Portals to Hell: Military Prisons of the Civil War

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 to life the least-known men in the great struggle between the Union and the Confederacy, using their own words and observations as they endured a true "hell on earth." Drawing on scores of previously unpublished firsthand accounts, Portals to Hell presents the prisoners' experiences in great detail and from an impartial perspective. The first comprehensive study of all major prisons of both the North and the South, this chronicle analyzes the many complexities of the relationships among prisoners, guards, commandants, and government leaders.

Author: Lonnie R. Speer
Publisher: Bison
Published: 11/01/2005
Pages: 442
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.43lbs
Size: 8.96h x 6.28w x 0.94d
ISBN13: 9780803293427
ISBN10: 0803293429
BISAC Categories:
- History | United States | Civil War Period (1850-1877)
- History | Military | United States
- Social Science | Penology

About the Author
Lonnie R. Speer is a freelance writer with a special interest in the Civil War. His articles have appeared in Civil War Times Illustrated and America's Civil War.