The Union prison at Fort Delaware : a perfect hell on earth / Brian Temple.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Temple, Brian, 1955-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Prisoners of war.

Social conditions.

History.

Fort Delaware (Del.).

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Prisoners and prisons.

United States.

Prisoners of war--Delaware--Fort Delaware--History--19th century.

Prisoners of war--Delaware--Fort Delaware--Social conditions--19th century.

Delaware--Fort Delaware.

Physical Description:

viii, 175 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., [2003]

Summary:

Located on Pea Patch Island at the entrance to the Delaware River, Fort Delaware was built in 1825 to protect Wilmington and Philadelphia in case of an attack by sea. When the Civil War broke out, Fort Delaware's purpose changed dramatically -- it became a prisoner of war camp. By the fall of 1863, about 12,000 soldiers, officers, and political prisoners were being held in an area designed to hold only 4,000 -- and known as the "Andersonville of the North," a place where terrible sickness and deprivation were a way of life. Many books have been written about the Confederacy's Andersonville and its terrible conditions, but comparatively little has been written about its counterparts in the North. The conditions at Fort Delaware for prisoners and guards alike are fully explored.

Contents:

1. Construction of Fort Delaware 3

2. From One Extreme to Another 10

3. Exchanges and the Writ of Habeas Corpus 19

4. The Growth of the Prison Population 28

5. Life on the Devil's Half Acre 39

6. Hope and Survival on the Devil's Half Acre 51

7. Difference of Opinion

The Other Side of the Dead 71

8. Outside Influences 95

9. The End of the Line 133

Appendix Regulations for Union War Prisons 149.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 167-169) and index.

ISBN:

0786414804

OCLC:

51566730