I have studied the diary of a man in the 23rd Illinois who was at Camp Douglas at the time the first prisoners arrived from Fort Donelson. The entry for Feb 20, 1862 reads - "Expected prisoners. Weather was fine, but snow fell at night. At 1 o'clock [a.m. on the morning of Feb 21, 1862] we were all called up and we fetched in camp 1,050 prisoners." The newspapers on Feb 21, 1862 read: "Arrival of Prisoners of War

During last night [Feb 20, 1861] three trains of cars arrived in this city filled with prisoners of war taken at Fort Donelson. One train, containing about 600, came over the Chicago, Alton & St Louis Railroads; two trains, containing about 1,700, came over the Illinois Central."