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Andersonville Raiders
Yankee versus Yankee in the Civil War's Most Notorious Prison Camp
By Gary Morgan
Published by Stackpole Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
It was the most witnessed execution in US history.
On the evening of July 11, 1864, six men were marched into Andersonville Prison, surrounded by a cordon of guards, the prison commandant, and a Roman Catholic priest. The six men were handed over to a small execution squad, and while more than 26,000 Union prisoners looked on, the six were executed by hanging. The six, part of a larger group known as the Raiders, were killed, not by their Rebel enemies but by their fellow prisoners, for the crimes of robbing and assaulting their own comrades.
Who were these six men? Were they really guilty of the crimes they were accused of? Were they really, as some prisoners alleged, murderers? What role did their Confederate captors play in their trial and execution? What brought about their downfall? Relying on military records, diaries, memoirs written within five years of the prison closing, and the recently discovered trial transcript, author Gary Morgan has discovered a version of events that is markedly different from the version told in later day “memoirs” and repeated in the history books. Here, for the first time in a century and a half, is the real story of the Andersonville Raiders.
On the evening of July 11, 1864, six men were marched into Andersonville Prison, surrounded by a cordon of guards, the prison commandant, and a Roman Catholic priest. The six men were handed over to a small execution squad, and while more than 26,000 Union prisoners looked on, the six were executed by hanging. The six, part of a larger group known as the Raiders, were killed, not by their Rebel enemies but by their fellow prisoners, for the crimes of robbing and assaulting their own comrades.
Who were these six men? Were they really guilty of the crimes they were accused of? Were they really, as some prisoners alleged, murderers? What role did their Confederate captors play in their trial and execution? What brought about their downfall? Relying on military records, diaries, memoirs written within five years of the prison closing, and the recently discovered trial transcript, author Gary Morgan has discovered a version of events that is markedly different from the version told in later day “memoirs” and repeated in the history books. Here, for the first time in a century and a half, is the real story of the Andersonville Raiders.
Product Details
- Publisher: Stackpole Books (March 15, 2020)
- Length: 240 pages
- ISBN13: 9780811738842
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Raves and Reviews
The Raiders have been shrouded in mystery from the moment their bodies dangled from that makeshift gallows in 1864. Gary Morgan steers through a century and a half of myth and misinformation to reveal the real men and their stories. Exquisite detective work!
– Glen Swain, author of The Bloody 7th
The story of Andersonville's Raiders has long fascinated those interested in the history of the Civil War's most notorious military prison. Gary Morgan's well-written and deeply researched book uncovers the identity of the six marauders, their actions at Andersonville, and their fate as they faced the gallows. It is a welcome addition to the bookshelf of anyone interested in Andersonville and in Civil War prisons.
– Angela M. Zombek, author of Penitentiaries, Punishment, & Military Prisons: Familiar Responses to an Extraordinary Crisis during the American Civil War
The greater saga of the horrors of Andersonville, America’s deadliest Civil War prison camp, often hides the great significance of individual events. Here Morgan examines the Andersonville raiders, the men who formed gangs to rob other prisoners. Contrary to the image of them in MacKinley Kantor’s novel Andersonville, the author here examines them as criminals, legends, real people, survivors, and victims brought to trial and execution by their own comrades for crimes within greater horrors.
– Robert Scott Davis, author of Ghosts and Shadows of Andersonville: Essays on the Secret Histories of America's Deadliest Prison
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