General Treatments
Salisbury Confederate Prison
Bibliography - General Treatments
*Designates materials NOT owned by Rowan Public Library. For items owned by Rowan Public Library, the History Room call number appears at the end of the entry in bold.
Ashe, Capt. Samuel A. “Treatment of Prisoners 1864-1865.” Confederate Veteran (May 1927): 172-174.
The “Southern” explanation for the treatment of Salisbury’s POWs. AH USA.9 CON
Brown, Louis A. The Salisbury Prison: A Case Study of Confederate Military Prisons, 1861-1865. Rev. and enl. Statesville, NC: The Author, 1992.
The most comprehensive treatment of the Salisbury Confederate Prison to date, this work cites many of the other works included in this bibliography. It contains the extant lists of prisoners, guards, etc. NC ROW.46 BRO
Cartland, Fernando G. Southern Heroes; or Friends in War Time. Cambridge, MA: Riverside Press, 1895.
Noting that more Friends (Quakers) were confined at Salisbury than any other Confederate Prison, Cartland relies upon apparent first-hand accounts, among them G. M. Gidney of Poughkeepsie, NY, to give a general description of the prison. He includes the story of one man who was mistaken for dead and transported to the Dead House, only to be discovered and returned to health. AC AAA.53 CAR
*Cox, Cleve Horton. “The Confederate Prison and General Stoneman 1860-1865.”
A college research paper that gives a basic overview of the conditions at the prison, and Union General Stoneman’s raid into Salisbury. Cox’s grade for the paper is unknown.
Ford, Annette Gee. The Captive, Major John H. Gee Commandant of the Confederate Prison at Salisbury, North Carolina 1864-1865. A Biographical Sketch with Complete Court-Martial Transcript. Quincy, Fl: The Author, 2000.
John Henry Gee was court-martialed for his role at the Salisbury Prison, following the war. This work contains a biographical sketch and a complete transcript of his trial. NC ROW.46 GEE
Goss, Warren Lee. The Soldiers Story of His Captivity at Andersonville, Belle Isle, and Other Rebel Prisons. Boston: Richardson, 1872.
Goss collected eyewitness accounts of the prisons and wrote a general treatment of them. AH USA.46 GOS
Mangum, Adolphus W. “Salisbury Prison.” In Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-1865. Vol. IV, pp. 745-772. Walter McKenzie Clark, ed. Goldsboro, NC: State of North Carolina, 1901.
A 27-page account written by a Confederate chaplain at the prison, which stresses the South’s inability to take care of the prisoners due to its lack of supplies, etc. Examples and specific stories are related. NC AAA.46 CLA
Parrish, Janet Marie. “The Salisbury Penitentiary, a senior thesis prepared for the History Department of Westhampton College, University of Richmond, March, 1962.”
A college thesis that covers general information about the prison and its becoming a national cemetery. An index to the thesis was provided by Edith Clark. NC ROW.46 PAR
*Pompey, Sherman Lee. The Confederate Military Prison and the National Cemetery at Salisbury, North Carolina: A Study Into the History and Men That Were Interned and Interred at Salisbury During the Civil War With Military Data on Some Of These Men. Florence, OR: Western Oregon Genealogical Research Library, 1981.
Raynor, George. Rebels and Yankees in Rowan County. (Vol. IV in the Piedmont Passages series.) Salisbury, NC: Salisbury Printing Company, 1991.
An anthology of articles along personal interest lines. The different stories were derived from Raynor’s local history column in the Salisbury Post. Articles dealing with the prison include, “Yanks Made a Desperate Rush to Freedom,” and “She Nursed Soldiers at the Confederate Prison.” NC ROW.46 RAY
Speer, Lonnie. Portals to Hell: Military Prisons of the Civil War. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997. AH USA.46 SPE
Thompson, Bryce A. "A History of Salisbury Prison 1861-1865, a Research Paper Submitted to the Head of the Department of English, History, and Government, United States Naval Academy." February 17, 1964.
A research paper, which provides an overview of the prison and its conditions. Midshipman First Class Thompson received an A- for his work. NC ROW.46 THO
Trent, Mack Parris. “Civil War Prisons and Prisoners in North Carolina, 1861-1865.” M.A. Thesis East Carolina College, 1961. NC AAA.46 TRE
Trotter, William R. Silk Flags and Cold Steel: The Civil War in North Carolina; Vol. 1: The Piedmont. Winston-Salem: John F. Blair, 1988.
This work contains a chapter entitled, “North Carolina’s Andersonville-The Prison at Salisbury,” which reiterates the standard history of the prison. NC AAA.46 TRO
*Designates materials NOT owned by Rowan Public Library