Numbering all the Bones

Originally published in 2002, Numbering All the Bones is historical fiction for middle-grade readers. The novel is written by New York author Ann Rinaldi, who died at age 86 in July 2021. The novel tells the story of the changes in Eulinda’s life as the Civil War ends in the mid-1860s and she is no longer enslaved. Pond Bluff, the plantation where Eulinda lives, is adjacent to Andersonville Confederate Prison.

During the last 18 months of the Civil War, 13,000 captive Union soldiers died in Andersonville. Rinaldi stated that her curiosity about how residents could know what was happening at the prison and not intervene was what prompted her to write the book. The narrative discusses topics including slavery, racism, imprisonment, pestilence, and death. The version of the book summarized here is the Disney Book Jump at the Sun, 2005 edition.

Plot Summary

The prologue begins with Eulinda Kellogg as a freedwoman living in Washington, D.C. and working as an assistant to Clara Barton. Passing by a pawnshop window, Eulinda sees a ring that played a pivotal role in the history of her family. This coincidence causes her to reflect on her life as an enslaved person on the Pond Bluff plantation in South Georgia adjacent to Andersonville Confederate Prison.