CIVIL WAR PRISONS & ESCAPES: A DAY BY DAY CHRONICLE

Robert E Denney

ISBN 10: 0806904143 / ISBN 13: 9780806904146

Published by Sterling, 1899

About this Item

(Subject: Colonial & Other Wars - The American Civil War) During the American Civil War, nearly 50,000 soldiers starved or froze to death, died of torture and forced labour, succumbed to untreated wounds and diseases, or were hanged for escape attempts - all while captives of their fellow countrymen. The author weaves a tale arranged as a day-by-day, year-by-year account of the prisoner problem, the development of the exchange cartel, the political games played with the lives of the prisoners, and life in the prison camps. (Published: 1993) (Publisher: Sterling) (ISBN: 0806904143) (Pagination: 399pp illustrations) (Condition: Good in card covers) UL-XXXXXX.

Seller Inventory # 9998-01

Bibliographic Details

• Title: CIVIL WAR PRISONS & ESCAPES: A DAY BY DAY CHRONICLE
• Publisher: Sterling
• Publication Date: 1899
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0806904143
• ISBN 13: 9780806904146
• Binding: Hardcover
• Seller catalogs:
  • (Subject: Colonial & Other Wars - The American ...

About this title

Synopsis

Using diaries, letters, newspaper articles, and government records, the author provides a chronological look at the experiences of both Northern and Southern prisoners-of-war during the Civil War

Reviews

YA-Combining thousands of excerpts from diaries, letters, newspaper articles, and government records in chronological order, Denney provides easy access to the details of the lives of prisoners-of-war in the Civil War. Other entries discuss the political problems relating to exchanges, conditions, and governmental red tape. Quotations from men of both the North and the South are included. Denney's introduction and narration provide needed background information for the primary sources and meaningfully tie the entries together. The excerpts seem to be chosen for their attention to detail, bringing to life the difficult existence the prisoners faced; they are also interesting and readable. Although the index is detailed, there are no cross references. Photographs are included in a six-page insert. A unique, useful resource.
Claudia Moore, W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Denney's valuable addition to Civil War collections chronicles that conflict's POW experience. It draws upon an extensive variety of primary sources and covers both captors and captives as well as escapes, rescues, and (in far too many cases) suffering and death. Denney provides just enough background to orient the less sophisticated Civil War buff and for the most part lets the narrators he assembles speak for themselves. They do so eloquently, eliciting the conclusion that much of the POW experience is universal; also that, on either side, there was less brutality than there was a shortage of supplies, a lack of foresight, and gross negligence. Roland Green