Andersonville, National POW Museum

[PHO127]

As I left the hunting lease on the back road to Warm Springs I passed by Andersonville, Ga. Made a drive thru tour as I have been there before, Sobering.

[DMZ-LT]

They hung the guy that ran it.

[PHO127]

and there was precious little of that. Difficult to imagine over 30,000 POWs in an apen area about the size of 4 city blocks with one small stream running thru it. The POW cemetery tells the story of how bad it was. Thousands of civil war markers with "Unknown Union Soldier" inscribed on them.

[catman]

Sid...where is that from the Mountain? Is that more Southern georgia?

Trav

[Jerry D]

Ya'all should know that If Sherman Hadn't decimated the Crops when he cleared the Georgia Country side from Atlanta(burned down& Blown up by Union Artillery) to Savannah and the Union Gunboat blockade didn't help either.Them Soldiers would have been well fed! In case ya'll don't know the Guards at Andersonville gave their Daily Noon Rations (which happened to be the same as what the prisoners ate)to the Union soldiers because they could forage outside the camp for rations and the prisoners were confined to the camp.A Delegation of UNION Officers from Andersonville were sent to Jacksonville,FL to Fort Clinch to arrange a Prisoner exchange. The Union Commander of Ft Clinch told them that Sec.of War Stanton had Ordered that Prisoner Exchanges be Discontinued for the duration of the war(his orders are on file in the National Achieves also)Since these officers were Gentlemen they turned around and marched back to Andersonville Prison to Starve at the direction of the Union Army because they GAVE their word they would return to prison if the Exchange didn't go thru!These Union Officers were Gentlemen and had Honor a quality General Sherman failed at.His often quoted phrase is still used in various ways today "The only good ______ is a dead _______" you can fill in the blank with Confederate and later add Indian and it would be a direct quote of Generals Sherman and Sheridan. Plus Lincoln banned medical supplies for the south even though the South offered to let Union Docs come down to Andersonville to Administer the medicine them selves. General Sherman declared on January 31, 1864 that "To the petulant and
persistent secessionists, why, death is mercy." In a July 31, 1862 letter to his
wife he said his goal was "extermination, not of soldiers alone, that is the least part of the trouble, but the people." And so he burned the towns of Randolph, Tennessee, Jackson and Meridian, Mississippi, and Atlanta to the ground after the Confederate army had left; bombarded cities occupied only by civilians in violation of the Geneva Convention of 1863; and boasted in his
memoirs of destroying $100 million in private property and stealing another $20
million worth. All of this destroyed food stuffs and left women, children, and
the elderly in the cold of winter without shelter or food.Its in the Achieves and pre 70's history books . So Capt Wirtz was Lynched by a Kangaroo Court .BTW the Camp was built to contain 6000 prisoners and swelled to 30,000 because they didn't have any place to Go such at it is. Imagine the State of GA from Atlanta to Savannah with a sixty mile swath burned and cleared of all Food or trees/lumber. Blockades on the Atlantic Ports of St Marys,Brunswick,Darien, and Savannah GA. Then there was the Blockade of Mobile and Georgia was cut off from Civilization. All Grant had to do was starve the CSA and the Civilians and they could just walk into the rest of Georgia and clean house which they did! Just ask any Georgian that has family of at least 5 generations native to this state about "Sherman" you won't get a very nice reception I tell you what! My Folks were from Missouri and we had Martial Law under the Yankees and anything that wasn't nailed down grew two legs and walked off wearing a Blue Coat and US belt buckle and their wern't a thing a Southern Missourian could do about it. But, hope Billy Yank didn't hear about the root cellar back in the hollar. or the Mules and milk cow in the limestone caves. The Drake constitution in Missouri and the same similar State Constitutions that were Written after the War before a State could come back into the Union and only certain folks in Georgia and the South could Vote. But, you still had to pay "taxes" on your land even though you weren't allowed to vote (because you were a Confederate or a Confederate Sympathizer) which a Yankee Provo Marshall determined whether a Southerner could vote and how HIGH your taxes were to be accessed too.

BTW, I do feel sorry for the Men who are Buried at Andersonville "both" Union and Confederate. But , please don't forget the same amount of graves for Confederate Soldiers exist in each of the following Union Ran POW camps located in Elmira NY, Pt Lookout MD, and Camp Douglass in Chicago Ill. And their was plenty of FOOD,Medicine and warm blankets to keep Prisoners healthy. If Sec of War Stanton and his Wardens of the Union Ran POW camps would have followed the Geneva Convention which existed in 1863 A lot more Uncles and Grampa's would have survived their captivity. The south's excuse was they had no supplies but, what was President Lincolns Excuse? The simple fact he wanted to Punish the South for using their Constitutional right to Secede from the Union which existed in 1861. Congress changed that when they passed the 13th and 14th Amendment. Today A State is Part of the USA in 1861 the US was made up out of the Individual "States" and was referred to as These United States of America. Now we have reduced the rights of States to a subservient of the body politic instead of the Government serving the people we now serve the Government. If you don't believe this try NOT paying your INCOME TAXES sometime and see if the Government don't come demanding that you pay UP!

[Jerry D]

Travis , Its right near Plains Georgia home of Jimmy Carter so you can make a two/fer one trip if you've never been their before. Its between Macon and Columbus GA in the South western corner of GA. Off of I-75 they have Markers around Vienna for Hwy 27 to Americus then north on Hwy 49.

[Packo]

Jerry,

Your little taught history lesson is true. Emira NY camp took more lives, from what I understand, than Andersonville. Problem is, winners write history and can convieniently leave out what ever they want. The South was starving. The North wasn't. There is no excuse for what the Union did to our prisoners.

J.EB.

SCV Member

[PHO127]

Died in POW camp at Elmira. Have to look in the family tree but we have his grave registration number.

[PHO127]

and visit and take a tour of South Georgia I am sure it can be arranged. Took 5 days once and drove from Atlanta to Savannah by all the back roads. Lots of history, Found a Revolutionary War cemetery That held the first State Supreme Court Justice.

YA' LL COME YA HEAR.

[Packo]

Deb and I took Georgia back roads from Beaufort to Dalonaga. We had a blast! Then back roads from Dalonaga to Brevard, NC. It was a great trip until we ran into Zero visablility in the mountains. Had to spend the night in Highlands, NC. Could not see over the hood. Except for time limits traveling sometimes, we try to always take the old roads. Better food in local restraunts. Much more fun.

Pack