Having
spent
over
thirty
years
collecting
information
on
the
prison
and
its
garrison
at
Point
Lookout
and
close
to
ten
to
write
this
book,
author
Robert
E.
Crickenberger,
Jr.
goes
above
and
beyond
including
interviews
with
local
citizens
and
historians
pertinent
to
Point
Lookout
and
its
history.
It
also
contains
site
visits
to
several
of
the
key
locations
that
affected
the
lives
of
the
inhabitants
of
Point
Lookout
before,
during,
and
immediately
after
the
war
and
numerous
unpublished
primary
sources,
diaries, letters, and recollections of Confederate prisoners and Union guards.
Robert
E.
Crickenberger's
new
book,
Point
Lookout,
Maryland:
The
Largest
Civil
War
Prison
takes
a fresh and scholarly look at this Federal Civil War Prison Camp in Scotland, Maryland.
Point
Lookout
Prison
Camp
was
a
massive
Civil
War
prison
(1863-1865)
located
in
southern
Maryland
situated
on
a
peninsula
bordered
by
the
Potomac
River
on
the
east
and
the
Chesapeake
Bay
on
its
western
shore.
It
was
constructed
in
the
wake
of
the
Battle
of
Gettysburg
incarcerating
many
of
the
recently
captured
Confederate
prisoners.
Officially
called
Camp
Hoffmann,
it
would
eventually
grow
to
become
a
45-
acre
prison
compound
surrounded
by
a
12-foot-tall
wooden
fence
that
provided
a
catwalk
from
which
guards
could
monitor
the
activities
of
the
prison
population
within
the
confines
of
the
prison
stockade.
The
prison
depot
included
mess
halls/cookhouses, sutler store, and hospital.
This
new
thought
provoking
book
will
offer
detailed
and
recently
discovered
research
that
will
assist
scholars
and
casual
readers
alike
in
understanding
the
significance
that
Point
Lookout
had
upon
both
the
war
and
the
prisoner-of-war
system
that
would
be
passed
on
to
future
19th-century
American wars.
Point Lookout, Maryland
The Largest Civil War Prison
By Robert E. Crickenberger, Jr.
A Groundbreaking Book
That Rewrites the Legacy of
the Unions Most Infamous POW Camp
July 1863 - August 1865
In
this
meticulous
and
groundbreaking
study
Point
Lookout,
Maryland:
The
Largest
Civil
War
Prison
,
author
Robert
Crickenberger
reexamines
Point
Lookout
with
fresh
eyes,
peeling
back
layers
of
myth
to
reveal
a
more
nuanced
truth.
While
prison
camps
often
fade
into
the
background
of
Civil
War
narratives,
overshadowed
by
the
battles
that
filled
them,
Crickenberger
brings
Point
Lookout
into
sharp
focus.
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unpublished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.
CLICK ON LINK TO ORDER FROM
SAVAS BEATIE PUBLISHERS
https://www.savasbeatie.com/point-lookout-maryland-the-
largest-civil-war-prison/
$24.95
Publication Release Date: Spring 2026
ISBN: 978-1-61121-755-1
EISBN: 978-1-61121-756-8
Trade paper
32 Images, 3 maps, 300 pages
Bookplates: Available
Copyright © 2026 Robert E Crickenberger
Praise for Point Lookout, Maryland: The Largest Civil War Prison
“A masterful book. Crickenberger presents an even-handed, detailed, readable, and factual account of
every aspect of Point Lookout. His work serves as a model for any such undertaking for other Civil War
POW camps. A must-read for any Civil War buff and the general public.” — Ross Kimmel, historian and
co-author of “I Am Busy Drawing Pictures’: The Civil War Art and Letters of Private John Jacob
Omenhausser, CSA
“When the average Civil War buff thinks of confinement areas for captured soldiers, the Confederate
prison camp at Andersonville immediately comes to mind, Few are aware of the massive Union prison
camp, Camp Hoffman, located at Point Lookout in Maryland. Crickenberger spent years of and hands-on
restoration to produce a masterwork on the prison at Point Lookout.” — Joseph G. Bilby. author of
numerous works, including Three Rousing Cheers: A History of the Fifteenth New Jersey from Flemington
to Appomattox
“For more than 45 years, Robert Crickenberger has dedicated himself to exploring the history of Point
Lookout, meticulously researching and portraying prisoner life there. Crickenberger is also the park’s most
dedicated volunteer and historian. His extensive knowledge and unwavering commitment have
significantly shaped the park as we know it today, leaving behind an enduring legacy. We take immense
pride in his life's work and are grateful for the wisdom he has imparted to generations of park employees.”
— Ranger Jonas Williams, Area Manager, Point Lookout State Park
“With meticulous research and dedication, Crickenberger examines the bleak history that made Point
Lookout the largest, and one of the war's most notorious, prison camps North or South. This book is a
worthy addition to any Civil War buff’s library.” — Larry Alexander, New York Times best-selling author of
Biggest Brother: The Life of‘Major Dick Winters, the Man Who Led the Band of Brothers
“Historian Robert Crickenberger has spent most of his life studying Point Lookout, and this study is its
definitive history.” — Dr. David Martin, historian and author of Gettysburg July 1863
“Crickenberger’s work ‘reexamines the prison and its place in Civil War history’ while offering ‘a balanced
perspective that questions the validity of memoirs taken as gospel by earlier scholars.’”
— Civil War Books and Authors https://cwba.blogspot.com/2026/02/booknotes-point-lookout-maryland.html?
