Andersonville is a sleepy little rural community in southwest Georgia (about an hour drive for us). About 18 months before the end of the civil war, both the Union and Confederate sides had a large number of prisoners of war. This number was large and increasing daily because neither side expected the war to last this long and a program to exchange prisoners had collapsed. Therefore, both sides were forced to retain large numbers of prisoners. The Union side was better equipped to handle this situation due in part to their superior infrastructure. The Confederates however, lacked money, men or supplies for this undertaking. Andersonville was chosen as a prison site because it was away from enemy lines and large cities. It was also close to a railroad line which could bring in both prisoners and supplies. A plot of land was cleared in the pine forest and pine wood timbers were used to build a stockade about 20 feet tall which enclosed approximately 25 acres of land. Slave labor was used to help complete the prison quickly and prepare for the influx of prisoners which soon swelled the prison population to over 35,000. Aside from the stockade, the only construction which had taken place were buildings to serve the Confederate guards. Inside the prison, there was only open land and the prisoners had to construct there own shelters out of any material they either brought with them such as blankets or overcoats, or material they could find such as pine straw or tree branches. At first, the only source of water for the prison was a small stream which was partly contaminated before it entered the camp because of itÕs use by the guards. The stream provided water for drinking, bathing, and before leaving the camp, a sewer. The daily food ration for each man was a quarter pound of corn meal and occasionally a piece of pork. ThatÕs all! Can you image that diet for 18 months! Needless to say, malnutrition and disease took a heavy toll and the number who died during the campÕs existence was about 12,000. ( The disclosure of prisoner of war camps by all sides in Bosnia shows that not much has changed in 100 years except now women and children also suffer.)
Another feature of the prison which I found of interest was called the ÒdeadlineÓ. It was a small, wooden rail setup inside the stockade at a distance of about ten feet. The purpose was to keep the prisoners away from the stockade wall to prevent escape attempts. Atop the stockade wall at regular intervals, guard platforms were located for surveillance of the prisoners. The name ÒdeadlineÓ came from the fact that any prisoner who crossed this rail toward the wall was shot dead by the guards!
The national park service has done a good job at preserving information about this historic site. They have also erected some replica portions of the stockade wall and gate and guard platform to allow you to see what it was like. All the original building was from untreated pine wood and it all soon disappeared after the war. The park service also has a visitors center where you can see a video made that explains much about the prison and itÕs place in history. They also have original photos and letters from some of the prisoners on display. You can walk along the display and read the handwritten accounts of prisoners writing to a family of a fellow prisoner to inform the family that their relative has died while in the prison. It was not so much manÕs cruel inhumanity to man that took so many lives as the lack of supplies such as food, clean water, medicine, shelter, etc. In the end, the old quote rings true Òwar is hellÓ.
Now that IÕve completely depressed you, it is hardly worth the trouble to tell you that the remainder of our trip was to go eat supper at a Mennonite restaurant nearby named YoderÕs. They feature good country cooked meals which are served cafeteria style and the highlight of any visit are the homemade pies which are terrific. The nine of us all enjoyed a wonderful meal. We also visited their bakery to buy some cinnamon rolls which are divine! We also visited their gift shop where they have many hand crafted items for sale. Some of the hand sewn quilts are simply beautiful.
After a 45 minute drive, we were all back at our house for the evening. It had been a fun day to go on an adventure with friends. Andersonville, I believe, gave each of us something to ponder. It is difficult to visit such a place and not have some emotion afterward. Thus concludes my account.
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