Almost certainly a highly fictionalized memoir, but interesting for being contemporary to the period.

Wonderful first person tale of a reporter for the New York Tribune who roamed the South incognito during the early days of the Civil War, reporting back on the mood there. Eventually, his ruse was suspected and he fled back north, only to be taken prisoner when the boat he was on going down the Mississippi was captured. The remainder of the story relates his stay in a Confederate prison, his escape, and the long trip back to freedom. Includes an engraving of Richardson in the frontispiece.

Fascinating contemporary read of a confusing period of trial and triumph. ( )