Retaliation was a most disturbing aspect of the American Civil War. In 1863, following the Kentucky execution of two captured Confederate officers, two Union officers in Richmond’s Libby Prison were selected for execution. About that time, General “Rooney” Lee, son of Robert E. Lee, also was captured and held for execution, if the Libby prisoners were executed. A tense standoff was averted when Rooney Lee’s wife died, and he was exchanged on humanitarian grounds. But in 1864 when Union prisoners were strategically located within Charlestown to inhibit the Union barrage against Fort Sumter, 600 captured Confederates were shipped to Morris Island and subjected to artillery fire coming from Charlestown’s Confederate defenders . Both sides eventually removed their hostages; amazingly, no prisoner on either side died in 44 days of constant bombardment.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.