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It was
a welcome weekend in the midst of a grueling work project when I decided
to spend the day driving from my base in Augusta, Georgia to Andersonville
to see the famed confederate prison camp otherwise known as Camp Sumter.
It was here on these peaceful fields that almost 13,000 Union soldiers
died from disease or malnutrition due to the abhorrent conditions. Rumor
has it that the battlefield is haunted, so of course, I could not resist!
On my
drive across Georgia, I stumbled across a nice little churchyard
cemetery at the Providence Baptist Church
and had to stop to take a few pictures. I also
detoured during my drive through Macon to admire some of the great old
Southern architecture. I also saved a turtle
from certain annihilation on the road but for some inexplicable reason
I didn't see fit to take a picture of the carapaced creature for posterity.
How dim of me!
Before
too long, my leisurely southern drive had dead-ended at the infamous
Andersonville Prison Camp itself. I first entered the National Prisoner
of War Museum, which features a number of interesting relics from the
camp, including a ledger which includes the
names of some of the unfortunate northerners who died here, and some
of the original posts and locking
mechanisms from the camp. There is also a wealth of historic
information here as well. (This one is too blurry to read, but states:
"(Left) Jacob F. Goodbread, a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, was
drafted into Company B, 147th New York Infantry, in August 1863. He
was captured at the Wilderness and died in Andersonville in August 1864.
(Right) Samuel George Fletcher, a private in Company D, 5th New York
Artillery, was captured at Piedmont, Virginia in June 1864. He survived
his imprisonment at Andersonville and returned for the dedication of
the New York monument there in 1916.")
But
the best parts of the museum are the creepy mannequins from various
eras/wars depicting pale, emaciated prisoners in shackles
or attempting to dig their way to freedom. These
figures went a long way towards making you appreciate the Andersonville
Experience. Of course, shackles by themselves
are always fun, as are recreations of isolation
cages and vintage handcuffs. On the whole,
the museum was a quite satisfying experience.
However,
the prison camp itself is what was really beckoning me, so I soon found
myself wandering out the backdoor of the museum and into the beautiful
courtyard that forms an exceptional bridge between the museum and
the endless acres (well, 515 to be precise) of the camp grounds. This
statue was very picturesque and on such an exceptionally
hot day, I could really appreciate the running water!
Once
I passed by the memorial fountain, the sun was unrelenting. I really
wondered if it would be worth the bother to wander around these fields
at all, but I couldn't let the opportunity pass me by. With a sigh,
I began to walk the shadeless perimeter of the camp, documenting the
scenery as I sweated and cursed the sun. And here is what I saw....
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There
are numerous placards explaining points of interest around the
park. From this one you can see the rebuilt portion of the wooden
fence that surrounded the perimeter of the camp. Ugh, it looks
soooo far away...
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Here's
a closer view of the replica of the stockade that surrounded
the camp. The prison camp was originally about 16 1/2 acres
of land enclosed by a 15 foot high stockade of hewn pine logs.
It was enlarged to 26 1/2 acres in June of 1864.
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This
placard features a photograph of the stockade in its prior incarnation.
Here's what it says: "The unhewn logs with daylight between
them betray the Confederates' haste to expand the north end of
camp. In contrast, the reconstruction at the North Gate section
shows the carefully planned design of the stockade's initial 16
acres, when officials planned for only 6,000 prisoners. The outer
row of white posts marks the perimeter of the stockade; inner
posts mark the deadline. The area between was a no-man's land.
If prisoners crossed the deadline, guards in the sentry boxes
had orders to shoot them."
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Here
is a good view of the stockade with one of the sentry boxes
(or "pigeon roosts"). They were mounted every 100
feet along the stockade. The guards actually suffered from many
of the same health problems - disease, malnutrition - that plagued
the prisoners, resulting in a high death rate. Consequently,
guard positions were filled by the very old and very young,
leaving the seasoned troops for the battlefields.
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They
have also recreated the "shebangs" (meager shelters,
not the William Hung song!) that the prisoners inhabited as
well. The prisoners at Andersonville had to provide their own
shelters. With sticks and pieces of clothing, the prisoners
improvised leaky tents and lean-tos. Many prisoners had no shelter
at all.
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Protection
from rain, dew and broiling sun became a matter of life or death.
Exposure aggravated many illnesses and infections, contributing
to the soaring mortality rate.
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This
is actually one of the nicer ones - practically a mansion by
Andersonville standards!
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This
placard contained a photograph of the crowded camp in its "prime".
I think I'd rather stay at the Motel 6, thanks!
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Scattered
throughout the camp are these cement and steel markers indicating
the site of historic wells. Some of the soldiers would dig their
own wells and would sell the water to their co-horts. You could
also purchase "holdings" in the wells. It was a much
better option than having to drink the water from the stream
which ran through the middle of the camp, which was polluted
by the Confederate cookhouse upstream. If you wanted to survive
your imprisonment, clean water was a must.
