Castle Thunder
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
For families
How to send mail, money, and visit Castle Thunder
Step-by-step guidance using the United States system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.
Gallery
From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).
Photo by Alexander Gardner via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by VCU Libraries Commons via Wikimedia Commons (No restrictions)
Photo by Russell, Andrew J., photographer via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by Russell, Andrew J., photographer via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by Alexander Gardner / Mathew Benjamin Brady via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Photo by Kalamazoo Public Library via Wikimedia Commons (No restrictions)
Photo by Civil War Glass Negatives via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by Popular Graphic Arts via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Background
Castle Thunder, located between what is now 18th Street and 19th Street on northern side of E Cary Street in Richmond, Virginia, was a former tobacco warehouse in three buildings, located on Tobacco Row, converted into a prison pursuant to an order of Richmond's provost-marshal John Winder by August 1862. The Confederacy there housed civilian prisoners, including captured Union spies and deserters, political prisoners and those charged with treason during the American Civil War. President Jefferson Davis is reported to have said that for every Confederate sailor hanged he would hang a Union soldier of corresponding rank, chosen by lot from among the thousands of prisoners in the Richmond tobacco warehouse. Indeed, many inmates were sentenced to death. Moreover, the prison guards had a reputation for brutality, though the inmates were sometimes allowed boxes of medicine and other supplies.
Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.
Capacity
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Current population
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Occupancy
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Year opened
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Closed 1879
Figures from official sources · verified 29 May 2026 · methodology
Facility profile
Operator
Confederate States of AmericaPopulation held
Mixed/unknown
Opened
—
Region
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Security level
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Death-row facility
No
Conditions
No conditions summary available yet.
Visiting
No visiting information available.
Mailing
No mailing information available.
Practical info
Contact the operator's website for inmate-specific procedures.
Known issues
No major issues documented in our database.
Contact & address
No public contact details available.
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
Related facilities
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
- Rikers IslandEast Elmhurst, NYMixedLocal jail42% occupancy
- Franklin County Detention FacilitySt. AlbansMaximumCounty jail660% occupancy
- Gallia County JailGallipolisCounty jail336% occupancy
- Noble County JailCaldwellCounty jail542% occupancy
- Woodman State JailGatesvilleMaximumState prison720% occupancy
- Stark County JailToulonCounty jail3446% occupancy
Data completeness
20%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikidata (Q1049518)
- Wikipedia
- Wikimedia Commons
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.
Cite this page
Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.
World Prisons. (2026). Castle Thunder. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/castle-thunder
"Castle Thunder." World Prisons. Accessed October 20, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/castle-thunder.
@misc{worldprisons-castle-thunder,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {Castle Thunder},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/castle-thunder},
urldate = {2026-10-20}
}