Point Lookout, Md. Homemade cover from prisoner-of-war to Laurel Branch, N.C., endorsed "By Flag of Truce", partly clear large oval "Approved J. N. Patterson Capt. & Provost Marshal Point Lookout, Md." handstamp (Ty. 1), U.S. postage paid by 3c Rose (65), cancelled by open grid, "Point Lookout Md. Mar. 29" (1864) circular datestamp, C.S.A. postage paid by two 5c Blue, Local (7), ample margins, both tied by "Richmond Va. Apr. 9" circular datestamp, cover slightly worn along bottom edge and small tear at bottom

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. AN UNUSUAL MIXED FRANKING ON A PRISONER-OF-WAR COVER FROM POINT LOOKOUT THROUGH OLD POINT COMFORT AND RICHMOND.

A description of Point Lookout Prison can be found at the William L. Clements Library website (http://www.clements.umich.edu/Webguides/Schoff/NP/Point.html): "The Point Lookout Prison was built on the tip of the peninsula where the Potomac River joins Chesapeake Bay. In the two years during which the camp was in operation, August 1863 to June 1865, Point Lookout overflowed with inmates, surpassing its intended capacity of 10,000 to a population numbering between 12,500 and 20,000. In all, over 50,000 men, both military and civilian, were held prisoner there. G. W. Jones, a private of Co. H, 24th Virginia Cavalry, described his ominous entrance into the prison amidst 'a pile of coffins for dead rebels,' hearing the lid close shut on his own soon thereafter when he learned that the system of prisoner exchanges had been suspended. Prisoners, who lived sixteen or more to a tent, were subjected to habitually short rations and limited fire wood in winter, and when the coffee ration was suspended for federal prisoners at Andersonville, the Point Lookout prisoners lost theirs as well. The flat topography, sandy soil, and an elevation barely above high tide led to poor drainage, and the area was subjected to every imaginable extreme of weather, from blazing heat to bone-chilling cold. Polluted water exacerbated the problems of inadequate food, clothing, fuel, housing, and medical care, and as a result, approximately 4,000 prisoners died there over 22 months."

Ex Walske. With 2011 P.F. certificate

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