Confederate Prisoners at Fort Delaware: The Legend of Mistreatment Reexamined

by Joel D. Citron

Overview

During the Civil War, each side accused the other of mistreating prisoners of war. Today, most historians believe that there was systemic and deliberate abuse of POWs by both sides yet many base their conclusions on anecdotal evidence, much of it from postwar writings.

Drawing on both contemporaneous prisoner diaries and Union Army documents (some newly discovered), the author presents a fresh and detailed study of supposed mistreatment of prisoners at Fort Delaware--one of the largest Union prison camps--and draws surprising conclusions, some of which have implications for the entire Union prison system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476628967
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	08/21/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	238
File size:	10 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

The late Joel D. Citron was a career chemist and a long-time volunteer at Fort Delaware State Park, doing first person historical interpretation of Captain G. S. Clark, the Commissary of Subsistence officer during the Civil War. He lived in Wilmington, Delaware.
The late Joel D. Citron was a career chemist and a long-time volunteer at Fort Delaware State Park, doing first person historical interpretation of Captain G. S. Clark, the Commissary of Subsistence officer during the Civil War. He lived in Wilmington, Delaware.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations viii
Preface
 1. Topography and Weather
 2. Command Structure, Personnel and Administration
 3. Prison Camp Administration and Security
 4. The Food Ration
 5. The Prison Fund
 6. Shelter and Clothing
 7. Water Supply and Sanitation
 8. Outside Help
 9. Medical Care
10. Death Rates: The Final Arbiter
11. Life on Pea Patch Island
12. FREEDOM!
13. Conclusions
Epilogue
Appendix: The Shotwell Fort Delaware “Diary”
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

While other books paint a more benign picture, what should now prove to be the most definitive book tackles the negatives with facts”—Delaware Online.

From the Publisher