My name is Chris Mackowski, editor in chief of emerging civil war. Delighted to have you with us. Our first speaker today is derrick maxfield. Hes an associate professor and batavia new york, hometown of emory upton for those of you who are from spots of india. Derek has recently earned fame for his brand new book as part of the emerging civil war series. It is called hellmira, the unions most notorious prison of war camp in elmira, new york. Thank you very much, im very pleased to be here to talk about my latest project. Prisoner of war camps in general have been quite a surprise to me. Ive studied the civil war since i was quite young and i knew the length of the tragedy during the civil war. But it was eyeopening to me the extent of the humanitarian crisis that unfolded over the course of those four bloody years. Over 56,000 died in prisoner of war camps over that time. Just over 500,000 incarcerated in total. Although we understand that this is just a small number of casualties con
Where he had the good fortune to stay under gary gallagher. He is the author or editor of five books, including the last generation. Young virginians in peace, war, and reunion. Published by unc press in 2005. He is also one of the series editors for you and see presses for civil war series and i know him best in this capacity. He was my editor for midnight in america and i can tell you his thoughtfulness, his careful attention to detail and generosity with sources made my book a better book. Today, he will tell us about his most recent book, the war for the common soldier which was released in 2018 as part of the prestigious little field series with unc press. A review in the Civil War History recently concluded quote, it is appointment book, full of pathos, which vividly bears out carmichael steams and brilliantly eliminates the mental struggle and coping mechanisms of civil war combatants. It will prove a valuable work for anyone concerned with the live experience of the civil war s
Good afternoon. I get the privilege of introducing a good friend. Drew and i have been arguing over the past two days, what i should do in this introduction. I will just read what you sent me. It is best it is kind of funny, actually. Drew gruber as the executive director of civil war trails, lives in williamsburg with his wife kate, their two cats, he enjoys reading, oysters, brown liquor and peace and quiet. Drew gruber. I am going to introduce my coauthor, doug crenshaw, who is going to lecture about williamsburg today. I sat down last night to review notes, and i couldnt think couldnt help but think about how ryan ended his presentation yesterday. It caused me to rewrite the whole thing. Thanks, ryan. Forgotten battles is a cool thing and i was going to open with a quote and then i thought about it, we have a morbid fascination with body count, only big, bloody battles are important. Then Richard Lewis said last night, the guy who falls from dysentery, that is his forgotten battle
In perpetuating, according to the federal government, mistreatment and murder. At that camp. And he was one of the first individuals in the modern era to be tried for war crimes. And henry wirz trial in the fall of 1865 actually set the precedent for more recent war crimes trials. Most notably the nuremberg trials of nazi perpetrators after world war ii, the american or the allied prosecutors who were preparing for those prosecutions in nuremberg thrir studied the wirz trial and particularly his defense. So that they could prepare for what they anticipated the nazi defense would be. And actually called it the wirz defense. Which was basically, you know, i was only following orders. Thats the typical defense. And they use henry wirz trial to help prepare for that in 1945. So this is a really important moment. Not only in american legal history but also in world legal history. And were going to be thinking about the prirsen at andersonville itself and what led conditions there to be so h
Edwards, the league park ranger at Andersonville National historic site. I have the distinct pleasure of introducing our distinguished professor of history, an average fogleman Research Professor several of which have won awards. The latest of which is escaped about libby prison which we will be talking about today. Please welcome, doctor robert watson. Thanks, caitlin. First off, thank you for Andersonville National historic site, and the prisoner of war museum, thank you to the entire staff. Today is september 16th, national p. O. W. Mia recognition day. It is recognized and was established by congress as the third friday and september to honor those who served, sacrificed, suffered, as well as those that have not yet come home. It is fitting, i suppose, altogether proper that we are here at andersonville to talk about one of the worst prisons in history on p. O. W. , national p. O. W. Mia recognition day. Andersonville is the most infamous prison in American History. It was only ope