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It
would be far too huge of an undertaking to build a replica of
the stockade around the entire prison camp, so except for a
couple of spots, most of the perimeter is marked by signposts
like this one, which informs us where the deadline once stood.
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"This
photograph was taken in August 1864 from a sentry box. The photographer
was A.J. Riddle, who was preparing a report for the Confederate
government. Riddle's seven glass-plate negatives were apparently
the only photographs of Andersonville taken during the war.
Like a double exposure, the surviving photos superimpose the
historic reality on today's pastoral scene."
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Here's
a nice view of that very land, taken from outside of the stockade,
looking in. This shot shows the relationship between the stockade
wall markers and the deadline markers. You can see some of the
memorials across the field in the distance.
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This
view gives you a good idea of the size of the camp.
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Another
shot of the stakes which mark the perimeter of the camp.
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"This
downstream end of Stockade Branch was the site of the camp 'sinks'
or latrines. According to the Confederates' original plan, prisoners
would get drinking water upstream and use latrines downstream,
where the current would flush sewage out of the camp. Inadvertently,
the prison was designed for death. Stockade posts slowed the
drainage, and during dry spells the creek became more swamp
than flowing stream. Dysentery swept the camp."
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Here's
a view of the sinks as they look today. I stood here trying
to feel the haunted vibes that others have described but instead
I felt strangely peaceful. Obviously, it was a huge disappointment
to me!
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Another
shot of the stockade and dead line near the sinks.
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Here's
a view from the far edge of the camp.
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At
the far end of the camp, I crossed the road up to the location
of the Commandant's headquarters. "From these heights near
headquarters, Capt. Henry A. Wirz could observe everything within
the prison walls. Envision the white post perimeter as the stockade;
30,000 human beings within that area; the din of all those voices,
the groans from the hospital, the shouts of the guards, the smell
of unwashed clothes and bodies. Today's landscape of quiet grass
softens for us the images of Andersonville. Wirz, the prison commandant,
did not have that luxury."
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"The
Wirz execution, November 10, 1865. The prison commandant, Capt.
Henry A. Wirz, was responsible for maintaining order and discipline,
imposing punishment and providing rations. In search of a scapegoat
after the war, the federal government tried Wirz for "murder,
in violation of the laws of war" and sentenced him to death.
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This
placard is along the boundaries of the Star Fort:
"Within this stronghold stood the offices of the post commander
and the prison commandant. Fort and headquarters were symbols
of power, but the fully enclosed earthworks also reflect the authorities'
besieged state of mind. Hampered by supply shortages and a constant
influx of new prisoners, Confederates here were responsible for
operating a prison camp under conditions they could hardly control.
Four of the Star Fort's guns were trained outward to repel Union
cavalry raids. The other five cannon were aimed toward the north
slope of the prison camp."
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Here's
a vintage cannon at the Star Fort boundary.
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There
were a few "fantasy role-players" dressed up in 1860's
era clothing walking about the battlefield as well. You can see
a couple of them in this shot.
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I
thought this was quite a profound composition since, as we all
know, war is definitely the "wrong way" to go about
living. I know you're impressed with my profundity - you don't
need to say so.
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On
the southern side of the camp are these markers - for the stockade
wall and the south gate.
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"This
stream, a branch of Sweetwater Creek, was the prisoner's water
supply. Today's neatly dredged channel is misleading. When the
prison was built, the stockade posts slowed the current, turning
the stream banks into acres of stagnant swamp. The prisoners'
latrines stood downstream. Overcrowding soon fouled the water,
and the sluggish current failed to wash sewage out of the prison.
The stream's bacteria quickly became lethal."
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This
is a replica of the North Gate at the camp.
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I
was quite pleased - and frightened - to run into two genuine "the
south shall rise again" rednecks!
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This
is Providence Spring: "During a heavy rainstorm on August
14, 1864, a spring suddenly gushed from this hillside. The prisoners
were desperate for fresh water, and over time the event became
legendary. Several men claimed to have seen lightning strike this
spot just before the spring burst forth. This damp slope, with
its many natural seeps, would appear to be a likely site for a
spring. Workmen may have inadvertently buried the spring's outlet
while digging the stockade trench. Whether an act of nature or
divine providence, the effect of the stream was an answer to thousands
of prayers."
"This
pavilion was erected by the Woman's Relief Corps, Auxiliary to
the Grand Army of the Republic. In grateful memory of the men
who suffered and died in the Confederate Prison at Andersonville
Georgia, from February 1864 to April 1865.
"The
prisoner's cry of thirst rang up to heaven. God heard, and with
his thunder cleft the earth and poured his sweetest waters gushing
here.
Erected 1901."
"This
fountain erected by the National Association of Union Ex-Prisoners
of War in memory of the 52,345 comrades who were confined here
as prisoners of war and of the 13,900 comrades buried in the adjoining
national cemetery. Dedicated Memorial Day May thirtieth nineteen
hundred and one.
James Atwell, National Commander.
S.M. Long, Adj't. Gen'l.
