"The first battle of Bull Run was fought July twenty-first, 1861, and the shock of arms was felt throughout the land, carrying triumph to the South, and to the North dismay. Our proud and confident advance into 'Dixie' was not only checked, but turned into a disastrous rout. The patriotic but unwarlike enthusiasm of the country, which had hoped to crush the rebellion with seventy-five thousand men, was temporarily stifled. But the chilling was only like that of the first stealthy drops of the thunder-gust upon a raging fire, which breaks out anew and with increased vigor when the tempest fans it with its fury, and now burns in spite of a deluge of rain. The chill had passed and the fever was raging. From the great centres of national life went forth warm currents of renovating public opinion, which reached the farthest hamlet on our frontiers. Every true man was grasping the stirring questions of the day, and was discussing them with his family at his own fireside, and the rebellion was just as surely doomed as when Grant received the surrender of Lee's army. In a deeper and broader sense than before, the country was rising to meet the emergency, and northern patriotism, now thoroughly aroused, was sweeping everything before it. Everywhere resounded the cry, 'To arms!' and thousands upon thousands were responding to the President's call. "It was under these circumstances that I enlisted, as a private soldier, at Troy, New York, on the sixth day of August, in a company raised by Captain Clarence Buel, for the Second Regiment of New York Cavalry. It is needless to make elaborate mention of the motives which induced me to enter the service, or the emotions which then filled my breast; they can be readily conjectured by every loyal heart." The Press, throughout the North (and West, as far as its circulation had reached), spoke very highly of the production and of its author, all bearing the same testimony to its excellence and truthfulness. The Albany _Evening Post_ says: "'The Capture, Prison-Pen and Escape' is the title of an intensely interesting work, giving a complete history of prison-life in the South. The book is at once accurate, graphic and admirably written. It is full of adventure, and quite as readable as a romance. A person who reads this volume will have a better idea of what it cost in the way of blood, suffering and courage, to preserve the Republic, than he can now possibly entertain." The Cleveland _Daily Leader_ writes: "We have had the pleasure of reading this book. It describes, in the most graphic and interesting style, the prison-life of Union soldiers in the South, their plans of escape, and their various trials and hardships there. The history contained in the book is very valuable. The Press, all over the land, speaks very highly of it, and we can do naught but add our commendations to the rest." The New York _Reformer_ exclaims: