BELLE ISLE PRISON, RICHMOND, VA: US 65, 3¢ rose (corner crease) tied by segmented cork cancel and postmarked OLD POINT COMFORT VA FEB 6. Cover from Sgt. Charles Harrison, 54th Pa Infantry to his father Henry C. Harrison Esq., Philadelphia, Pa. ONLY 8 COVERS FROM BELLE ISLAND RECORDED BY HARRISON
Sgt. Charles Harrison was captured at Cedar Creek and imprisoned at Belle Isle, near Richmond, Va. $900.

Sgt. Charles Harrison served in the 54th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A. He mustered in on October 4, 1862, as a private; he was mustered out on July 15, 1865, at Harrisonburg.

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.