Andersonville National Historic Site

09/18/2020

Today we honor all those captured and missing in action on this National POW/MIA Recognition Day. In the United States prisoners of war have been held in every conflict since the American Revolution. Let us take a moment today to remember all the men and women of the Armed Forces who have been prisoners of war and those who are still missing in action and reflect on their sacrifice. (DD) Image: POW/MIA flag designed by the National League of Families.

09/18/2020

Park phone lines are currently down due to storm damage. Until they are repaired please email the park at [email protected] or message us through Facebook for questions or information.

09/18/2020

April 8, 1864 — “Battese, a big Indian, rather helped me out of the scrape. All of our mess came to my rescue. Came to a near fight with dozens engaged. Battese is a large full-blooded six-foot Minnesota Indian, has quarters near us, and is a noble fellow. He and other Indians have been in our hundred for some weeks. They are quiet, attend to their own business, and won’t stand much nonsense. Great deal of fighting.” — John Ransom

During the Civil War, approximately 20,000 Native American served in the Union and Confederate armies. By pledging their allegiance to the Federal government, Native Americans hoped that their efforts in military service would end their discrimination and relocation from ancestral lands. However, even after the Union army claimed victory and the war ended, the U.S. government continued its policies on the removal of Native American tribes.

In the Union army, the most famous Native American unit was Company K of the 1st Michigan Sharpshooters. The majority of this unit was Ottawa, Delaware, Huron Oneida, Potawatomi and Ojibwa. Company K was assigned to the Army of the Potomac under the command of General Ulysses S. Grant and participated in some of the most famous battles of the Civil War. However, a number of these Native Americans of Company K were captured and imprisoned at Andersonville. According to John Ransom, an Andersonville prisoner who documented his prison experience at the camp, his survival depended greatly upon his friend Battese who he described as a Minnesota Indian. Ransom described Battese as a “father figure” and a person whom he literally could not live without. Battese also played a large role in nursing Ransom back to life during Andersonville’s deadly summer in 1864. Though Battese was able to survive the camp, seven other members of Company K’s Native American prisoners died that summer and are now buried in the Andersonville National Cemetery.

June 16, 1864 — “Battese is an angel; takes better care of me than himself. Although not in our mess or tent, he is nearly all the time with us. It is wonderful the powers of endurance he has. I have always been blessed with friends, and friends, too, of the right sort.” — John Ransom

Image: Battese was part of the most famous Native American unit of Company K, 1st Michigan Sharpshooters, and whom John Ransom highly depended on during his time at Andersonville.

09/17/2020

A Tribute to Ed Bearss

Few people have had a passion for history like Ed Bearss. Ed was a Marine Corps veteran of WWII, serving in the Pacific Theater. After returning from the war, he used his GI Bill to further his education and obtain a master’s degree in history from Indiana University in 1955. By 1958, he became the Southeast Regional Historian for the National Park Service.
In 1970, when Andersonville National Historic Site became part of the National Park Service, Ed Bearss’ mission was to provide the first historical research study of the site. His report focused on the structural history of the prison. It provided information about the evolution and construction history of the prison and created a Historical Base Map which geographically located and identified the stockade and other structures on the grounds. Bearss did archeological investigations to verify locations and construction. His report also contained a detailed administrative history of the prison. Ed’s research was paramount in establishing the story of Andersonville so future generations would understand the tragedy that occurred here.
On November 1, 1981, Ed Bearss was named the Chief Historian for the National Park Service, a position he held until 1994. Throughout his lifetime, he wrote numerous books on military history and the Civil War. Ed passed away on September 15, 2020 at the age of 97. His knowledge and passion for Civil War history will be sorely missed. (PJ, TS)

(Photo Courtesy Encore Interpretive Design)

09/17/2020

“The cemetery is a beautiful spot. Surely, I thought, the dear boys could have died more peacefully had they foreseen that the place of their burial would have been so kindly cared for.”
--Francis C. Curtis, Co E 1 Massachusetts; Andersonville survivor.

