The Yankee plague : escaped Union prisoners and the collapse of the Confederacy / Lorien Foote.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Foote, Lorien, 1969- author.

Series:

Civil War America (Series)

Civil War America

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Army--Officers--History--19th century.

United States.

United States. Army.

Escaped prisoners of war--United States--History--19th century.

Escaped prisoners of war.

History.

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

Prisoners of war--United States--History--19th century.

Prisoners of war.

North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

North Carolina.

South Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

South Carolina.

Prisoners.

Armed Forces--Officers.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xiii, 232 pages ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2016]

Summary:

"During the winter of 1864, more than 3,000 Federal prisoners of war escaped from Confederate prison camps into upstate South Carolina and North Carolina, often with the aid of the local enslaved population, creating, in the words of contemporary observers, a "Yankee plague." In this fascinating look at Union soliders' flight for freedom in the last months of the Civil War, Lorien Foote reveals new connections between the collapse of the Confederate prison system, the large-scale escape of Union soldiers, and the full unraveling of the Confederate States of America"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: the plague

Escape

The world in black and white: the collapse of slavery

They cover the land like the locusts of Egypt: the collapse of the state

Guardian angels: the collapse of the home front

God's country: the collapse of borders

A futile attempt at imprisonment: the collapse of military defense

Epilogue: terrible times in the past.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781469630557

1469630559

OCLC:

934796941