Synopses & Reviews
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.
In this carefully researched and compelling revisionist account, William Marvel provides a comprehensive history of Andersonville Prison and conditions within it. Based on reliable primary sourcesincluding diaries, Union and Confederate government documents, and lettersrather than exaggerated postwar recollections and such well-known but spurious 'diaries' as that of John Ransom, Marvel's analysis exonerates camp commandant Henry Wirz and others from charges that they deliberately exterminated prisoners, a crime for which Wirz was executed after the war.
According to Marvel, virulent disease and severe shortages of vegetables, medical supplies, and other necessities combined to create a crisis beyond Wirz's 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.
Review
An authoritative history of the camp. . . . A masterful job of historical detective work.
History: Reviews of New Books
Review
This well-written and readable monograph . . . . is a valuable contribution to the historiography of Civil War prisons.
Historian
Review
"A remarkable scholarly and literary achievement, a genuinely pathbreaking book.
Lincoln Prize Citation "
Review
"Readers will welcome this well-written, provocative narrative.
Choice "
Review
"A fluid narrative.
Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post "
Synopsis
This well-written and readable monograph . . . . is a valuable contribution to the historiography of Civil War prisons.
Historian "A fluid narrative.
Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post " "Readers will welcome this well-written, provocative narrative.
Choice " An authoritative history of the camp. . . . A masterful job of historical detective work.
History: Reviews of New Books "A remarkable scholarly and literary achievement, a genuinely pathbreaking book.
Lincoln Prize Citation "
About the Author
William Marvel's many books include A Place Called Appomattox, Lee's Last Retreat: The Flight to Appomattox, and The Alabama and the Kearsarge: The Sailor's Civil War. He lives in South Conway, New Hampshire.