J. D. Walker, Ch'n. Ex. Committee."
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After
spending a few minutes at the peaceful fountain, I wandered up
to take a closer look at the North Gate.
"When
the inner gates swung open, new prisoners had their first vision
of life inside. The noise, the stench, the crowd of emaciated
men desperate for news, must have been overwhelming. New arrivals
were known as 'fresh fish'. Anything of value - money, buttons,
clothing - might be conned or stolen from them. Even worse was
the sight of other prisoners in those skeletal forms and lifeless
eyes; a new prisoner could foresee his own fate."
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Like
all proper Civil War battlefields, Andersonville has its share
of monuments. In the foreground is the Tennessee monument which
states, "In memory of her Union soldiers and loyal sons who
died in Confederate prisons during the war of 1861-65. We who
live may for ourselves forget but not for those who died here."
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This
is the impressive Ohio monument.
"To her 1055 loyal sons who died here in Camp Sumpter from
March 1864 to April 1865 this monument is dedicated."
"Death
Before Dishonor"
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This
was my favorite of the memorials - from Michigan.
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This
monument, from Wisconsin, has a sort of "Third Reich"
feel to it, don't you think?
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The
ravages of time have destroyed most of the evidence of the human
occupation of Andersonville. However, there are still a few holes
that were dug by prisoners in escape attempts. Pretty cool!
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Here's
a view of some of the wonderful old trees that line the camp.
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You
can also still see evidence of some of the old trenches that surround
the fort.
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TWO - THE ANDERSONVILLE NATIONAL CEMETERY
At
this point, I left the prison camp site and drove to the nearby Andersonville
National Cemetery for a walk around the final resting site for almost
13,000 of the prisoners at Andersonville. The cemetery was dedicated
as a national cemetery on August 17, 1865.
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This
creepy statue of Andersonville prisoners is in the cemetery.
The inscription states, "Turn you to the stronghold, ye
prisoners of hope."
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As
you know, any proper military cemetery will have a memorial
for the unknown soldier. This is the one at Andersonville. Kinda
dull, huh?
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Here
are some of the typical tremendously tedious military-issue gravestones
that cover the ground here. Military cemeteries don't exactly
make for interesting browses, but the lines of stones are quite
orderly.
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Here
it is again - that "Death Before Dishonor" statement,
which doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but then again, I'll
never understand the military mindset... This particular inscription
is tied to the impressive memorial to the Pennsylvania dead.
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I
thought this Magnolia tree near the center of the cemetery was
quite amazing.
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Here's
another of the impressive memorials: "In grateful memory
of those heroic soldiers of Maine, who gave their lives that the
Republic might life. And of those, who daring to die, yet survived
the tortures and horrors of Andersonville Military Prison, 1864
and 1865."
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Leave
it to a military gravestone to bring out the feminist fury in
me. Something just really pissed me off about this stone with
its simple engraving, "Grace T. His Wife". As if she
had no identity outside of being some dead soldier's wife. I
had half a mind to just storm out of the cemetery at that point,
but I had to finish the travelogue. Morbid duty, you know!
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This
might have been the "husband" of the above gravestone,
but I can't recall. Anyway, this shot gives you perspective
on the size of the cemetery.
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Here's
the lovely brown 1908 Indiana Memorial:
"Under
authority of an act of the sixty-fifth General Assembly of the
state of Indiana"
"Indiana
mourns for her fallen heroes, the 702 brave sons, who for the
cause they loved, gave up their lives in Andersonville Prison,
from February 1864 to April 1865"
"Death
did not affright them, nor fear subdue them nor could famine
break their incorruptible spirit"
"Not
theirs the matchless death by sword or shot; instead the agony
of martyrdom"
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More
shots of the many rows of boring old headstones. My visit was
right before Memorial Day, so that explains all of the American
flags. I don't think the place is nearly so patriotic on normal
days.
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I
thought this one (for Iowa's dead) was one of the lovelier and
sadder monuments.
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The
Illinois monument was one of the most elaborate and well-composed.
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The
New York monument can be seen behind the placard which states
the following:
"In1911
the state of New York erected this granite monument to honor
its troops who died in Andersonville prison. Large monuments
were a fashion of the time, built on a scale that would symbolize
the prisoners' enormous sacrifice.
"There
are 12 monuments in this cemetery and 11 at the nearby prison
site. Each has a unique design. Because so little remains of
the historic prison, the monuments form a prominent part of
the Andersonville landscape."
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Here
are some graves of unknown soldiers.
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Finally,
here's the monument for the state of Minnesota:
"Erected
A.D. 1916 by the State of Minnesota in memory of her soldiers
here buried who lost their lives in the service of the United
States in the war for the preservation of the Union A.D. 1861-1865"
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And
with that my trip to Andersonville had reached its end. I drove the
several miles back to Augusta thinking about the ordeal that the soldiers
had gone through in this camp, and wondering if their tortured souls
had found peace. Somehow, I got the feeling while wandering those fallow
but unforgotten fields that they had.
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