BELLE ISLE PRISON, RICHMOND, VA: used with US 65, 3¢ rose (trivial flaw) segmented cork cancel and postmarked OLD POINT COMFORT VA. NOV 26 double-circle alongside; original enclosure datelined "Belle Island, Va. Nov. 18th '63", cover addressed to Mrs. Leeafy (?) H. Fuller, Harrisville, Wisconsin, Very Fine. Illustrated on page 84 of Prisoners' Mail from the American Civil War by Galen Harrison and from his collection and award-winning exhibit. ONLY 8 COVERS FROM BELLE ISLAND RECORDED BY HARRISON. Rare Southern prison with poignant enclosures. LL $1,400.

Cpl. Charles W. Fuller served in the 7th Wisconsin Cavalry. His letter reads, "Dear Mother, I write these few lines to inform you that I am a prisoner and that my health is good. I am on Belle Island near Richmond. I hope you will not be curious about me. I expect we shall be paroled before long. I hope these few lines will find you well, as they have me. Write soon except (sic) my love, from your son Charles. P.S. Direct to C.W. Fuller, Co. E 7th Reg. W.V., Prisoner of War, Belle Island via Richmond, Va. Please send envelope and half sheet of paper."

Cpl. Fuller died at Andersonville Prison. Enclosed with the cover was a small scrap paper, probably written by his mother and preserved with his last letter home, "The past is the past is gone from us forever / Regrets and tears we find a like our vain / what fate decrees no mortal power can serve / the treasure lost can neer be ours again." Click here to see this poignant note on piece of exhibit page.

Belle Isle, a prison for enlisted men, was established on a fifty-acre island located in the middle of the James River. The island was accessed by the old Richmond and Petersburg Railroad bridge from the Manchester side. Prisoners referred to the bridge as the "Bridge of Sighs." The prison was a six-acre enclosure surrounded by a four-foot high mound of dirt with a ditch on each side. The prison camp was situated on the lowest portion of the island. Cannon were placed on the high ground so as to overlook the enclosure. Tents were the only shelter, and at times as many as 10,000 were confined there.