History Channel Documentaries

Eighty Acres of Hell (2006x2)

: 01, 2006

This is the long-overlooked story of the Union prison that was more than a match for the horrors of Andersonville. More than the spoils go to the victor; sometimes they win silence as well. That is certainly the case when it comes to the Civil War prison at Camp Douglas in Chicago, Illinois. While the Confederate camp at Andersonville, Georgia is infamous, the tale of Camp Douglas has long been overlooked. EIGHTY ACRES OF HELL reveals that the Union was more than capable of matching the Confederates atrocity-for-atrocity. While 12,000 prisoners entered Camp Douglas, only 6,000 left. The rest were victims of calculated cruelty, torture and neglect. And southern soldiers were not the only targets of this treatment--many prominent Chicago citizens were incarcerated under the banner of martial law, unjustly convicted of imagined offenses by ruthless military tribunals. From the establishment of the camp to the terrible toll it ultimately took, EIGHTY ACRES OF HELL is a troubling look at a long-ignored chapter of the Civil War.