Florence Stockade The Florence Stockade , also known as The Stockade or the Confederate States Military Prison at Florence , was a Confederate prisoner - of - war camp located on the outskirts of Florence , South Carolina , during the American Civil War . It operated from September 1864 through February 1865 ; during this time , as many as 18 , 000 Union soldiers were imprisoned there , about 2 , 800 of whom died . History . The Stockade was built and became operational in September 1864 , and was in operation during the final fall and winter of the war . Overall in command was Lt . Col . John Iverson , of the 5th Georgia Infantry but the officer in charge of the stockade ( a position comparable to that of Wirz at Andersonville ) was Lt . Thomas Barrett , also of the 5th Georgia . During its time of operation , anywhere from 15 , 000 to 18 , 000 captives were held there . The need for additional prisons became imperative after General Sherman captured Atlanta on September 1 , 1864 . Andersonville prison in south Georgia was thought to be in the path of Sherman and the Confederate prison authorities determined to relocate the approximately 30 , 000 Union prisoners then at Andersonville . Because Florence had three railroads , and was thought to be secure , it was chosen as a site for a newly constructed prison . To keep the Union soldiers in order during relocation , they were told that they were to be paroled . Many of those who were unable to walk or not stable enough to travel were left behind in Andersonville . Most of the prisoners who initially came to Florence were first transported to Charleston before making their way 90 miles inland to Florence . The Florence Stockade was still under construction when the first several thousand prisoners arrived . The Florence Stockade covered of land with a trench dug out around the outside to prevent prisoners from tunnelling out . After about a month of operation , there were about 12 , 000 prisoners and a death rate of 20 to 30 per day . Supplies were scarce for both the prisoners and the guards . Men were sleeping almost naked and with no blankets . In his 1879 book Andersonville : a Story of Rebel Military Prisons , John McElroy , who was imprisoned in both , states , " I think also that all who experienced confinement in the two places are united in pronouncing Florence to be , on the whole , much the worse place and more fatal to life . " He states that government records suggest that about one man in each three imprisoned there died . Part of the reason for this is that its prisoners had already been weakened by their stay in the infamous Andersonville Prison . McElroy , Sgt . Robert H . Kellogg of the 16th Connecticut Volunteers , and Sgt . S . S . Boggs of the 21st Illinois have written similar accounts of Barrett ' s cruel , inhumane behavior and murders of prisoners . In mid - October , the United States Sanitary Commission delivered supplies . Of the total number of prisoners that passed through the Florence Stockade , 2 , 802 Union soldiers died there and most were buried in unmarked trenches in what would become the Florence National Cemetery after the war . The Stockade was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 . The site is open to the public and is a component of the City of Florence Trail System . The City of Florence and the Friends of the Florence Stockade have developed a walking tour of the site . There is also an informational gazebo on - site containing a permanent display detailing the history of the site .