The Civil War’s prisoner exchanges were guided by official letters, orders, and negotiations that shaped who stayed safe and who was returned home.
This book assembles the practical communications behind those exchanges, showing how policy moved from strategy to daily action.
The material presents the federal and Confederate exchanges as they unfolded over the war years. Readers will see how commanders, clerks, and agents coordinated prisoner lists, supplies, and parole rules, and how these processes affected the lives of individual soldiers and their families.
- Official orders and communications that directed prisoner exchanges and parole procedures
- Correspondence between key figures like Grant, Stanton, Halleck, and Ould
- Lists of exchanged prisoners and the types of support provided to them
- Insights into the logistics, challenges, and diplomacy of wartime exchanges
Ideal for readers of Civil War history, military logistics, and documentary history, this edition illuminates how a nation managed prisoners of war in a time of conflict.