The Secret Service, The Field, The Dungeon, and The Escape
Albert D. Richardson
CD-ROM
(Heritage Books, Aug. 16, 2004)
Early in 1861, I felt a strong desire to look at the Secession movement for myself; to learn, by personal observation, whether it sprang from the people or not; what the Revolutionists wanted, what they hoped, and what they feared. But the southern climate, never propitious to the longevity of Abolitionists, was now unfavorable to the health of every northerner, no matter how strong his political constitution. As a correspondent for THE TRIBUNE, Albert D. Richardson traveled throughout the southern states reporting on his travels and adventures in the Civil War. He describes how he and his fellow journalists managed to get their stories to their respective journals in the midst of the chaos of war. Attempting to join General Grant at Grand Gulf, below Vicksburg, he and other journalists were captured by the Rebel forces and taken to Vicksburg, then transported to the "filthy, vermin-infested military prison" in Atlanta, and finally transferred to Libby Prison, then Castle Thunder in Richmond. Conditions worsened with each transfer and the men tried various schemes to secure their release. "We were constantly trying to escape. During the last fifteen months of our imprisonment, I think there was no day when we had not some plan which we hoped soon to put in execution." The final chapters explain the details of their successful escape and the hardships and hazards of the journey home. An everyname index provides easy access to the many characters who shared this book is presented as graphic images, so the user sees the work just as it was originally published. It is intended to look and function very much like a "real" book.