Overview

Between February 1864 and April 1865, 41,000 Union prisoners of war were taken to the stockade at Anderson Station, Georgia, where nearly 13,000 of them died. Most contemporary accounts placed the blame for the tragedy squarely on the shoulders of the Confederates who administered the prison or on a conspiracy of higher-ranking officials. According to William Marvel, virulent disease and severe shortages of vegetables, medical supplies, and other necessities combined to create a crisis beyond the captors' control. He also argues that the tragedy was aggravated by the Union decision to suspend prisoner exchanges, which meant that many men who might have returned home were instead left to sicken and die in captivity.

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9780807857816

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A remarkable scholarly and literary achievement, a genuinely pathbreaking book. Lincoln Prize Citation

This well-written and readable monograph . . . . is a valuable contribution to the historiography of Civil War prisons.<p> Historian

Author Information

William Marvel's many books include the award-winning Andersonville: The Last Depot and The Alabama and the Kearsarge: The Sailor's Civil War. He lives in South Conway, New Hampshire.

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