His Compiled Military Service Records show that Colonel Alexander S. Vandeventer was captured near the Wilderness in Virginia on 10 MAY 1864. He was delivered to Fort Delaware from Belle Plain, Virginia on 17 MAY 1864. He was selected to be one of the "First Fifty" sent from Fort Delaware to Hilton Head, South Carolina for the purpose of being "placed under the guns" in retaliation for a similar group of Union officers being held in Charleston. Selected by the War Department in Washington and transferred from several different prisons to Fort Delaware, the number by rank matched the number by rank being held at Charleston (Majors up to Major General).

The First Fifty included Brigadier General James J. Archer and Colonel Vandeventer. The First Fifty departed Fort Delaware on 25 JUN 1864. Upon arrival at Hilton Head, the group was transferred to the USS Dragoon where they were held for nearly a month in close confinement. After further negotiations between Federal Major-General J. G. Foster and his Confederate counterpart Major-General Samuel Jones in Charleston, it was agreed to exchange these officers man for man, rank for rank. The delivery and exchange took place 3/4 AUG 1864 at Charleston, South Carolina. The exchanged officers were ordered back to their units.

There are 104 pages in Colonel Vandventer's CMSR and I did not pursue learning what he did for the balance of the war. I did note that he was ordered back to the 50th Virginia, but as of 28 OCT 1864 he had not returned.

A discussion of the First Fifty can be found in J. Murray Ogden's original (circa 1912) work on The Immortal 600. The First Fifty preceded the Immortal 600 by two months. The Immortal 600 departed Fort Delaware on 20 AUG 1864.

Hugh Simmons
Fort Delaware Society
E-mail: society@fortdelaware.org
Website: www.fortdelaware.org