I read your postings over on the Alabama CWMB before responding to this one.
The man you are seeking appears to be J. Loyal (Loyall) BARKER, 2nd Lieutenant, Company H, 4th Mississippi Infantry. He was captured at Big Black Bridge on 17 MAY 1863 and sent to Johnson's Island. In February 1864, he was sent over to Point Lookout. He was later transferred with a large group of POW officers from Point Lookout to Fort Delaware arriving on 25 JUN 1864. While many of these officers became part of the First Fifty and later the Immortal 600, JLB remained at Fort Delaware. He was released under General Orders No. 109 by taking the Oath of Allegiance at Fort Delaware on 12 JUN 1865. His place of residence for transportationn purposes was given as Tallapoosa County, Alabama.
BARKER was 31 years of age when he enrolled at Grenada, Mississippi as Orderly Sergeant (1st Sergeant) of Captain Joseph J. Gee's company in the 4th Mississippi Volunteers on 24 AUG 1861. Your prior posting about his possible dementia because of his interest in the English language may be wide of the mark. Chances are that he was a school teacher in Mississippi at the time of his enrollment in Confederate service.
Fort Delaware Society records show that 2nd Lieutenant J. L. BARKER was housed in Division 22 in the officer's section of the wooden POW barracks out on Pea Patch Island. These "divisions" were groups of about 100 men from the same units and states. Divisions of officers were allowed to elect their own Divison Chief, Adjutant and Postmaster to represent the group when dealing with the prison administration at Fort Delaware.
The Fort Delaware Society is very much interested in exchanging information with you and learning more about your ancestor (could you give me his name?) and Lieuteant BARKER. We would be very much interested in what these two men had to say about conditions at Fort Delaware.
I look forward to hearing back from you!
Hugh Simmons
Fort Delaware Society
Editor, Fort Delaware Notes
Webmaster: www.fortdelaware.org
E-mail: society@fortdelaware.org