The epic battles of the Civil War have become the stuff of legend and the subject of a vast amount of literature. Much less known is the war behind the lines, a war carried out by merciless guerrillas, bloodthirsty mobs, murderous vigilantes and sinister secret agents.

True Crime in the Civil War delves into the conflict’s criminal history, profiling 16 cases of misdeeds committed by men and women on both sides of the fight. Civil War buffs will find newly uncovered information on a pair of obscure incidents: the 1863 murder of a Tennessee family by freed slaves living in a Union camp, and an 1865 killing in North Carolina that immediately tested the nation’s commitment to equality.

Also included are fresh accounts of some of the war’s most notorious crimes, including the short and brutal life of Bloody Bill Anderson, the evils perpetrated behind Andersonville’s walls, and the still-controversial Lincoln assassination conspiracy, providing a stark reminder that those on the war’s front lines weren’t the only ones facing danger.

About the Author
Tobin T. Buhk is a freelance writer who lives in Jenison, Michigan, and is co-author with Stephen D. Cohle of Skeletons in the Closet: Tales from the County Morgue and Cause of Death: Forensic Files of a Medical Examiner.