The steamboat Sultana explodes and sinks on the Mississippi River. As many as 1,800 recently released Federal prisoners of war are killed in the worst maritime disaster in American history.
Tag: Prisoners of War
Prisoner Exchange Remains Suspended
Conditions in prison camps like Andersonville and Elmira continue deteriorating. Even so, Ulysses S. Grant instructs Federal prisoner exchange agents to refuse any Confederate offers to exchange prisoners, largely due to the Confederates’ refusal to recognize black soldiers as legitimate prisoners.
No More Than Dead Men
Ulysses S. Grant issues “most emphatic” orders to take no action on agreeing to exchange prisoners of war without further notification. This is intended to deprive the Confederacy of manpower, but since it promises to worsen conditions for both Confederate and Federal prisoners, Grant’s directive initiates a grim new war policy.
From Frederick Bartleson, 100th Illinois
Letter from Col. Frederick Bartleson, 100th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, to his wife while captive in Libby Prison at Richmond.
The Prisoner Exchange Cartel
With the number of prisoners of war quickly growing, Federals and Confederates agree to a tentative system of prisoner exchange.