TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have beencorrected after careful comparison with other occurrences withinthe text and consultation of external sources.
More detail can be found at the end of the book.
FOUR MONTHS IN LIBBY,
AND THE
CAMPAIGN AGAINST ATLANTA.
BY
Capt. I. N. JOHNSTON,
CO. H, SIXTH KENTUCKY VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
CINCINNATI:
PRINTED AT THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN,
FOR THE AUTHOR.
E. P. THOMPSON, PRINTER.
1864.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864,
BY I. N. JOHNSTON,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the SouthernDistrict of Ohio.
PREFACE.
I might plead, with truth, "the solicitationsof friends" as my apology for appearing inprint; but as mine is an unpracticed pen, thepublic, perhaps, may demand a better reason.Without any crime I have been an inmate ofthe foulest of Southern prisons, and a companionof the brave men whose condition andtreatment has called forth the sympathy ofthe nation, and which will yet call forth thecondemnation of the civilized world. I wasone of the party that planned and executedone of the most remarkable escapes knownto history—the record of which will be enduringas that of the war itself. The laborsand perils of which I was a partaker will, Iam well assured, give an interest to thesepages which the charm of style can never impartto a tale wanting in stirring incident. Iwrite, then, simply because I have a story totell, which many will take pleasure in hearing,[4]and which, I doubt not, in after years willemploy a more skillful pen than mine.
Those with whom I have sat around thecamp-fire, shared the weariness of the march,and the dangers of the battle, will like mystory none the less for being plainly told; andmy companions in Libby, and the partners ofmy flight, will think of other matters than brilliantsentences and round periods, as they readthese pages. I claim no leadership in the enterpriseof which I write—the time has not yetcome to give honor to whom honor is due; thereason of my silence in this respect will appearin the course of my narrative.
When I began these pages I had no intentionof carrying the reader beyond my escapefrom Libby. I have, however, been inducedto add an account of Sherman's great campaignagainst Atlanta; and while this will, perhaps,have less interest for the general reader, it willpossess more for those who were with me inthat memorable march. My friends, I am sure,will be indulgent; may I express the hope thatall others will have their sympathies too mucharoused for our brave boys, still in prison, tobe critical?
I. N. Johnston.