Prisoners of War

Libby PrisonLibby Prison

POWs held by the Union:  220,000  deaths=26,436  or 12%
Elmira, NY deaths=2,980
POWs held by Confederates: 270,000 deaths=22,570 or 8.3%. Andersonville deaths=12,912

PR019    Unlikely Allies. Fort Delaware's Prison Community in the Civil War.  
Fetzer & Mowday
Fort Delaware, with barely 75 acres of island ground, served as a Federal prisoner of war camp known as "Pea Patch."  It had a population of over 16,000 at its peak and more than 30,000 Confederate prisoners passed through its gates during its three year life.  Making use of the the rolls, death rates, and other newly discovered primary sources, the authors paint a picture of a group of men and women determined to carve out a community.  It is a story of people sent to the island due to war but forced to live with the enemy and remain at peace.  Hardcover. 176 pp. $29.95 
Bookguy price  $20.97
 

SPEC099    Elmira: Death Camp of the North.  
Michael Horigan
The Civil War prison camp at Elmira, New York, had the highest death rate of any prison camp in the North: almost 25 percent. Comparatively, the overall death rate of all Northern prison camps was just over 11 percent; in the South, the death rate was just over 15 percent. Clearly, something went wrong in Elmira. The culmination of ten years of research, this book traces the story of what happened. Author Michael Horigan also places the prison in the context of the greater Elmira community by describing the town in 1864 and explaining its significance as a military depot and draft rendezvous.  Hardcover. 288 pp. $26.95 
Bookguy price  $18.87
 

SPEC098    Portals to Hell: Military Prisons of the Civil War   
Lonnie Speer
The first modern account of all Civil War military prisons. Includes escapes, women and black prisoners, exchange programs, games, food, vermin, illness, and death.
  Hardcover. 416 pp. $34.95 
Bookguy price  $24.47
 

SPEC097    Andersonville: The Last Depot    
William Marvel
The Civil War prison everyone has heard of (and home to the POW museum) but few know the real story behind it.  Marvel cuts through some of the myths and gives us a picture of a prison that was forced to house more prisoners than it was built for.
  Hardcover.  $34.95 
Bookguy price  $24.47
 

SPEC096    800 Paces to Hell: Andersonville     
John Linn
Lynn's remarkable and thorough compilation brings to life the history, and the horrors of Andersonville to the reader. The book is comprised of hundreds of eye-witness accounts detailing the struggle of those who survived and those who didn't.
  Hardcover. 378 pp.  $35 
Bookguy price  $24.50