Booknotes: Point Lookout, Maryland

New Arrival:

• Point Lookout, Maryland: The Largest Civil War Prison by Robert E. Crickenberger Jr. (Savas Beatie, 2026).

From the description: "As the exchange cartel collapsed and relentless campaigns swelled Northern prisons beyond capacity, Point Lookout emerged in July 1863 as a grim solution. Officially dubbed “Camp Hoffman,” this sprawling 45-acre compound on Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay opened in the shadow of Gettysburg and soon became the largest prison of the Civil War. By August 1865, more than 52,000 prisoners had crossed its gates, marking it as a cornerstone of the “second wave” of Union prison camps." Sources tell us that the Andersonville prisoner population peaked at just under 33,000 men. This was far more than were held at Point Lookout at any one time (around 22,000), so "largest" must be referring to the total number of prisoners cited above, with the longer existing Point Lookout facilities exceeding shorter-lived Andersonville's on that measure. Perhaps it had the largest physical footprint of any other Civil War prison, too. At any rate, Robert Crickenberger's Point Lookout, Maryland: The Largest Civil War Prison "is a meticulous and groundbreaking study that reexamines the prison and its place in Civil War history." It "dismantles accepted assumptions, offering a balanced perspective that questions the validity of memoirs taken as gospel by earlier scholars."

From skimming the bibliography and from my own cursory online search, there are two previous book-length histories of the Point Lookout prison and hospital system (both privately published). I reviewed the most recent of the pair for the site in 2021 [here]. Other recent titles have addressed the planned (but never carried out) Confederate operation, as part of the July 1864 Johnson-Gilmor Raid, to free the prisoners there. Crickenberger, who has been (as his author bio reveals) closely associated with Point Lookout in numerous capacities since 1978, has spent decades researching the prison's Civil War history. "Challenging the traditional portrayal of guards as uniformly brutal and prisoners as mere victims, he draws on extensive, previously unpublished research to explore the complex experiences of both. Postwar accounts, steeped in survivor bias and “Lost Cause” rhetoric, have long dominated the story—until now."

In addition to recreating a physical portrait of the Point Lookout POW camp, Crickenberger's comprehensive examination touches upon both guard and prisoner experiences, prison procedures, living conditions, the camp's place in the parole and exchange system, the camp's supply system, and various prisoner breakout schemes. Camp hospitals and burials are also part of the discussion, as are the Point Lookout defenses. All of this "illuminates Point Lookout’s critical role in shaping not only the Civil War but also the future of American incarceration." Additional map, death rate assessment, camp leadership, and guard unit information is collected in the appendix section.