author
John Levi Maile
b. 1844
A Civil War veteran wrote this vivid firsthand account of captivity at Andersonville, one of the Confederacy's most notorious prison camps. His memoir stands out for its direct, personal detail and its effort to preserve the memory of suffering, survival, and comradeship.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Cambridge, England, in 1844, John Levi Maile later made his life in the United States and served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He is best remembered as the author of Prison Life in Andersonville, a memoir drawn from his experience as a prisoner of war.
That book offers a firsthand look at conditions inside Andersonville and reflects Maile's determination to record what he and other soldiers endured. For listeners interested in Civil War history, his writing is valuable not just as testimony, but as the work of someone who wanted those experiences remembered in human terms.
Available records also indicate that he lived a long life after the war and died in California in 1934. Clear biographical details beyond his military service and memoir are limited in the sources I could confirm, which makes the surviving book itself the strongest window into his life and voice.