Rosters and History of the Civil War Prison Ship Island, Mississippi
By Theresa Arnold-Scriber and Terry G. Scriber

Illustrated, maps, roster guide, bibliography, appendices, endnotes, index, 479 pp., 2008. McFarland, P.O. Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640, $75 plus shipping.

Reviewer: Richard J. Blumberg
Richard J. Blumberg has a master’s degree with honors in Civil War studies. He is past president of the Houston Civil War Round Table and is a speaker for that group and the Society of Women in the Civil War. He also reviews books for the Blue and Gray Education Society.

Review:
Ship Island is a small remote land mass located off the U.S. Gulf Coast midway between New Orleans, La., and Mobile, Ala. The island’s history dates back to the French exploration of the New World. Founded in 1699, it served as: a defensive logistical base for exploration and military maneuvers; a key to controlling the lower Mississippi River; a strategic military operations base; and finally a Civil War prison.

Theresa and Terry Scribner’s Roster and History of the Civil War Prison Ship Island, Mississippi, chronicles the significance of this small, obscure but very important island.

The French, Spanish and English hotly contested the ownership of this island for many decades, because of the strategic importance of the site for harbor operations and as a military base.

Ironically, the Confederacy never regarded Ship Island as important to their military strategy. Union Gen. Benjamin Butler quickly saw the importance of controlling the access to the lower Mississippi River basin and having an operational base that was readily defensible as extremely important.

The plans and proposals for capturing Ship Island and its subsequent use as a prison camp are the basis of this book. The authors divide the book into two distinct parts. The first section, which is approximately one third of the book, provides a history of the island.

The second section, comprising the remaining two-thirds, provides detailed rosters by state of Confederate prisoners who died at Ship Island along with Union soldiers who died while performing garrison duty or those who were incarcerated as traitors, unwilling to yield to Butler’s strict regime of martial law in New Orleans.

The island’s rich history included early European colonization, an active slave trade and many military actions to include the battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812 and the Civil War battle of New Orleans.

The prison operation on the island, subsequent to the Union capture of New Orleans, marked a unique chapter in American history, characterized by all Civil War prisons. Both the prisoners and the garrison endured many hardships and deprivations.

One unique aspect of the Ship Island story is that fairly detailed records still existed, and the authors, genealogy buffs, knew how to use them.

The detailed by state rosters are neatly organized and include a user guide with a comprehensive legend to aid in deciphering the various abbreviations used in prison records.  While the book is easy to read, it will be out of the price range of most readers.

The authors use a good blend of photos and maps to clarify the points made throughout the book. This, coupled with a well-organized and complete bibliography, makes this work an excellent reference tool.

However, at $75 for the hardback edition, probably only those with genealogical interests or a deep interest in Civil War prisons would be likely to buy it.