Pvt. Granville M. Bastable
Findagrave Memorial 193334249
Granville M. Bastable was a Confederate States Army Soldier. He held the Military Rank of Private and served in Company A of the 26th Virginia Cavalry Regiment. He died at Point Lookout, a Union Army Military Prison.
Pvt. Granville M. Bastable’s name does not appear upon the 12 bronze plaques of the Point Lookout Confederate Cemetery Monument. Located in Saint Mary’s County, Maryland, USA.
52,264 Confederate Prisoners-of-War had the misfortune of confinement at Point Lookout Military Prison from 1863-1865. While in Union Army captivity, during the latter half of the American Civil War. Pvt. Granville M. Bastable, Co A 26th VA Cav Regt, was among approximately 14,000 Confederate States POWs to die there.
The Point Lookout Confederate Cemetery Monument lists 3,384 Confederate POW Dead. This only accounts for roughly 24 percent of the estimated 14,000 POWs. Many Confederates died at Point Lookout located in Saint Mary’s County, Maryland. This prison camp was also known as Camp Hoffman. Those unfortunates included in this death toll were Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Civilians
Statistically, the death rate of Confederate POWs at Point Lookout was astronomical. Roughly 27 percent of Confederate POWs died there, that’s almost 14,000 deaths out of 52,264 total Confederate POWs!
This deplorable death toll at Point Lookout Union Army Military Prison was caused by numerous factors. These factors included Starvation, polluted water, dehydration, random executions and other atrocities. Exposure to extreme weather conditions factored into the Cruel and Unusual Punishment. During the hot summer months it was common for POWs to bake under the summer sun. The bone-chilling cold of winter kept many in poor health. These temperature extremes contributed to the high POW Death Rate. By making them more susceptible to numerous diseases. Which included Malaria, typhoid fever, dysentery, smallpox and others.
