Salisbury Confederate Prison the topic for Mount Airy Museum history talk

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A old Confederacy-era prison will be the topic of the final history talk of the season for the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History on Saturday. The Salisbury Confederate Prison Association will be be giving a slide presentation about the confederate prison that once stood there.  “We felt this was a great way to close out the season,” said Matt Edwards, the museum executive director.

The goal of the association is the preservation of the prison and the site in Salisbury.  Together, Sue and Ed Curtis, heads of the prison association, promote the archaeological exploration of the historic site for educational purposes. At this event, the two also will share history of the prison and the known experiences between the Confederate guards and Union prisoners of war.

The history talk will be held on the third floor of the museum at 2 p.m. Saturday.  The idea for this lecture originated when a sword was loaned to the museum to use in a display. The sword belonged to a prison guard, Thomas Lenoir Gwyn.  Gwyn was a student at Jonesville Academy and enlisted in 1862 to a North Carolina infantry battalion, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant. After being wounded in the Battle of Cansbys Creek in Tennessee, he was reassigned to Company A, 5th Senior Reserves at the Prison.  Later in 1877 he co-founded the Elkin Woolen Mills and in 1899 served as a commissioner in Elkin. His image and Kenansville sword is on display at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History.

Saturday’s event is free to the public.

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