Rare survival stories show the resilience and hidden strength of people in the face of adversity.
Sumter concentration camp, also known as Andersonville prison established by the Confederate government, is notorious for its brutality, crowding, and filth, according to the Out door revival.
Andersonville was the burial place of 13,000 prisoners during the American Civil War (1861-1865). After the war ended, the prison commander, Captain Henry Wirz was hanged for war crimes.
Among the rare survivors out of Andersonville was Sergeant James Landon, from Iowa. After successfully escaping from prison, Landon was shot in the thigh and forced to use a knife to cut his thigh to get the bullet. However, after 5 days on the run, Landon was arrested and forced to walk back to prison on his own.
The severe thigh injury plus the poor conditions in Andersonville were seen as a suspended death sentence for Landon. However, contrary to popular expectations, Landon held out for 6 months before being transferred to another prison without any medical support or treatment. With the war over, Landon returned to the North, where he received his first medical care since his injury. Landon lived a healthy life until his death at the age of 83.
Sumter concentration camp, or Andersonville prison, was the grave of thousands of prisoners during the American Civil War. (Photo: History).
Judah Paddock is the captain of the Oswego, the ship that crashed off the coast of Barbary, north Africa in 1800. Leaving the shipwreck, Paddock and his crew, including both British and American, decided to find Morocco, a kingdom with ties close relations with Britain and the United States.
However, the crew is in danger of clashing with the nomadic tribes of the Sahara Desert, who are willing to imprison and enslave anyone who trespasses on their territory.
On the way to Morocco, Captain Paddock and his crew had conflicts and fierce arguments. Paddock was left with a few close friends, then unfortunately fell into the hands of a group of Aboriginal people and was sold into slavery.
Cruelly treated and forced to work day and night to survive, Paddock came up with an idea to convince the slave owner to take him to Morocco, where he assured British officials would pay the ransom for him. Taking the risk of being killed in the middle of the city if this doesn’t materialize, Paddock travels to Morocco and is ransomed by a British official. Paddock’s other confidants were not as fortunate as the captain, they died while enslaved.
After being assigned to the Royal Navy, British sailor Robert Jaffrey was not interested in the job and felt resentful of working under Captain Lake on the battleship Recruit. Once caught stealing wine that angered Captain Lake, Jaffrey was left on a deserted island without food.
When the news reached his superiors, Lake was ordered to return to the island and bring the soldier home, but the captain could not find Jeffrey on the island. Lake was later charged with misconduct and fired.
However, Jeffrey was lucky to survive on a deserted island for 9 days by eating limpet sea slugs and drinking rainwater contained in small holes in the rocks before being rescued by a passing American boat and taken to Massachusetts, USA. He lived here for many years before returning to England.
After many days on the run from the Ghilzai swordsmen, Dr. Brydon was one of the few who survived. (Photo: Out door revival).
After capturing the Afghan capital Kabul in 1839, the British had to deal with rebel tribes to hold the city. However, after only two years, the British army was forced to withdraw when the situation worsened. A total of 4,500 soldiers and 12,000 civilians had to leave Kabul and begin their journey to India.
On the way to flee, they were massacred by the Ghilzai tribe and the army of the Afghan warlord Muhammad Akbar, killing 12,000 people. British surgeon William Brydon was one of the few survivors. He decided to run back to Jalalabad with a few others. After days of fending off Ghilzai’s swordsmen on horseback, Dr. Brydon escaped a bloody pursuit when he was helped by the soldiers of Jalalabad.