The parole of honor was an alternative for prisoners of war. Instead of being sent to a military prison, with the burden of guarding, sheltering and feeding them, prisoners could be released with their pledge not to bear arms again until they were formally exchanged for an equivalent captive from the other side.

There were many problems with the parole system, the foremost being that since negotiations for prisoner exchanges often dragged on for months, and notification of agreed-upon exchanges to parolees scattered all over the country was an iffy thing, a soldier's status seemed like living in the Twilight Zone. Finally, in 1864, the practice of paroles and exchanges was pretty much abandoned, except for the occasional special cartel between specific units. However, general exchanges did begin again in the last couple of months of the war.