HIS 131 - American History I: Civil War Prisons

The article recounts the wartime experiences of Union officer Thomas Elwood Rose, focusing particularly on his efforts to escape from Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia, a notorious Confederate prison.

Examines the dual role that Salisbury, North Carolina played during the Civil War. Active support for the Confederate war effort; Site of misery and death for capture Union soldiers.

Kizilos chronicles the efforts of Clara Barton and Dorence Atwater to account for missing and dead soldiers of the Civil War. Despite opposition and hardship, Barton and Atwater managed to account for thousands of missing and dead soldiers and were able to notify their families.

A look at the history of Andersonville, a notorious Confederate prison camp in Georgia, is presented. In 1864, the prison housed 33,000 Union soldiers who were sick with scurvy, dysentery and gangrene.

When the war broke out, Elmira was a quiet rural town, but its location as a railroad center led to its designation as a mustering site for New York troops. In 1864 the depot became a prisoner of war camp. Originally designed for ten thousand men, the camp grew to more than twelve thousand.

Long article about the prison camps in the North and South, including information about the prisoner exchange program, and the effect the Emancipation Proclamation had on the South's attitude about the exchange program.

This post–Civil War court-martial drama focuses on the trial of a Confederate officer who ran the notorious prisoner-of-war camp in Andersonville, Georgia, where over 14,000 Union prisoners died from disease, starvation, and neglect. The defendant, Captain Henry Wirz, justified his actions with a plea that he was only following orders.

The History Channel’s acclaimed series, Civil War Journal, takes viewers beyond the battles and into the personal stories of the War Between the States. Drawing on diaries, photographs and dramatic re-enactments, the intimate side of the epic conflict is exposed. This episode looks at prisons where life for POWs was more horrible than battle. Although precise figures may never be known, an estimated 56,000 men perished in Civil War prisons, a casualty rate far greater than any battle during the war's bloody tenure. Part of the series Civil War Journal. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. (45 minutes)