Civil War Prisons

by William Best Hesseltine (Editor)

First published in 1962 as a special edition of Civil War History journal, Civil War Prisons remains the standard on the topic. Editor Hesseltine tackles the historiography of northern and southern prisons during the American Civil War. He attempts to bring closure to the legendary northern myth that the Southern government did its best to "exterminate" Union prisoners by calling the effective northern war propaganda a wartime "psychosis." Furthermore, the author offers his analysis over the much debated prisoner exchange system, and comes down hard on the North, especially its government and General Ulysses S. Grant, for their questionable approach to this issue.

For all the serious scholarship and popular writing devoted to the American Civil War, the topic of prisoner-of-war camps, more than any other, retains the feeling of horror and passion that characterized the war years themselves, "Men held captive under such circumstances, guilty of no offense other than the deplorable misfortune of having been captured by the enemy, suffer tremendous psychological punishment as well as physical hardship. Monotony, estrangement and fear, along with privation and often brutality, combine to create nearly as wretched a quality of human life as is imaginable. The sufferings of Civil War prisoners (are) documented in this re-issue of an early number of the journal Civil War History ....Recounted there....are prisoner experiences in four Confederate installations: Andersonville, Georgia; Libby in Richmond, Virginia; Cahaba, Alabama; and Charleston, South Carolina. The remaining articles treat conditions in four Union prisons: Fort Warren in Boston harbor; Rock Island, Illinois; Elmira, New York; and Johnson's Island on Lake Erie....in addition to some examples of sparkling and vivid prose, this volume contains a number of excellent photographs as well as an introduction by the late William B. Hesseltine...."--Kenneth B. Shover, The Historian

Genres: Civil War, American Civil War, History, American History

123 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 1972

Reviews

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in the history of the Civil War you will like this book. It goes into detail about the deplorable conditions of the prisons , both North and South, of the Civil War prisons. Some of the historical writings were from personal accounts of the prisoners. Not only was the war a blemish on the history of the United States, but the prisons were another blemish. These prisoners were literally starved and uncared for. The prisons were filthy and vermin infested. The medical care was minimal and prisoners were treated inhumanely. So many lives were lost that could have been saved. I was very bothered reading this book as I have been with any book involving the Civil War. Yet I am so glad I read it as it brought to life the insane way human beings can be treated in war time.

[Jay French · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up near the Rock Island Arsenal, site of a large Northern Civil War prison. I picked up this book for the description of that prison. There are seven prisons described in this short book, from both sides in the Civil War. I grew up in the generation that considered Hogan’s Heroes POW camp to be a reasonable depiction to start to understand war prisons. This book did portray the usual muddy, drab, cold environments, with limited food. I was surprised that the prisoners had as much freedom to move around the prisons as they did. I was also extremely surprised that the officer prisoners where treated so much better than the enlisted men, often getting their own prison, and able to buy supplies from neighboring businesses. It seems to a prison the guards tended to be the soldiers that didn’t have the temperament or intelligence to be in a fighting unit. As for the staff running the prison, it was hit or miss. The North seemed to try harder to “optimize” the running of their prisons, while the South seemed to promote from the guards, or at least share the same mentality, to the prisoner’s detriment. Quite an eye opening book, and one I will remember.

[Tom Darrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty groundbreaking collection of essays for the time it was written in the 50s. Up to that point, there wasn't much scholarship on Civil War prisons, and much of what there was was either amateurish history full of bias, or diaries from former prisoners, equally full of bias. Hesseltine is considered by many later historians of Civil War prisons as being a founding father in the field, and this work contains essays from several others, including Ovid Futch, whose book on Andersonville is considered foundational.

This is a very easy read, containing 8 essays on both northern and southern prisons and containing general studies, as well as summaries of prisoner's diaries. Some of the stories get a little repetitive after you get towards the end, but there is enough variety to make that more tolerable.

I would recommend this for people who are interested in the history of the Civil War and prison experiences.

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of essays written in the 1960s regarding several prisoner of war camps, north and south. In addition to the usual suspects - Andersonville and Elmira, it also covers those at Fort Warren, Rock Island, Libby, Johnson's Island and the prison journey of Lt. Edmund E. Ryan.
Although full of prison life, new research in the last 60 years has made some of the commentary regarding privations as an actual military policy a bit out of date.

[E. L.]

I enjoyed the book. I felt it was equal acts from both North and South prison camps.

[Jason S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting account of civil war prisons in both the North and South. Particularly on Elmira, Rock Island, and Johnson Island in the North. Most of the Andersonville chapter was not new material.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Hesseltine wrote one of the earliest major works on Civil War prisons. Years later, he edited this series of essays for a special edition of a scholarly journal called Civil War History. It has since been reprinted in book form.
Even for Civil War buffs, this volume will include some surprises, because it depends heavily on first-person accounts, some of which are uncommon. The horrors of Andersonville and a few other prisons are fairly well-known, but the REASONS for the disastrous conditions at Elmira, the prison in upstate New York, were never clear to me until this book. A clueless camp commandant combined with a medical staff whose incompetence became deadly, in a camp with serious medical difficulties and twice as many prisoners as it was built to hold.
Each of the articles is quick to read and informative. Most focus on a single prison, but one source got moved from place to place, and so he described all of them.
A serious student of the subject will want more, but this is an excellent introduction, with lots of footnotes.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of essays by various writers on American Civil War prisons in both the North and South. Based on diaries and records, the authors describe life in these camps. This is a side of the Civil War often ignored. The major drawback is the smaller sized font used in printing but the book should be in any Civil War collection.