Dancing along the deadline : the Andersonville memoir of a prisoner of the Confederacy /

YA‘A readable account by a young Union soldier who was captured in July 1864, during the unsuccessful Northern assault on Fort Johnson, which protected Charleston, SC. These moving memoirs recall Private Ezra Ripple's incarceration at Camp Sumter, the horrible Confederate prison at Andersonville, and later at Florence, SC. This courageous young soldier was appalled by the filth, paucity of food and water, and the crowded, inhumane conditions that prevailed in these institutions. Ripple's skill in playing the fiddle provided a morale boost for his fellow inmates and even motivated some of the healthier men to dance and exercise in time with the music. Since these memoirs were written several decades after the war ended, Ripple's observations were somewhat softened by the passage of time. This slim volume is an excellent primary source for students interested in the Civil War. The author commissioned Taylor, an artist and Civil War veteran, to illustrate his story with sketches. Chapter notes and a list of illustrations provide adequate documentation.‘Peggy Mooney, Pohick Public Library, Burke, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.