Includes bibliographical references (p. 353-376) and index.
Contents
A people unprepared -- "The crisis is fast approaching": the initial prisoners -- "They had not been expected in such numbers": the Confederate prisoner-of-war system, July-December 1861 -- "A state of perpetual twilight": the Union prisoner-of-war system, June-December 1861 -- "Our government must change its policy": the move to the exchange cartel of 1862 -- The period of exchange under the cartel: July 1862-December 1863 -- Prelude to catastrophe: Union and Confederate prisons, July-December 1863 -- "Disgraceful to all concerned": the Union and Confederate prisoner-of-war systems, 1864 -- "Too sad to be patiently considered": the end and afterlife of the prison systems -- "The real cause of the suffering": testimony, evidence, and verdict.