Image Description: Andersonville National Cemetery at sunrise.

09/16/2020

“I believe I state the truth in saying that, before that fatal summer was past, two in three of those two thousand strong, robust, healthy men, that came among us, flushed with spirit and hope, slept their last sleep in the prisoners' grave at Andersonville and Millen.” –H. M. Davidson, 1st OH Light Artillery, Fourteen Months in Rebel Prisons

On April 17, 1864, Confederate forces under the command of Major General Robert F. Hoke, attacked the Federal garrison at Plymouth, North Carolina. After three days of fighting, the Union post commander raised a white flag, surrendering nearly three thousand men. Marching towards the railroad at Rocky Mount, these men would make a pilgrimage for five days and then be shoved into cramped cattle cars to be transported on a four-day journey to Andersonville.

The prisoners captured at Plymouth entered the gates of Andersonville, stricken by the conditions and appearances of all the other prisoners. With their long frock coats and regulation hats, the Union prisoners were given the nickname “Plymouth Pilgrims” for their stylish uniforms. Before their surrender, the Plymouth boys had never experienced hardship like many of their prison mates. Receiving a back-pay from re-enlisting after three years of service, the young men also carried with them large sums of money into camp. As a result, they flooded the market prices and made supplies and rations unobtainable for much of the prison’s population. Unable to assimilate to the habits of the prison camp, they began to waste away their money and fall powerless into the hands of that fatal summer. In August 1864, Andersonville had become the most crowded and deadly it has ever been. By September of that year, nearly half of the prisoners that were captured at Plymouth died.

Image: Edward Boots, 101st Pennsylvania. Boots was among the men that were nicknamed the “Plymouth Pilgrims” who were captured on April 20, 1864. He died at Andersonville in September 1864 and is buried in grave 8,606.

09/12/2020

"You caution the Rebel Chieftain, that the United States knows no distinction in her Soldiers. She insists on having all her Soldiers of whatever creed or Color, to be treated according to the usages of War. Now if the United States exacts uniformity of treatment of her Soldiers from the Insurgents, would it not be well and consistent to set the example herself by paying all her Soldiers alike?" -- James H. Gooding to President Abraham Lincoln

James Henry Gooding was born into slavery on August 28, 1838. He soon became free and went to New York where he enrolled in the New York Colored Orphan’s Asylum. There he received a classical education and quickly became a talented and eloquent writer. At the age of 18 he took a job aboard a whaling ship which sailed from New Bedford, Massachusetts. He earned a good living as a whaler and made his home in New Bedford, where he lived with his wife Ellen Allen.

After the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, African Americans were permitted to enlist on behalf of the war effort. Gooding enlisted in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry on February 14th, 1863. Throughout his service he wrote letters to the New Bedford Mercury tracking the regiment’s progress. They were sent to the barrier islands of Georgia and South Carolina where they saw little action. This soon changed when they were ordered to assault Fort Wagner near Charleston, South Carolina. Writing of the attack Gooding said: “We met the foe on the parapet of Wagner with the bayonet…” Despite their heroic efforts, African American soldiers were still paid less than white soldiers. Gooding wrote President Lincoln demanding equal pay asking: “Are we Soldiers or are we Labourers?”

Gooding continued to fight and in February of 1864 was wounded and captured at the Battle of Olustee in Florida. He was taken to Andersonville in March and died there on July 19, 1864. The previous month Congress had passed a law granting equal pay for African American soldiers. Gooding was laid to rest at Andersonville National Cemetery in grave 3,585.

Visit our partners at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site, and Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park to learn more.

Image: The gravestone of James H. Gooding in Andersonville National Cemetery. (NPS Photos)

09/11/2020

“I don’t really know how far they would have gone, whether they would have killed me or not. I don’t really know… I knew one of two things was going to happen. I would either go insane or I would die. Either my mind or my body was going to crack.” – Floyd “Jim” Thompson, talking of his time spent as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam.

