I've have asked myself that question a number of times over the years in trying to figure out the paths in captivity taken by several members of both the 42nd Virginia and 48th Virginia who had become POWs in 1862. Cards for these men in their National Archives compiled service records only indicate that Lt. Minx, a Union officer, delivered them to an unspecified location on 5 July 1862. No matter where I looked, I couldn't find Lt. Minx's identity. A recent search through the Philadelphia Inquirer, however, has answered my question and frustration. There is no Lt. Minx -- the copyists at the National Archives got the name wrong. The officer is Lt. James B. Mix, Co. D, 11th NY Cavalry. On 4 July 1862 he commanded a detachment of 40 men from that regiment, which was also known as the First United States Volunteers of New York, that departed Old Capitol Prison in Washington, DC, with 350 Confederate prisoners (17 officers and 333 enlisted) for Ft. Delaware. The prisoners belonged mainly to regiments under Stonewall Jackson and had been captured in the Shenandoah Valley; but others had also been captured at Williamsburg. The Confederates were described as "Virginians, Mississippians, Georgians, Louisianians and renegades from Maryland." Mix, his detail and prisoners, arrived by train in Philadelphia before daylight on the morning of 5 July. While waiting that day to board a steamer for Ft. Delaware, people in the large crowd that had gathered to see the Confederates hurled several stones at the prisoners. "Three of the the prisoners were badly cut."

So for those of you like me who have been looking for Lt. Minx, rest easy. He doesn't exist. Lt. Mix is our man. The full story of the prisoner transfer can be found on page 4 of the 7 July 1862 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer.