Justin Dimick’s Civil War Mission of Mercy
Boston’s Fort Warren housed Confederate POWs during the Civil War, but it was no Andersonville. Only 13 Confederate prisoners out of the more than 2,000 rebels who were imprisoned within its walls died during the Civil War — or just over half of 1 percent, compared to the 12 percent mortality rate for Confederates in all Union prisons combined.
That was thanks in large part to the fort’s commander–Colonel Justin Dimick. “While doing his duty as a soldier, he did not sacrifice his humanity as a man,” wrote one Confederate soldier of Dimick. I was happy to tell the story of Dimick and Fort Warren for this week’s episode of Our American Stories with Lee Habeeb. Click here for a listen.