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Borrego Springs, CA

Friday, May 25, 2012

History lessons are not always pleasant

If you’re looking for a fun and games time, don’t go to Andersonville, GA. 

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Camp Sumpter, as it was officially known, was the location of the Andersonville prisoner of war camp for Union soldiers during the Civil War. 

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Since 1998, it has also been the location of the National Prisoner of War Museum which is dedicated to the men and women of this country who suffered captivity.  It is not a happy place to visit, but one that tells the story of sacrifice and courage.

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There were many first person video accounts of what POWs experienced, and the effects on them and their family members.  As I walked through the various rooms of the museum, I found myself with a lump in my throat, and near tears at times.  It was certainly a sobering experience.

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Outside, I was able to participate in a ranger lead program on the Andersonville prison camp.  The stockade originally enclosed a little over 26 acres.  In that relatively small area up to 32,000 Union soldiers had been interred at one time on the bare earth.  They had to devise their own form of housing as none was supplied.  Their only water was from a small stream that ran through the impoundment.  It was hardly drinkable water as the stream was also used for bathing and as the latrine for all of those men.

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This ranger gave a group of us a tour.  I must say that while he imparted non-stop information and statistics for 45 minutes straight, he was about as interesting as reading an old history book.  He lost the young folks in the group in about two minutes.  It also didn’t help that the temps were nearing 90, and the gnats fairly coated my arms and legs while trying to gain entry to my eyes and ears. Smile with tongue out

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After having lunch in the picnic area, I did the drive through the Andersonville National Cemetery.  Nearly 13,000 of the prisoners of war at Andersonville died from malnutrition, dysentery, and gangrene infections.  Considering the polluted water supply, even a small cut could result in death.  I don’t know how so many survived.

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After Andersonville, I decided to stop by and visit a couple of my friends in Plains, GA.  While Jimmy and Rosalynn aren’t fulltimers or bloggers, they were happy to see me.  They even gave me a little bag of peanuts.   Yah, right!

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But I did visit the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains.  I had to pass up brother Billy’s Gas Station Museum as I knew by the time I drove the two hours+ back to the rig, Emma would have been in the rig for over nine hours.  Time to head home.  I did add several new stamps today to my National Parks Passport though.

I would certainly recommend a trip to Andersonville if you are up to that sort of emotionally historic experience.  As for Plains, GA, as the ranger said, “It’s a work in progress.”  You might as well stop if you are in the area.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

24 comments:

  1. Another fine blog. I'll keep Andersonville on our radar

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  2. The truth is that much of mankind's history is not very pleasant. I have not been to Andersonville, but intend to get there. I have been to Dachau and other German concentration camp sites and it is truly horrific to realize what mankind is capable of. Sadly, we have many examples in this country, as well. Good post!

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  3. As sobering a visit as it was, what an appropriate way to spend part of Memorial Day weekend.

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  4. Have you seen the Holocaust Museum in D.C.? I wonder if it's a similar feeling. I've never been to the site of a concentration camp.

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  5. Yes, your description of Andersonville reminded me of our trip to the Holocaust Museum. Another sad but real part of mankind's history therefore, I think, worth experiencing.

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  6. We were in Vietnam last year and saw Hanoi Hilton as well as the President's Palace. That was another sobering experience, to see the pictures and read the propaganda. Our guide, a young woman who was not alive during the "American War" (as they call it), spoke of the victories, etc, just after we saw how John McCain was "rescued" from the lake and read how his injuries were "treated." Those sites were glossy clean when we saw them but what they didn't show was as telling. Prisoners of war were hardly treated as humans. Then and during all wars.

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  7. I think I know how you felt. I felt the same way when we visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. Almost too much to take in.

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  8. Like Paul and Marsha - the Holocaust Museum in DC about did me in - especially the children's section. Mankind can be so terribly cruel.

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  9. Man's inhumanity to man never ceases to amaze me. Will we never learn?

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  10. While learning the real history behind these wars is so very important it sure is hard to face.

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  11. This post reminds me of the book Unbroken by Laura Hillerbrand(sp?)...one of the best books I have ever read...hard book to read but amazing what one man can live through.

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  12. Nicely done Judy. I read “Andersonville” (http://www.amazon.com/Andersonville-Plume-MacKinlay-Kantor/dp/0452269563) many years ago and to this very day I remember the horrors so precisely described.

    John and Ellen
    connectedtothevinephotography.blogspot.com

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  13. Ah yes, south Georgia's gnats....I had almost forgotten about them. I thought Andersonville was a lovely cemetery, but you're right, it was not a nice place to have to be. You should read the book "Unbroken." It's a very interesting true story about a POW that was held in Japan.

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  14. No, mankind is not kind at times! Have visited one Holocaust museum, the one in Dallas, sobering to say the least! Karen in her comment above mentions the book "Unbroken"--an excellent book but hard, hard to read mentally.

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  15. Glad you thought the trip was worthwhile. We went to Andersonville because I am interested in the Civil War. The POW museum was unexpected and we thought well done.

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  16. I think we need to be reminded of the horrific things that we are capable of doing. I am reading a book about Harriet Tubman, a slave who escaped from her "owners" and then returned to the south numerous times to lead more slaves to the North and safety. John is reading Unbroken. When he is done, if you would like to read it, I can send it to you.

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  17. There are places like that all around. The Oklahoma City Memorial for the victims of the blast at the Murrah Federal Building was very moving. There is also a small museum in Tahlequah, Oklahoma dedicated to the terrible Trail of Tears imposed on the Cherokee people. What is the phrase, "Man's Inhumanity to Man?"

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  18. I was in Andersonville (Camp Sumter) last week and was reminded of the delimma created by the north when prisoner exchanges ceased. Grant wanted to dry up the south's manpower supply for the army. Andersonville only operated for 14 months and 1300 union troops died, but 380 southern guards also perished, because of the conditions. What's the old saying, "War is Hell".

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  19. I didn't know there was a POW museum. Something to think about for a future road trip.

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  20. Kantor’s “Andersonville” is a Pulitzer prize winner and well worth the read.
    Also worth reading a bit of the history of “Decoration Day” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

    Lest I start to rail on & on against the atrocities of the Civil War, again… (especially inappropriate on this memorial day weekend) let me just say Thank you Judy! For all the great stuff to do in Georgia. We’ll be spending a bunch of time there when we visit friends & family.
    It’s unquestionably admirable to honor those who died doing our soldiering, yet foreign oppression was once our greatest threat, those who died in war our greatest heroes. Nowadays it seems the more ominous threats are to our shared ecosystem and to the continued diminishment of the American ideal of “opportunity for all”. Maybe on Memorial Day we could honor all our dead, remember to be kind to each other and help take care of each other, and protect the only planet we currently have.
    gee… what a concept.

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  21. Those that ignore history are doomed to repeat it. Hopefully places like this that have been preserved to tell the story will help prevent these things from happening again. But I doubt it.

    Good post!

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  22. That looks like the same tour guide we had when we were at Andersonville last year. SNOOZE.

    I was surprised to learn the prison was not open during the entire war but for a very short time.

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  23. A sobering reality that leaves you kinda...ouch!

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  24. Will keep Andersonville on the list of places to see; I imagine it to be an experience similar to what we saw and felt in Dachau, when we went to visit the concentration camp.

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