Andersonville Diary

John Ransom was a 20-year-old Union soldier when he became a prisoner of war in 1863. In his unforgettable diary, Ransom reveals the true story of his day-to-day struggle in the worst of Confederate prison camps--where hundreds of prisoners died daily. Ransom's story of survival is, according to Publishers Weekly, a great adventure . . . observant, eloquent, and moving.

One of the most starkly vivid and detailed accounts of survival in Georgia's notorious Andersonville prison during the American Civil War. John Ransom was only 20 years old at the time of his capture. He kept a nearly daily diary during his year of misery at the Confederate prison. He and his fellow Union prisoners endured lice, starvation, freezing cold, killing heat, theft from other inmates...and Captain Wirtz. "Capt. Wirtz very domineering and abusive. Is afraid to come into camp any more. There are a thousand men in here who would willingly die if they could kill him first." Death was a daily occurrence. Yet Ransom knew if he gave up hope, he would die. He somehow kept his humor and kept on writing. Through two escapes, time in a Rebel hospital, and eventual freedom, you'll read a POW account like none you've ever read before.

In February 1864, five hundred Union prisoners of war arrived at the Confederate stockade at Anderson Station, Georgia. Andersonville, as it was later known, would become legendary for its brutality and mistreatment, with the highest mortality rate--over 30 percent--of any Civil War prison. Fourteen months later, 32,000 men were imprisoned there. Most of the prisoners suffered greatly because of poor organization, meager supplies, the Federal government’s refusal to exchange prisoners, and the cruelty of men supporting a government engaged in a losing battle for survival. Who was responsible for allowing so much squalor, mismanagement, and waste at Andersonville? Looking for an answer, Ovid Futch cuts through charges and countercharges that have made the camp a subject of bitter controversy. He examines diaries and firsthand accounts of prisoners, guards, and officers, and both Confederate and Federal government records (including the transcript of the trial of Capt. Henry Wirz, the alleged "fiend of Andersonville"). First published in 1968, this groundbreaking volume has never gone out of print.

This remarkable journal of an enlisted Federal soldier provides an abundance of fresh information on camp life, battles, picket duty, skirmishing and, ultimately, life in a Confederate prison. It includes descriptions of service with the IX Army Corps.

In this carefully researched and compelling revisionist account, William Marvel provides a comprehensive history of Andersonville Prison and conditions within it.