about six miles from Morganton. Kirk's force arrived at Camp Vance at daybreak, just as the Junior Reserves were lining up for roll call. When they arrived, they "formed a line of battle and sent in a flag of truce, demanding surrender of the camp in ten minutes, at the end of which time it capitulated without resistance." [1] Pvt. Henry F. Atkinson, was one of the 279 young men, Junior Reserves who had been gathered at Camp Vance to be organized into a battalion, that were taken prisoner from Camp Vance.

Upon capture, Pvt. Atkinson was forwarded to Capt. S. E. Jones, Add'l A. D. C., and appears of the Roll of Prisoners of War at Nashville, Tenn., on July 13, 1864. Pvt. Atkinson was then transferred to Military Prison, Louisville, Kentucky where he was received on July 14, 1864. On July 17, 1864, he was discharged from Louisville, Kentucky and from there was transported to the Camp Douglas, Chicago, Illinois, arriving on July 18, 1864. [2] Camp Douglas, located on the South Side of Chicago, was in operation as a prison from 1862 to 1865 and was one of the Union Army's largest POW camps. Due to the horrific conditions at the prison and an average of 111 deaths a month, Camp Douglas came to be known as "Eighty Acres of Hell." Within these gates is where Typhoid fever took the life of Pvt. Henry F. Atkinson on October 06, 1864. [2,3]

It is estimated that 4,454 Confederate soldiers died at Camp Douglas while an additional 1,500 remain "unaccounted for." [3] The known dead were originally interred at Chicago City Cemetery, known today as Lincoln Park. Pvt. Henry F. Atkinson was just 18 years old when he was interred in Grave # 67, Block 2 of Chicago City Cemetery. [2] In 1886, after the war had ended, Chicago City Cemetery closed and the soldiers were moved to Oak Woods Cemetery. 4,275 Confederate soldiers were reinterred in a single mass grave, known as Confederate Mound, which is claimed to be the largest mass grave in the Western Hemisphere.

Today, near the southwest corner of Oak Woods Cemetery, a 30-foot granite monument marks the final resting spot of the thousands of Confederate soldiers who died as prisoners of war at Camp Douglas. [4] At the base of the monument are tablets that list the names of the soldiers who are known to have been reinterred in Confederate Mound. Pvt. Henry F. Atkinson is found on the second tablet, second column, third name from the top.

Tablet one reads:
"THIS MONUMENT
WAS CONCEIVED AND ERECTED
BY
THE EX-CONFEDERATE ASSOCIATION
CAMP NO. 8 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
(Members of the association are listed)
...
AND DEDICATED
MAY 30TH, 1895
MAJOR GENERAL JNO. C. UNDERWOOD
COMMANDING NORTHERN DIVISION
U.C.V. WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES.
-
1911
THESE TABLETS
WERE PLACED UPON THE MONUMENT BY
THE UNITES STATES
GIVING THE NAMES, COMPANY AND REGIMENT OF
4,275 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS AS SHOWN
BY THE OFFICIAL RECORDS. WHO DIED IN THE PRISON
AT CAMP DOUGLAS, ILLINOIS, AND WHOSE BODIES ARE
BURIED IN THIS CEMETERY.
-
BOARD OF TRUSTEES (Each listed)"

Bio written and added by Kimberly Herndon

[1] Arthur, John Preston. Western North Carolina: a history (1730-1913). Ch. XXVII. Raleigh, N.C.: 1914.
[2] Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of North Carolina; Roll of Prisoners of War, NARA M270 Record Group 109; Fold3
[3] Death Register from Camp Douglas Chicago, Illinois; 1865 War Department Collection of Confederate Records National Archives Identifier: 3854696
[4] National Park Service; Confederate Mound at Oak Woods Cemetery Chicago, Illinois