After his plane went down over North Vietnamese territory, Floyd Thompson survived with a broken back, but was quickly taken prisoner by the Viet Cong. He remained an American prisoner of war for the next 3,278 days; just ten days shy of 9 years. Throughout his time there, Thompson would spend several of those years almost entirely alone; living in a bamboo cage in solitary confinement, he experienced mental torture beyond his own ability to describe.

As the longest held American POW in history, Floyd Thompson endured years of violent interrogations, forced labor, no sleep, and beatings. However, Thompson refused to give up any information that he had, fully expecting this treatment to continue until he eventually died. After almost 9 years of this torture, he was released in March of 1973 as part of Operation Homecoming. Unfortunately, Thompson’s struggles did not end there, as he had to adjust to life all over again. To read more about Floyd Thompson’s life, be sure to check out “Glory Denied: The Vietnam Saga of Jim Thompson, America’s Longest Held Prisoner of War" by Tom Philpott.
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Image 1: Floyd Thompson’s military portrait before the war (US Army/POW Network)
Image 2: Floyd Thompson’s memorial headstone located at Andersonville National Cemetery (NPS Photo)

09/11/2020

Flight 93 National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)

On Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001, the U.S. came under attack when four commercial airliners were hijacked and used to strike targets on the ground. Nearly 3,000 people tragically lost their lives. Because of the actions of the 40 passengers and crew aboard one of the planes, Flight 93, the attack on the U.S. Capitol was thwarted.
Today the National Park Service, its volunteers, and its partners work to honor their actions and to try to understand more fully the legacy of Flight 93 and the other events of 9/11.
For more information:
https://www.nps.gov/flni/index.htm
#NPS #FindYourPark

On Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001, the U.S. came under attack when four commercial airliners were hijacked and used to strike targets on the ground. Nearly 3,000 people tragically lost their lives. Because of the actions of the 40 passengers and crew aboard one of the planes, Flight 93, the att...

09/10/2020

How would you pay tribute to a fallen brother in arms?

We invite you to join us at 7 pm on Thursday 9/17 for a free online program about the Bataan Death March, World War II, and the Sack of Cement Cross. Featured guests will include historians, filmmakers, researchers, the park Superintendent, and a 98 year old former prisoner of war and veteran of WWII.

Register for this FREE program at www.eventbrite.com/e/118216967131

09/09/2020

Following the American Civil War, millions of formerly enslaved people were without homes or livelihoods. Left to create their own communities from nothing, these people made neighborhoods out of places that are now legacy landmarks of the Civil War. However, their part in the story is often left out.

Arlington, Virginia, was once home to a large freedman’s village. This community was established on the property of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s wife and family, the same land that is now recognized as Arlington National Cemetery. But before the land became a final resting place for American military personnel, it had homes, schools, and churches. Feeling the need to expand the cemetery and separate from the people living there, the government bought out the land for $75,000, half of what they had paid the Lee family for the land. While Arlington House remains a preserved historic site, no trace of the freedman's village exists today.

Andersonville, Georgia, also became a newly freed community after the Civil War. Freed people used the abandoned prison stockade wood to build homes. They farmed the land and established a growing community. In 1866, a freedman's school was established in the Confederate hospital that once cared for prison guards. African Americans also worked for the U.S. Army and transformed the rough prison burial ground into a beautiful, enclosed national cemetery.

Among these freed people was Floyd Snelson, who attended the new Sumter School starting in December 1867. He quickly learned to read and write, and within a year he began teaching at the school during the summer. He also worked at the national cemetery, eventually becoming a foreman. He was a community leader and became politically active and president of the local Grant Club.

Meanwhile Benjamin Dykes, who had owned the land before the war, wanted his land back. He warned the teachers to stay away, complained to government officials, and threatened violence. On July 29, 1868, Dykes and other Whites - including the county sheriff - seized the keys to the schoolhouse and evicted between 200 and 300 men, women, and children from their homes. Snelson stayed and defended his home each night from attacks. One night, he wrote, the Whites "came in firing, and burned up eight of the small houses."

