Why read Portals to Hell?

Book cover of Portals to Hell: Military Prisons of the Civil War

Book description

The holding of prisoners of war has always been both a political and a military enterprise, yet the military prisons of the Civil War, which held more than four hundred thousand soldiers and caused the deaths of fifty-six thousand men, have been nearly forgotten. Now Lonnie R. Speer has brought…

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American history

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Why read it?

1 author picked Portals to Hell as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Derek D. Maxfield

Author

This authoritative book is the first comprehensive study of all major Civil War prisons—North and South. Speer traces the development of the POW facilities the various types used throughout the war from barren ground affairs to the infamous barren stockades—like Andersonville. We learn about the system of prisoner exchange created in the crisis and how it broke down, including how the taking of African-American prisoners ultimately spelled doom for the cartel. Speer traces the development of the POW facilities and the various types used throughout the war, from barren ground affairs to the infamous barren stockades—like…

From Derek's list on Civil War P.O.W. camps.