![]() Exchanges for just a couple of prisoners between sides could prove very time-consuming to achieve. In some cases, a transfer of only sick and wounded captives took place. Prior to the cartel's creation, Union and Confederate forces exchanged prisoners sporadically, usually as an act of humanity between opposing field commanders. In the North, public opinion on prisoner exchanges began to soften after the First Battle of Bull Run, when the rebels captured about one thousand Union soldiers. The Lincoln administration wanted to avoid any action that might appear as an official recognition of the Confederate government in Richmond, including the formal transfer of military captives. Earlier prisoner exchanges Īt the outbreak of the Civil War, the Federal government adopted a tough attitude toward the rebels. Exchanges officially resumed in January 1865. In August 1864, General Grant refused to reinstate the full agreement because the Union by that time held many more Confederate soldiers as prisoners than there were Union soldiers held by the Confederacy, though some exchanges continue. On July 30, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued General Orders 252, which effectively suspended the Dix–Hill Cartel until the Confederate forces agreed to treat black prisoners the same as white prisoners. The system began to break down when the Confederates classified African-American prisoners of war as fugitive slaves, who ought to be returned to their owners instead of being exchanged. Prisoners could also be released on parole. ![]() The agreement established a scale of equivalents for captured officers to be exchanged for fixed numbers of enlisted men, and agents from each side were appointed to conduct the exchanges at particular locations. Hill at Haxall's Landing on the James River in Virginia on July 22, 1862. It was signed by Union Major General John A. The Dix–Hill Cartel was the first official system for exchanging prisoners during the American Civil War.
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