East Baton Rouge Parish Library

The Yankee plague, escaped Union prisoners and the collapse of the Confederacy, Lorien Foote

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 197-219) and index

government publication of a state province territory dependency etc

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

The Yankee plague

bibliography

934796941

Lorien Foote

Civil War America

escaped Union prisoners and the collapse of the Confederacy

"During the winter of 1864, more than 3,000 Federal prisoners of war escaped from Confederate prison camps into South Carolina and North Carolina, often with the aid of local slaves. Their flight created, in the words of contemporary observers, a "Yankee plague," heralding a grim end to the Confederate cause. In this fascinating look at Union soldiers' 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. By this point in the war, the Confederacy was reeling from prison overpopulation, a crumbling military, violence from internal enemies, and slavery's breakdown. The fugitive Federals moving across the countryside in mass numbers, Foote argues, accelerated the collapse as slaves and deserters decided the presence of these men presented an opportune moment for escalated resistance. Blending rich analysis with an engaging narrative, Foote uses these ragged Union escapees as a lens with which to assess the dying Confederate States, providing a new window into the South's ultimate defeat." -- Publisher's description

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