S8 Ep1340: W. Fitzhugh Brundage, author of A Fate Worse Than Hell: American Prisoners of the Civil War, Part One: The narrative begins with

The John Batchelor Show · Aug 24, 2026 · 37m

W. Fitzhugh Brundage, author of A Fate Worse Than Hell: American Prisoners of the Civil War, Part One: The narrative begins with the January 1863 capture of the Union gunboat Isaac Smith and three Black sailors. The Confederacy's refusal to exchange these Black captives, coupled with the Lincoln administration's retaliation, triggered the collapse of the systematic prisoner exchange system under the 1862 Dix-Hill Cartel. Consequently, both sides had to manage massive, long-term prison populations. The book examines the key military figures overseeing these networks: the Confederate martinet…