Prisoners Of War In The American Civil War Research

American Civil War has been the focus of American history research and study for a long time, yet most of the researches done were highlighted on significant issues such as military, politics and the emancipation of Negro slaves.There is little study about the great number of war prisoners in the civil war, marking a large margin in the domestic research and study on American history This dissertation provides a much more systematic and comprehensive analysis of the issues of war prisoners, mainly covers four chapters as follows: in the first chapter, reasons of large amount of prisoners are examined through relevant materials concerning civil war prisoners. In the second chapter, the establishment of prisoner camps is analyzed systematically, with specific conditions provided through the aspects of diet choice, medical and sanitary conditions, daily manage situation and psychology of prisoners, so as to find out the root cause of great amounts of death in the camps. In the third chapter, the final fate of prisoners is examined. Both Northern and Southern part have tried different measures to address the problem, including non-official means, the traditional parole and even innovatively started the"official"exchange of war prisoners. After the end of the war, Captain Huiz and Confederate president Davis were acquitted and released, creating a beneficial condition for the reconciliation between the north and the south. In the fourth chapter, conclusions of the historic experience in dealing with war prisoners are the main content. In addition, with the increasing influence of the United States on international affairs, the policies addressing the prisoner problems in the Civil War also greatly affect the international protocol concerning war prisoner currently. After the Civil War, there is also a marked contrast to the prisoner policies in America, as it enforces the law rigorously in treating prisoners from enemy countries while provides humanized treatments towards those domestically.