Confirming what George Purvis has written below, I have a reprint of the 1912 War Department "Register of Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Who Died in Federal Prisons and Military Hospitals in the North" which shows that 1st Corporal J. E. HOLT, Company I, 19th Arkansas Infantry died at Camp Douglas on 22 February 1863.
The Edward G. Gerdes website [ http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/19thcoi.html ] contains the following information:
HOLT, J.E., Corporal. Age 18. Enlisted 26 FEB 1862 at Nashville, AR. Captured 11 Jan 1863 at Arkansas Post, AR & sent to Camp Douglas, IL 8 FEB 1863. Died 10 MAR 1863 at Camp Douglas, IL. According to the Gerdes site, a book has been published about this regiment entitled "THE 19TH ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT, VOLUNTEERS, C.S.A." by Merrill Pence of Norman, Oklahoma. His contact information is listed on the regimental summary page [ ../19thindex.html ].
The NPS’ Index to the Compiled Military Service Records confirms that a CMSR exists under the name J. E. HOLT, Corporal, Company I, 19th (Dawson’s) Arkansas Infantry. While it has been my understanding that the Gerdes website was derived from the Compiled Military Service Records, an examination of the CMSR for this soldier may confirm the correct date of this soldier’s death (February 22nd or March 10th in 1863) and perhaps tell you what his first name was.
His capture date and arrival date at Camp Douglas are confirmed in the Official Records, Series II, Volume 5. The Arkansas Post POWs were not shipped out of Camp Douglas until about 31 MAR 1863. See my post below under Jim's query about the 1863 group photo.
Broadening the NPS database search to “Holt” and “Joseph” and “Confederate”, I got 18 hits for the name “Joseph HOLT”. There was no “Joseph E. HOLT” listed, and the only Corporal was Joseph R. HOLT, Company E, 13th North Carolina. This unit served in Virginia and it is unlikely that any enlisted POWs from this unit were sent to Camp Douglas. This would seem to bring the research target back around to 1st Corporal J. E. HOLT of Dawson’s 19th Arkansas Infantry.
Crute’s Unit History at the NPS website states that the “19th (Dawson's) Infantry Regiment completed its organization at Nashville, Arkansas, in November, 1861. Many of the men were recruited in Crawford, Polk, Sebastian, and Yell counties.”
Your next stop should be the 1860 Federal Census for these Arkansas counties. There were seven men surnamed HOLT identified by only their initials and serving in Company I. The Pence regimental history will likely tell you where Company I was recruited which will greatly narrow your search of the 1860 Federal Census data. This appears to be a family cluster.
I am not by any means an expert on military uniforms, but the CDV image identified as “Joseph HOLT” shows what
appears to be an early war uniform (light colored trousers with dark stripe down the side, fancy cuff and collar trim on the coat). He is also wearing a gray or light colored brass buttoned vest underneath the coat. Could this be one of Jim’s “gray Illinois state militia” uniforms from before the war, obsolete in 1863, and issued at Camp Douglas? The uniform is well tailored and does not appear to have been worn in the field. Do we have any military clothing experts to ask?
Hugh