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Camp Chase, four miles southeast of Columbus, Ohio, began in May 1861 as a mustering center for units entering Union service during the American Civil War. By June 1861 it picked up additional responsibilities of housing Confederate prisoners captured by Ohio units during the earliest military actions of the war. It eventually expanded to hold 9,423 prisoners in Jan. 1865, which made it one of the larger Union prison camps. The earliest prisoners were afforded extraordinary leniency by state authorities until the Union government stepped in with rules and regulations. By Oct. 1862, an effective system was in place to secure and care for prisoners. Success continued despite fluxuations in prison population, disease and a constant influx of captured wounded, until Aug. 1864 when rations were reduced in retribution for Confederate treatment of Union captives. Ration reduction caused prisoners hardships but did not markedly increase mortality. Quality medical care and sanitation kept mortality below Union Army deaths from disease. As prison population soared during the last months of the war, increasing numbers of wounded, severely exposed and weakened captives joined Camp Chase. Reduced rations continued to pose hardships but ration reduction was offset by superb medical care and sanitation which continued to keep mortality below that experienced by the Union Army from disease. ...Prisoners were well treated up to the time rations were reduced in retaliation for alleged Confederate cruelities to Union prisoners. In spite of this, Camp Chase officials continued to stress sanitation and provide clothing late in the war even though they were not obligated to do so. This demonstrated that officials at Camp Chase were successful in managing a prisoner of war camp, even during the period of Union retaliation.
The Civil War was and still is a controversial period in our nation's history. Reasons for the war and policies of the opposing governments continue to stir interest and debate among scholars even today, 135 years after the issue was "resolved". During the war, newspapers carried headlines of atrocities, especially in the Union, after the exchange of prisoners halted and misery multiplied in Confederate prisons not equipped to handle increasing populations. Emotions and tempers flared, then, resulted in retribution on both sides.
The Civil War was and still is a controversial period in our nation's history. Reasons for the war and policies of the opposing governments continue to stir interest and debate among scholars even today, 135 years after the issue was "resolved". During the war, newspapers carried headlines of atrocities, especially in the Union, after the exchange of prisoners halted and misery multiplied in Confederate prisons not equipped to handle increasing populations. Emotions and tempers flared, then, resulted in retribution on both sides.
This study argues that the image of Union prison officials as negligent and cruel to Confederate prisoners is severely flawed. It explains how Confederate prisoners' suffering and death were due to a number of factors, but it would seem that Yankee apathy and malice were rarely among them.
Caged Heroes - American POW Experiences from the American Revolution to the Present is snapshot of four hundred years of hostage and prisoner of war experiences. Caged Heroes details prisoners experiences from the moment they are told to put their hands up, through their detentions, and culminating in their releases. It examines the successes and failures of the United States government to prepare its forces for prisoner events; discussing survival schools, rules on how prisoners are told to act while in captivity and glimpses of how being taken prisoner effects the prisoners and guards alike. Using numerous personal interviews and diaries of former prisoners (and their spouses), the reader gets a rare look at the horrors these men and women experienced. Containing an extensive bibliography and complete POW rosters from several conflicts, this book will add to any casual readers knowledge and serve as a top reference for those wanting to understand more about this misunderstood field.