A Prisoner's Duty: Great Escapes in U.S. Military History - Hardcover

Doyle, Robert C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1557501807 ISBN 13: 9781557501806

Publisher: Naval Institute Press, 1997

Synopsis

Draws on official and private archives, letters, diaries, and memoirs to document extraordinary American escapes. Tells of sailors who escaped from English prison ships during the American Revolution, slaves on the Underground Railroad, POWs from the Civil War onward, and journalists and government officials eluding terrorists. Includes b&w photos and illustrations. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

About this title

Review:

A prisoner of war's first duty is to survive; his second duty, writes Robert C. Doyle, is to escape. This anecdote-driven history of escapes and escape attempts recounts harrowing acts of bravery, such as when an American lieutenant captured in the Philippines swam eight miles to secure his freedom. There are also several humorous episodes in this colorful book. One Confederate prisoner during the Civil War who entered an escape tunnel got stuck and blocked the exit because he was so fat. Another Southerner, General John Hunt Morgan, broke out of his cell block after digging through two feet of masonry with table knives. He later sat next to a Union major on a train that passed the Ohio penitentiary that had once confined him. "That's where the rebel General Morgan is now imprisoned," said the major. "Indeed," replied the disguised Morgan, "I hope they'll always keep him as safely as they have him now."

Doyle's history spans from the Colonial period through the 1980s. His book focuses on American prisoners of war, but a chapter on slaves and the Underground Railroad, plus substantial attention to America's British allies during the two world wars, demonstrates a broader ranger of interest than the subtitle suggests. --John J. Miller

About the Author:

Robert C. Doyle is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served as a naval officer from 1967 to 1971, including South Vietnam in 1968, 1970-71. He received his PhD from Bowling Green State University and is a professor of history at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio.

About this edition

• Publisher: Naval Institute Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1557501807
• ISBN 13: 9781557501806
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 372