While sites like Arlington and Andersonville hold great importance as final resting places of honor for American soldiers, many of them hold other, painful histories that in some cases have literally been erased.

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Source: Kutzler et al. 2020. In Plain Sight: African Americans at Andersonville National Historic Site.
Image 1: Group of African American children holding books in front of a large white building in the Arlington Freedman’s Village (LOC Photo)
Image 2: African American children around a man inside the Andersonville National Cemetery (NPS Photo)

09/07/2020

Why is the National Prisoner of War Museum designed the way that it is? Why does it look the way that it does?

Opened in 1998, the design of the National Prisoner of War Museum was purposeful and meaningful. Approaching the building, visitors see a solid maroon brick building, punctuated by three gray towers, used to evoke a feeling reminiscent of prisons. The museum builds upon themes that are common to all prisoner of war stories: towers, gates, and confinement. The sidewalk leading the building narrows, forcing visitors to approach single file or in pairs, reflective of how prisoners have been marched throughout history.

A place of reflection and contemplation for the difficult stories that the museum tells is also a necessary component of the museum. That space is provided with the American Ex-Prisoners of War sculpture, “The Price of Freedom Fully Paid.” The three carved brick panels contain 25 figures depicting the suffering of a POW. The meandering water feature reminds visitors of the vitality of water to a prisoner of any war. A bronze figure stands in front of the brick panels, representing someone who has escaped imprisonment, drank freely from the water below, and is looking upward in thanksgiving, finally having reached freedom, fully paid.
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Image 1: American and POW/MIA flags flying above the National Prisoner of War Museum (NPS Photo)
Image 2: The brick and bronze sculpture “The Price of Freedom Fully Paid” depicting an escaped prisoner, at night (NPS Photo/Hugh Peacock)

09/04/2020

From its creation in February 1864, Camp Sumter, better known as Andersonville, has always had an interesting story to share. During the last 14 months of the Civil War, Andersonville acted as a prison for 45,000 Union prisoners of war. However, the story does not end there, as interest in Andersonville continued in the years following the war.

Immediately after the war, the U.S. government seized the land. Newly freed people established homes and farms on the site where the prison stockade once stood. They were the first to preserve and honor the graves of the thousands of Union soldiers who suffered and died at Andersonville. Some began working for the U.S. Army to help transform the prisoners’ burial ground into a new national cemetery.

But Benjamin Dykes, who owned the land before the war, wanted it back. In summer 1868, after complaining and threatening didn’t work, Dykes and a group of Whites, including the county sheriff, forcibly removed the freed men, women, and children living on the prison site and burned some of their homes.

In 1875, after lengthy and bitter legal proceedings, Dykes regained title to the land. Ten years later, Emma and George Washington Kennedy, who were formerly enslaved people, bought 455 acres of land that included most of the prison site. In 1890 the Kennedys sold 80 acres, including the prison site, to J.W. Stone and J.D. Crawford. Stone and Crawford sold the land to the Grand Army of the Republic, who transferred ownership to one of their auxiliary organizations, the Women’s Relief Corps (WRC).

The WRC was the first organization concerned with large scale preservation and memorialization of the former prison. They created memorial gardens and a driving route, and encouraged the placement of monuments. They established the site as Andersonville Prison Park. Even after ownership was transferred to the U.S. Army in 1910, the WRC continued to oversee and encourage memorialization of the site, to ensure what had happened there would never be forgotten.

The idea the WRC had for preserving the prison site reached its fulfillment when the grounds became part of the National Park Service in 1970. Andersonville National Historic Site was created by Congress to preserve and memorialize the deadliest ground of the Civil War, and to provide a better understanding of the American prisoner of war story. And so the efforts begun by freed people, the U.S. Army, and the WRC to preserve, honor, and remember the tragedy and sacrifice made at Andersonville continue, over 150 years later, through Andersonville National Historic Site.
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Image: Historic photo of “Andersonville Prison Park” gate over a dirt lane leading into the prison site (Open Parks Network)