The National Park Service will continue its weekly series of downtown talks, tours, and tales highlighting Richmond's Civil War history on Aug. 16 with a guided tour of the Prisoner of War camp on Belle Isle.

The one-hour walking tour "Forgotten Casualties of War -- A Prisoner's Life on Belle Isle," begins at 2 p.m. at the park's Civil War Visitor Center at Historic Tredegar Iron Works. Prior to the walking tour a presentation on Richmond prisons will be offered by the American Civil War Center at 1:00 p.m. There is no charge for the Belle Isle tour and the presentation on Richmond prisons is free with admission to the American Civil War Center. Admission to the center is: adults, $8; students/seniors with identification, $6; children ages 7-12, $2; and children 6 and under, free. Paid parking is available on-site.

Between 1861 and 1865 the Confederate military established two of the South's more notable prisons in Richmond. Libby's, formerly a warehouse, housed hundreds of Union officers. Enlisted men, however, ended up huddled together on the tip of the island in the middle of the James. Exposure, filth, fear and unending hunger were just some of the everyday conditions suffered by all prisoners during the war. Staff historian Mike Gorman will share the stories of these forgotten casualties and the uncertain fate that awaited thousands of Union prisoners sent to Belle Isle.

Richmond National Battlefield Park protects 13 Civil War sites around the city of Richmond, Virginia. Programs are free. For further information call (804) 226-1981 or visit www.nps.gov/rich .