The former site of a Civil War training and prisoner of war camp on the South Side of Chicago has received formal recognition.
The site once housed black soldiers who were recruited for the Union Army, as well as Confederate soldiers who were captured during the war. It was once a part of Camp Douglas. About 6,000 Confederate soldiers died there throughout a four-year period.
The property is now owned by Prologue Inc. When it purchased the land in 2007, the alternative school network agreed to open a Civil War museum that honors black soldiers. The future museum will be developed by the Camp Douglas Foundation.