Erasmus Potts - civilian - Alton, IL
Posted by: YoSam.
N 38° 53.479 W 090° 11.373
15S E 743754 N 4308471
A civilian in a military prison...not so good
Waymark Code: WMX3KC
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 11/22/2017
Views: 0
County of memorial: Madison County
Location of memorial: Williams St. & Broadway Ave., Alton
Erected by: Illinois State Historical Society, Greater Alton Chamber of Commerce, & Madison County Historical Society
Erasmus Potts
Civilian
[photo in gallery]
"Colonel" Erasmus Potts was born in Lincoln County, South Carolina on August 8, 1801 and eventually moved to Mississippi. He was too old to fight when the Civil War broke out so he devoted his time and money supplying Confederate troops. He was arrested at home in Marshall County, Mississippi, on December 27, 1862 for selling supplies to the Confederates and was sent to Alton. He died on January 15, 1863 of chronic diarrhea. His body was shipped home in a metal box filled with wood shavings. He is buried in the Potts Cemetery near Winborn, Mississippi.