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Portals to hell : military prisons of the Civil War

Author: Lonnie R Speer; Mazal Holocaust Collection.
Publisher: Mechanicsburg, PA : Stackpole Books, ©1997.
Edition/Format:  Print book : English : 1st edView all editions and formats
Summary:
This is the most thorough study of Civil War POW camps, in which some 56,000 died. There are no villains here, though plenty of the inept, the shortsighted, the feebleminded, the sadistic. There is a chain of misperceptions leading to disaster, beginning with early expectations of few POWs and ending with both sides swamped with them and reduced to holding them in notorious pens like Andersonville in the south and  Read more...
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Genre/Form: History
Document Type: Book
All Authors / Contributors: Lonnie R Speer; Mazal Holocaust Collection.
ISBN: 0811703347 9780811703345
OCLC Number: 36817057
Description: xix, 410 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
Contents: Overview on tragedy --
Makeshift prisons --
Life as a prisoner of war --
Prison creation --
Prisoner exchange --
Black soldiers and POWs --
Prison expansion --
The overseers --
The growing prison crisis --
Escape --
Prison compounds --
Release and revenge --
Epilogue: past and present --
Appendix A: The language of the prison camps --
Appendix B: Medical glossary --
Appendix C: Prison quick-reference guide.
Responsibility: Lonnie R. Speer.

Abstract:

This is the most thorough study of Civil War POW camps, in which some 56,000 died. There are no villains here, though plenty of the inept, the shortsighted, the feebleminded, the sadistic. There is a chain of misperceptions leading to disaster, beginning with early expectations of few POWs and ending with both sides swamped with them and reduced to holding them in notorious pens like Andersonville in the south and Elmira in the north. Speer provides a history of each camp, however long it was in use; portraits of key figures and units; frequently grisly statistics and descriptions of camp life and conditions that are even grislier; and notes on the present condition of major campsites. No story for the weak-stomached, this is a telling indictment of how negligence led to mass death.

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Primary Entity<\/h3>\n
<http:\/\/www.worldcat.org\/oclc\/36817057<\/a>> # Portals to hell : military prisons of the Civil War<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0a \nschema:Book<\/a>, schema:CreativeWork<\/a> ;\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nlibrary:oclcnum<\/a> \"36817057<\/span>\" ;\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nlibrary:placeOfPublication<\/a> <http:\/\/experiment.worldcat.org\/entity\/work\/data\/617937#Place\/mechanicsburg_pa<\/a>> ; # Mechanicsburg, PA<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nlibrary:placeOfPublication<\/a> <http:\/\/id.loc.gov\/vocabulary\/countries\/pau<\/a>> ;\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:about<\/a> <http:\/\/experiment.worldcat.org\/entity\/work\/data\/617937#Place\/united_states<\/a>> ; # United States<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:about<\/a> <http:\/\/experiment.worldcat.org\/entity\/work\/data\/617937#Topic\/prisoners_of_war_history<\/a>> ; # Prisoners of war--History<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:about<\/a> <http:\/\/experiment.worldcat.org\/entity\/work\/data\/617937#Topic\/united_states_history_prisoners_and_prisons_civil_war_1861_1865<\/a>> ; # United States--History--Prisoners and prisons--Civil War, 1861-1865<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:about<\/a> <http:\/\/id.worldcat.org\/fast\/1205435<\/a>> ; # United States--Confederate States of America.<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:about<\/a> <http:\/\/experiment.worldcat.org\/entity\/work\/data\/617937#Topic\/prisoners_of_war_confederate_states_of_america_history<\/a>> ; # Prisoners of war--Confederate States of America--History<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:about<\/a> <http:\/\/dewey.info\/class\/973.771\/e21\/<\/a>> ;\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:about<\/a> <http:\/\/id.loc.gov\/authorities\/subjects\/sh2010108358<\/a>> ; # Prisoners of war--United States--History--19th century<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:about<\/a> <http:\/\/experiment.worldcat.org\/entity\/work\/data\/617937#Topic\/prisoners_of_war<\/a>> ; # Prisoners of war<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:about<\/a> <http:\/\/experiment.worldcat.org\/entity\/work\/data\/617937#Topic\/prisoners_of_war_history_confederate_states_of_america<\/a>> ; # Prisoners of war--History--Confederate States of America<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:about<\/a> <http:\/\/experiment.worldcat.org\/entity\/work\/data\/617937#Topic\/prisoners_of_war_united_states<\/a>> ; # Prisoners of war--United States<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:about<\/a> <http:\/\/experiment.worldcat.org\/entity\/work\/data\/617937#Event\/1800_1899<\/a>> ; # 1800 - 1899<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:about<\/a> <http:\/\/experiment.worldcat.org\/entity\/work\/data\/617937#Topic\/prisoners_of_war_history_19th_century_united_states<\/a>> ; # Prisoners of war--History--19th century--United States<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:about<\/a> <http:\/\/experiment.worldcat.org\/entity\/work\/data\/617937#Topic\/confederate_states_of_america_army_prisons<\/a>> ; # Confederate States of America. Army--Prisons<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:about<\/a> <http:\/\/id.worldcat.org\/fast\/1204155<\/a>> ; # United States.<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:bookEdition<\/a> \"1st ed.<\/span>\" ;\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:bookFormat<\/a> bgn:PrintBook<\/a> ;\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:contributor<\/a> <http:\/\/viaf.org\/viaf\/59144782989210300295<\/a>> ; # Mazal Holocaust Collection.<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:copyrightYear<\/a> \"1997<\/span>\" ;\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:creator<\/a> <http:\/\/viaf.org\/viaf\/6675825<\/a>> ; # Lonnie R. Speer<\/span>\n\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:datePublished<\/a> \"1997<\/span>\" ;\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:description<\/a> \"Overview on tragedy -- Makeshift prisons -- Life as a prisoner of war -- Prison creation -- Prisoner exchange -- Black soldiers and POWs -- Prison expansion -- The overseers -- The growing prison crisis -- Escape -- Prison compounds -- Release and revenge -- Epilogue: past and present -- Appendix A: The language of the prison camps -- Appendix B: Medical glossary -- Appendix C: Prison quick-reference guide.<\/span>\"@en<\/a> ;\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\nschema:description<\/a> \"This is the most thorough study of Civil War POW camps, in which some 56,000 died. There are no villains here, though plenty of the inept, the shortsighted, the feebleminded, the sadistic. There is a chain of misperceptions leading to disaster, beginning with early expectations of few POWs and ending with both sides swamped with them and reduced to holding them in notorious pens like Andersonville in the south and Elmira in the north. Speer provides a history of each camp, however long it was in use; portraits of key figures and units; frequently grisly statistics and descriptions of camp life and conditions that are even grislier; and notes on the present condition of major campsites. 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