POWs in POWer? Not exactly...
Below: Confederate POWs at Camp Douglas. Over 26,000 POWs were held captive there between 1862-5.
Camp Douglas was a Union military camp in Chicago, located near Stephen A. Douglas’ property and named for the senator. It was the site where many Confederate Prisoners of War were held captive. There were two main attempts for members of the Sons of Liberty and other Copperheads to release these Confederate soldiers, both of which were unsuccessful…
The first was to take place during the 1864 Chicago Democratic Convention, uniting Copperheads and southern sympathizers from around the Midwest and Canada. Many of the conspirators convened in Toronto around August 24th, 1864. The Democrats hoped to use the hustle and bustle around Chicago due to the Convention to hide these rebels and to successfully enter them into the city. They were led to Chicago between August 28th and 29th by Captain Thomas H. Hines, a past Major-General in the Confederate army. This was in addition to around 5,000-6,000 Copperheads already planted in Chicago ready to go to Camp Douglas at any moment. The purpose of the Conspiracy was not only to release the POWs, but was also to destroy buildings, railroads, and infrastructure that aided and belonged to the Union Army and government.
In the end, on the third day of the Convention, the Conspiracy was proclaimed a failure. Over 2,000 additional Copperhead helpers did not arrive in Chigago; there was inadequate organization and discipline from these non-military sympathizers, hoping to invade a military base; and their tactics they hoped to use at Camp Douglas, they realized, would have resulted in killing too many of the POWs they wanted to save. Although many of them made it to Chicago for the Convention, these insurgents never even made it to Camp Douglas.
The first was to take place during the 1864 Chicago Democratic Convention, uniting Copperheads and southern sympathizers from around the Midwest and Canada. Many of the conspirators convened in Toronto around August 24th, 1864. The Democrats hoped to use the hustle and bustle around Chicago due to the Convention to hide these rebels and to successfully enter them into the city. They were led to Chicago between August 28th and 29th by Captain Thomas H. Hines, a past Major-General in the Confederate army. This was in addition to around 5,000-6,000 Copperheads already planted in Chicago ready to go to Camp Douglas at any moment. The purpose of the Conspiracy was not only to release the POWs, but was also to destroy buildings, railroads, and infrastructure that aided and belonged to the Union Army and government.
In the end, on the third day of the Convention, the Conspiracy was proclaimed a failure. Over 2,000 additional Copperhead helpers did not arrive in Chigago; there was inadequate organization and discipline from these non-military sympathizers, hoping to invade a military base; and their tactics they hoped to use at Camp Douglas, they realized, would have resulted in killing too many of the POWs they wanted to save. Although many of them made it to Chicago for the Convention, these insurgents never even made it to Camp Douglas.