A college graduate at 16 and a founder of the Sigma Chi fraternity, Caldwell entered the Confederate Army as an artillery lieutenant. He fought at Shiloh, Port Hudson and other campaigns before being captured in 1863 and imprisoned on Johnson's Island, in Lake Erie, near Sandusky, Ohio. He kept a daily diary for 18 months, describing the prison food and conditions, as well as his classical and intellectual interests. The book features letters, a poem, notes, and an index.

"Decidedly the best location": establishing the prison -- "A prison for officers alone": early days of operation -- "Everything in prison is elated": the road to exchange -- "It requires only proper energy and judgment": the second wave of prisoners -- "This horrid life of inactivity": the battle with boredom -- "A matter of necessity": prison economics -- "A guard for unarmed men": guards and commanders -- "Almost a fixed impossibility": escapes and attempts -- "The wrath of hunger": rations and Union retaliation -- "A pitiful scene": climate and health -- "Sad and glad at the same time": the road to release

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