Book Description

It is my opinion that few persons who possess a liberal education, but what, if they make the effort, could write some sort of a book; but to write a book and make it interesting, at the same time have it contain truth and common sense, is no easy task; but to write one and let it contain nothing except plain facts, without any of the coloring which we would give to fiction, and which adds so much charm to the book and interest for the reader, is a greater and much more laborious task. In writing this little book, I have endeavored to keep it clear of all fiction and romance, and to place only facts before the reader. I have not drawn upon my imagination for any incident contained in the following pages. Perhaps some of the incidents may appear unreasonable to those who have grown up within the last decade, and know but little, practically, of the war between the States, and nothing whatever of the life of a prisoner of war; nevertheless, they are all stubborn facts. I have not been solicited by any one to write these reminiscences, but do so through a desire to give my boys, some idea of a few of the painful scenes and terrible consequences of that fearful war of 1861-1865. I shall in this brief little history of prison-life passed in the military prison at Camp Douglas, Illinois, give the unwritten incidents which occurred within the inclosure of the prison walls, at least, the part in which myself, with a few others participated, and to describe minutely, as near as possible, all the inanimate objects and some of the animate, together with full particulars of all the occurrences which happened within my observation. I desire, as it were, to have the reader accompany me within the enclosure of the prison walls and paint the whole as nearly as possible as it transpired—let him view it with the mind's eye in its reality, without exaggeration or coloring. It is my intention to give the reader a faithful and true account of all that passed before me while I was a prisoner of war, with which I was personally connected; also those of which I was an eye-witness, at the time and place of which I am writing. Not our meals only shall be fully and particularly described, but our table-ware, from the oyster-can to the tin plate. I am not a gentleman of wealth or leisure; hence, I have been unable to devote a year or two in preparing the manuscript for the publisher, but have been compelled to scratch it off at odd times when I could do so, without encroaching upon my business. My attempt has been to use the simplest language, to make my meaning clear, and the construction accurate. Whenever I have seen proper to quote anything from others, I have indicated the same by quotation points.JOHN M. COPLEY.