Crime did not take a holiday during the Civil War, far from it. As Tobin
Buhk shows in this fast-paced narrative, the war created new
opportunities to gain profits from illegal activities, to settle old
scores against personal enemies under the cover of fighting the nation's
enemies, to pillage, plunder, and murder amid the carnage and
destruction that seemed to offer license to legitimize such crimes.
Students of the Civil War will find new information in this readable
account. --James M. McPherson, Author of Battle Cry of Freedom -
Examines criminal cases during the conflict - Cases include currency
counterfeiting, tyrannical actions of Gen. Benjamin Butler, the murder
of Gen. Earl van Dorn, raids by William Quantrill's Bushwhackers, the
Fort Pillow Massacre, the horrific prison conditions at Andersonville,
the fate of Lincoln the assassination conspirators, and more