During the Civil War, Johnson’s Island was used by the Union as a prison for Confederate soldiers. Johnson’s Island Prison was built in 1862 in the Sandusky Bay of Lake Erie. The island was used as a prison because it was hard to escape and was built near transportation systems which made it easy to get supplies/people to and from the prison. Conditions at Johnson’s Island was not as harsh as other prisons of the Civil War. Some believe this is because the island housed mainly officers as prisoners. Throughout the war, the island housed close to 10,000 prisoners, while at one time, it could house around 3,000. To house these prisoners, twelve buildings were built. A thirteenth building was used as a hospital. A sutler store was also
