You wrote: >>> and Selected Records of the War Department Relating to Confederate Prisoners of War, 1861-1865; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M598, 145 rolls); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives, Washington, D.C., which is where I found the reference to his capture at South Mountain and transfer to Ft. Delaware. <<<

This matches the limited information Society researchers extracted from NARA Tape 40 for Private “A. W.” THOMAS, Co. H, 42nd VA Infantry. A copy of that microfilm roll is in the Society Archives & Library.

The order to report to Commander Frederick Chatard, CSN at Orange Court House to be transferred to the CS Navy dated 4 APR 1864 and repeated on 16 APR 1864 implies that he had been paroled, delivered to Confederate authorities and declared exchanged. It also might suggest that he did not report as ordered and was an absentee for the balance of the war.

Why no Federal record of James Wesley Thomas’ parole and delivery was ever found is the mystery. The Federal POW records for this man must be in the National Archives somewhere, perhaps under an assumed or alternate name.

Assuming that he was received at Fort Delaware, here are the possible transfer mechanisms that I know of from an examination of other POW Compiled Military Service Records.

(1) Circa 19 JUL 1863, seriously sick and wounded Gettysburg captives who had been deposited at Fort Delaware were transferred to the Upland US Army General Hospital in Chester, Pennsylvania. As these men became ambulatory and could be transferred over the next several months, they were paroled at Chester and delivered to Confederate authorities at City Point. By December 1863, all the Confederate POW patients being treated at Chester were paroled and delivered.

(2) Some 752 sick and wounded POWs were paroled at Fort Delaware on 30 JUL 1863 and delivered to Confederate authorities at City Point on 1 AUG 1863. The records of these men that I have examined have some sort of Confederate hospital or parole camp record subsequent to their return to Confederate authority.

(3) In September and October 1863, substantial numbers of POWs at Fort Delaware were transferred to Point Lookout in Maryland. Point Lookout did not open for business as a military prison until September 1863.

(a) I have examined the CMSR of two men who were transferred from Fort Delaware to Point Lookout, then paroled at Point Lookout and delivered at City Point on 24 DEC 1863. One of these was returned to duty on 4 APR 1864, a date which coincides with the date on the Navy transfer order you found for James Wesley Thomas.

(b) Other Confederate POWs sent from Fort Delaware to Point Lookout in the fall of 1863 were paroled and delivered to Confederate authorities at City Point on 6 MAR 1864 and again on 15 March 1864. In the case of two of these records, the men were given CSA clothing issues on March 17th and 19th respectively, which indicates a return to duty, or perhaps a furlough home from a hospital, prior to 1 APR 1864. Generally these men were sick or debilitated in some manner.

I have examined the records of still other Confederate POWs who were wounded at Gettysburg, captured and treated in the Army field hospitals around Gettysburg. In July 1863, a number of these went to Chester Hospital in Pennsylvania passing by (and not through) Fort Delaware en route. When they could be moved from the field hospitals at Gettysburg, others were sent to the West Building US Army General Hospital in Baltimore. Men were then paroled at the West Building Hospital and delivered at City Point during this same extended period – 2H1863 to 1Q1864.

The record for Private “A. W.” THOMAS, Company H, 42nd VA Infantry still intrigues me. I have encountered a handful of other POW records that simply end at Fort Delaware. What became of these men is a mystery. However, in each case, I was able to find CMSR records of their enrollment and service prior to their capture and delivery to Fort Delaware. You have answered this challenge by stating that there are muster rolls for the 42nd VA Infantry at the University of Virginia which were not available to the War Department archivists who compiled the CMSR. However, that would not be true of the Federal POW capture and subsequent Federal hospital records.

James Wesley Thomas lived well into the 20th Century, so we know that he did not die at Fort Delaware. I suppose we should entertain the notion of his escape from Fort Delaware, but that would difficult for a man who had suffered "a fracture of the radius near the elbow joint" from a minnie ball. Broken arms do heal, but Pea Patch Island was surrounded by approximately 1 mile of water with swift currents and only the healthiest of men were able to escape. Those who escaped by boat usually had a worker's access to boats servicing the island. A stiff right arm damaged by a minnie ball would limit a man's laboring abitilties.

Apparently James Wesley Thomas failed to gain a Confederate pension from the State of Virginia, is that not correct? The reason would be that he could not show that he was “at his post” (or discharged or on an authorized absence) when the end came in April 1865. Being absent without any authorized or valid excuse would have been held against him. While many did not do so, absentees at home in Virginia when Lee surrendered later reported into various Federal Provost Marshals scattered around the state to be accounted for and released on parole.

This cleared their names from the military’s perspective, but they still needed to take some variation of the Amnesty Oath in order to gain the right to vote, or participate in jury duty. I am not sure about registration of property ownership or payment of property taxes.

Confederate Pension applications generally required the sworn statements of veteran comrades of the soldier upon whose Confederate service the application was being made. The purpose was to certify the service of the applicant in the absence of any other official records. This became especially important in the early 1900's when no Compiled Military Service Records could be found. I would examine the records of these "comrade witnesses" to look for possible other clues.

I am avoiding shoveling the snow off my driveway and must get back to it. I hope all of this helps! Keep me posted on what you learn.

Hugh Simmons
Fort Delaware Society
Website: www.fortdelaware.org
E-Mail: society@fortdelaware.org