Captain Henry Wirz and Andersonville Prison: A Reappraisal (review)

T H E A L A B A M A R E V I E W 70 Newton’s classic hymn by contemporary artists Mahalia Jackson and Judy Collins and tells readers that the melody was used in sound track of the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The second section is comprised of four essays that offer cultural insights from studies of hymnals, their organization, and editorial debate and practices. Familiar hymns still in common use whose textual evolution are followed include Rock of Ages; Eternal Father, Strong to Save; Battle Hymn of the Republic; and Onward Christian Soldiers. Despite the scholarly presentations, some readers may be inclined to chuckle as they read about the nineteenth century debates over the appropriateness of “profane ” words such as “bowels” and “bosom” appearing in hymns. This section concludes with a delightful chapter by editor Edith L. Blumhofer that details the collaborative efforts of Fanny Crosby and William Doane, one of the most popular and prolific partnerships of gospel song/gospel tune writers of the late nineteenth century. The concluding section of Sing Them Over Again to Me examines four eras of Protestantism and attempts to understand them more completely by examining the hymnody they used. For this reader, Dennis Dickerson’s essay, “Richard Allen and the Making of African Methodism” was most enlightening. Other essays examine the theological and social content of hymnody from 1830 to 1890, children’s hymns written to support social issues of the day (patriotism, temperance, and the anti-slavery movement), and the role of domesticity in American hymns. Sing Them Over Again to Me will be of interest to the literary scholar, the historian, the hymnologist, the musician (especially church musicians), ministers, and to anyone who enjoys hymn singing and desires to understand more fully their historical background and cultural influences. DALE PETERSON Auburn, Alabama Captain Henry Wirz and Andersonville Prison: A Reappraisal. By R. Fred Ruhlman. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2006. xvi, 270 pp. $34.95. ISBN 1-57233-541-6. R. Fred Ruhlman treats Henry Wirz with icy detachment, not as a Swiss immigrant seeking to support some dreamy cause in North America. Even as emotions beset the reader in the cruel chapters dealing with Wirz’s trial and execution, Ruhlman remains behind the historian’s screen, allowing cautiously selected official documents and personal accounts to J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 71 frame the sequence of events. This approach creates a curious, but entirely proper, reaction for the reader of an historical drama. Objectivity almost becomes a character sitting silently in the courtroom with hands folded as the military commission hears unreliable testimony. The story of Henry Wirz and the Andersonville military prison grew to be an obsession with F.B.I. special agent Fred Ruhlman. Upon his retirement , after twenty years service with the bureau, Ruhlman determined to prepare a study. The result is a bold new look at a wildly controversial subject by a practiced investigator, new to the field of Civil War history. He sets out to examine the conflict’s prisoner of war questions, focusing specifically on Andersonville (Camp Sumter as it was known officially) and its commandant, Henry Wirz. The study begins with two tightly written chapters about the tangled, maddening policies of the Confederacy and the United States regarding prisoners of war. This discussion is fair and judicious. Without this prevailing tone, casual readers, I fear, would have flipped pages to reach Andersonville and Wirz, dismissing the context essential to understanding such an enduring Civil War question. During the Civil War, America failed to deal with the issue of POWs and instead relied on the antiquated cartel and military justice system that prevailed during the War of 1812. Ruhlman also sheds light on the medical and sanitary practices of Civil War armies, prison food (its delivery and preparation), water and fuel supplies, clothing, and shelter. Ruhlman thus establishes essential context for understanding the hurried creation of Camp Sumter in a countryside of plenty from which much was expected but little obtained —food, wood, and troops. Prisoners and guards at the facility witnessed the...