I saw in the booklet that Joanne Chiles Eakin put together (from NARA microfilm roll # 2, Volume B, November 1841-18 July 1865 called "Missouri State Penitentiary Register of Inmates") in 1995 and available at Two Trails Publishing by Joanne and her sister Carolyn Bartels as "Civil War Military Prisoners Sent to Missouri State Penitentiary" that starting in June 1864 certain southern military prisoners were sent to the state pen at Jefferson City. These prisoners were sentenced for certain offenses by military tribunal for three years or for duration of the war, or something similar.

I wonder if Major Hendrickson's reply to Captain Dwight on 10 April 1863 somehow led to that. How many were sent there for hard labor before the captain had sense enough to inquire about it? I call that bad staff work by the Yanks and a lucky break for a number of prisoners. Alton had a number of prison breaks, and now I think perhaps some of them might have been those men sentenced to hard labor who figured they should take leave of the Federal hospitality before the Yanks rectified their mistake that these guys were getting the same sort of "labor" that all the other POWs were getting. I know that a number of the escapes and escape attempts in the St. Louis prisons were perpetrated by men facing death sentences for violation of oaths, being guerrillas, and other violations of the "laws of warfare." This could be a new wrinkle for the Alton Military Prison escapes, too. Fascinating! Thanks.

Bruce Nichols