You're welcome Ruth, but sorry I wasn't of more help. I did forget to mention that the prison camp at Cairo wasn't even fenced in for a long time (if ever). Once on IL land, people weren't too afraid of them escaping except by river, which was well guarded. Local merchants sold them clothes, tobacco, etc. for Confederate money, knowing it was worthless here, but keeping it as a token of the war. Most of the merchants at Cairo knew they had no Federal money to pay with anyway. But the provost martial at Cairo threatened to charge the merchants with treason for doing this so they had to stop or be arrested themselves. If more had furnished dry clothing to them, perhaps many would have not gotten sick and lived longer.

I noticed your Confederate was named Brooks. Are you related to Thorndike Brooks? He was one of the IL Rebels who left here with a group of men to enlist in a Tennessee regiment.

Northeast of Golconda in Saline County was an old cave that was once the headquarters for the Knights of the Golden Circle in So. Illinois. Thordike Brooks was from Marion IL, Williamson Co.---near there.
Ann