The Yankee Plague: Escaped Union Prisoners and the Collapse of the Confederacy (Civil War America) - Hardcover

Foote, Lorien

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1469630559 ISBN 13: 9781469630557

Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr, 2016

Synopsis

During the winter of 1864, more than 3,000 Federal prisoners of war escaped from Confederate prison camps into South Carolina and North Carolina, often with the aid of local slaves. Their flight created, in the words of contemporary observers, a "Yankee plague," heralding a grim end to the Confederate cause. In this fascinating look at Union soldiers' flight for freedom in the last months of the Civil War, Lorien Foote reveals new connections between the collapse of the Confederate prison system, the large-scale escape of Union soldiers, and the full unraveling of the Confederate States of America. By this point in the war, the Confederacy was reeling from prison overpopulation, a crumbling military, violence from internal enemies, and slavery's breakdown. The fugitive Federals moving across the countryside in mass numbers, Foote argues, accelerated the collapse as slaves and deserters decided the presence of these men presented an opportune moment for escalated resistance.

Blending rich analysis with an engaging narrative, Foote uses these ragged Union escapees as a lens with which to assess the dying Confederate States, providing a new window into the South's ultimate defeat.

About this title

About the Author:

Lorien Foote is the Patricia & Bookman Peters Professor in History at Texas A&M University.

Review:

In this utterly fascinating look at the collapse of the Confederacy, Lorien Foote narrates the history of the South's disastrous attempts to move prisoners into and around South Carolina as the Union army began rolling up victories in late 1864. Brimming with energy, the book relates the chaos of the Confederacy's final days like no other.--Stephen Berry, University of Georgia
This is one of the most original, intriguing, and satisfying books I have read in years. Superbly researched and interpreted, Lorien Foote has added layers of complexity to our understanding of the chaotic Confederate home front and the last gasps of rebel resistance.--Daniel E. Sutherland, author of A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the American Civil War

About this edition

• Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1469630559
• ISBN 13: 9781469630557
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 232