Castle Thunder Prison

A colored lithograph published in Washington, D.C., shows a brick industrial building in Richmond that had been converted into a prison during the Civil War. Known as Castle Thunder, the jail was first used to incarcerate mainly political prisoners, deserters, and those who opposed the Confederate cause; later in the war, it housed Union soldiers. After Richmond fell, Union military personnel took control of the prison and used it to hold former Confederates. This print was probably published shortly after Union forces had taken over the city and shows the prison located in a somewhat open section of town; in fact, Castle Thunder was set amid a crowded warehouse and factory district.