John L. Ransom was the quartermaster of Company A, 9th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry during the American Civil War and a Union prisoner in the infamous Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia. This is his diary which he published some few years after the end of the Civil War. Note that in pages 193 through 301 are included 1) List of the Dead and 2) Recapitulation of Deaths By States; both of these sections are omitted from this LibriVox reading. The Andersonville National Historic Site, located near Andersonville, Georgia, preserves the former Camp Sumter (also known as Andersonville Prison), a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp during the American Civil War…. The site is an iconic reminder of the horrors of Civil War prisons. It was commanded by Major Henry Wirz, who was tried and executed after the war for murder. It was overcrowded to four times its capacity, with inadequate water supply, reduction in food rations, and unsanitary conditions. Of the approximately 45,000 Union prisoners held at Camp Sumter during the war, nearly 13,000 men died. The chief causes of death were scurvy, diarrhea, and dysentery. Friends provided care, food, and moral support for others in their social network, which helped a prisoner survive. For the highlights of the trial of Henry Wirz see Librivox recording Henry Wirz, Commander of Andersonville Confederate Prison: Trial and Execution (Excerpt from Trial Of Henry Wirz) by United States Army Staff Judge Advocate. - Summary by Wikipedia and david wales

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