Friday, January 9, 2015
We had an extra day to ourselves before arriving in Florida for an extended stay. One of the places we'd often thought about visiting is the Andersonville National Historic Site in southern Georgia. Andersonville was the site of one of the Civil War prisons.
I remember, years ago, watching a TV movie with Richard Basehart, where he played Henry Wirz, the captain of the Andersonville prison. Wirz was tried as a war criminal, found guilty and hung in 1865 because of the appalling conditions in the Andersonville camp. The movie played a part in my interest in the US Civil War. I was always curious why this camp seemed to evoke so much strong emotion.
Now, I know why. The prison camp (actually called Camp Sumter military prison camp but commonly known as Andersonville) was built to accommodate about 10,000 prisoners of war. It was supposed to relieve overcrowding in other prisons and to keep Union prisoners away from the battlefront. At its peak, there were over 32,000 in an area of just over 26 acres. Nearly 13,000 Civil War prisoners died in 14 months. Most of the deaths were from disease and starvation. Nineteen feet inside the perimeter of the camp was something called the deadline - kind of a no-man's-land between the actual camp and the camp walls. So really, there were less than 26 acres to accommodate all the prisoners. Crossing the deadline meant death. Guards, stationed in various sentry boxes, shot to kill.
There isn't much left of the actual POW camp itself. However, the cemetery is still an active one. In addition to the Civil War prisoners who died in Andersonville, the cemetery also has graves of military men and women from WWI, WWII, Korea and more recent conflicts.
The memorial erected by Wisconsin, after the Civil War.
What's left of the stream near the camp. The site for the prison was chosen because of the proximity to a railway - only a quarter of a mile away - and the abundance (or so they thought) of fresh water. Unfortunately, the stream could not accommodate the needs of so many prisoners, not to mention guards.
None of the original walls of the camp remain. This is a recreation of the north gate. The prisoners were enter through this gate. Once in, the outer gate (seen open on the left) was shut. Once that was shut, the inner gate was opened, and prisoners entered the camp.
The inner gate. The 'fence' shows the deadline. Prisoners could not be between the deadline markers and the wall - they would be shot.
Two of the guns that were aimed at the prison camp - just in case any prisoners managed to break out.
The living conditions for prisoners was entirely makeshift - whatever could be used. These 'dwellings' were called she-bangs.
This is just one photo of a section of the graves for the Andersonville prisoners. There were so many that they were buried shoulder to shoulder. If nothing else, the sight of so many grave markers so close together really emphasized for me the cost and the futility of war.
Interestingly,not all the prisoners were soldiers. There were a few civilians. One, above, was a teamster - a drive of wagons. Another was a musician. There are over 465 marked as unknown soldier. Considering there were nearly 13,000 deaths, and records were kept by hand, that actually only a small percentage.
The graves of the first three prisoners buried in the cemetery. You only know that grave #1 is actually grave #1 because it is beside grave #2. There were so many deaths that the graves were numbered. A list of kept separately of who was in each grave. After the war, the headstones were added.
These six graves have an interesting story. They are the graves of the ringleaders of the Raiders. The Raiders were basically a gang of prisoners who preyed on other prisoners. They became so bad that something finally had to be done. The prisoners formed another group, called the Regulators, who tried to maintain some semblance of law and order. The captain of the camp, Henry Wirz, agreed the ringleaders of the Raiders should be tried by a jury of union sergeants. If found guilty, they would be hanged. They were duly tried and convicted. They were buried outside the original cemetery.
Even weeds can be beautiful, or at least attractive to various insects.
Main street from across the lake. There are some lovely shops and good restaurants in that two block area. The cafe at the corner makes great malted milkshakes - a throwback to another era, and oh so good.
One of the condo complexes in Celebration. Such a difference from what Florida looked like before urbanization (see the swamp picture below). 
Kayakers in the creek. There are plenty of live oaks and Spanish moss, lending the scene an almost movie-like quality.
This is the old caretaker's cottage. Shingle Creek Regional Park has several sections. We were at the Steffen Homestead section. Some of the original buildings, including this cottage dating from the early 1900s, still stand. I like this photo better in black and white than in colour.
Every time I look at the ferns and the reflection in the water, I think of jaws - waiting to snap shut on an unsuspecting animal.
Swamp! Imagine being the first European and being faced with this! If it weren't for the paths and boardwalks, we could get lost in the this in minutes. Even though in some places, we could hear the US192, a major road, it is incredibly easy to get disoriented. Not to mention that the swamp is home to turtles, snakes and alligators.
