Aaron Tazewell Saul, K/42nd Va., was captured at Spotsylvania C.H., 12 May 64; was a POW at Pt. Lookout from 18 May 64 to 30 July 64; and then a POW at Elmira from 2 August 64 to 26 April 65, when he was released on oath. This release date of 26 April 65 seems to be somewhat earlier than other POWs, most of whose release dates start in May 65 and continue through July 1865. Union POW records indicate he was among a group of other Confederates being considered for release while at Pt. Lookout [42Va: 340, 43068]; and the release was due to an order by the President of the U.S., apparently received at Elmira NY on 865/03/26 [42Va: 340, 47235]. The release was effected by a Special Order from the US Office of the Commissary General of Prisoners, dated 865/04/22 [42Va: 340, 41269, 40759]. There also appears to have been a subsequent letter from Pres. Andrew Johnson received at Elmira 865/05/05 [42Va: 340, 47238].

The primary source for the information is: Selected Records of the War Department Relating to Confederate Prisoners of War 1861-1865. Microfilm Publication M598. National Archives. War Department Collection of Confederate Records. Record Group 109, Washington, D.C., as published by ancestry.com.

Can anyone shed any light on the circumstances and background of the "early release"?