Causes and Consequences
Neither side had intentions to treat their prisoners so cruelly, but because of the breakdown of the prisoner exchange system and deteriorating economic conditions in the South, the Confederate government could not provide adequate housing, food, clothing, or medical care to the prisoners, and because of those reasons, almost 13,000 of the 45,000 inmates died in only 14 months.
"It is not a battle which destroys so many lives as it is the terrible diseases brought on by exposure and hardships." -Katharine Wormely |