War is messy. In Peter Carlson’s book, Junius and Albert’s Adventures in the Confederacy: A Civil War Odyssey, two Union journalists cross enemy lines and get all-too-close to this truth. In documenting the harsh realities of the Civil War, Junius Browne and Albert Richardson, the book’s two main protagonists, dodge Confederate bullets and risk their own lives for news.  Both want to be the first to eyewitness and report on key battles. But in 1862, on their way to the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas, the intrepid journalists are captured by the Confederates. Yet, in spite of hardship and suffering, nothing stops them from their journalistic mission. Shuttled from one prison to the next, they document the harrowing conditions of war and prisoner abuse. Junius and Albert’s Adventures (which is based on a true story, uncovered by the author) provides a powerful argument for the challenge and necessity of war reporting.

Browne and Richardson’s attempted escapes from various prisons form the core of the book’s plot. After eleven months in captivity in the most notorious Confederate prison, Salisbury, these hated “Yanks” are finally able to break free. Heading North, Browne and Richardson rely on the good graces of individuals they encounter along the way, from Union sympathizers and “bushwackers” who prey on both sides, to free and unfree slaves who feed and shelter them. Along the way, the narrative is filled with poignant examples of sacrifice and risk-taking in the face of war. For example, in one unforgettably moving and inspirational scene, a runaway slave who “noticed that Browne had no hat to wear on the long, cold journey,” pulls off his own and gives it to him. The hat is a humble thing, but the slave’s gesture is grand. In the messiness of war, the reader is invited to ponder the imponderable: man who is a slave and who owns almost nothing—not even himself—is willing to give one of his only possessions, a hat, to a stranger. But he himself will now be cold. Even with the extreme risks of sheltering Union sympathizers, the reader will learn how individuals—no matter what the circumstances or how disenfranchised—never lose their capacity to empathize with another human being.

I picked up Junius and Albert’s Adventures because a bookseller recommended it to me. I enjoy learning about history. War stories interest me in particular because they are so often filled with stories of human perseverance. The book not only depicts the brutality of the Civil War but, considering the degree of such brutality, it is almost hard to believe that Americans are “united under one country.” Junius and Albert’s Adventures is a telling reminder of how exposing the crimes of war is a vital public service. Indeed, the protagonists’ reports led to the decommissioning of the Salisbury prison and the freeing of its Union prisoners. As to the bigger question—of whether humans can be selfless in the face of war—the reader will find that the answer is, at times, a resounding yes.