Andersonville ?

[Joey12thga]

Bobby,

Yea I am looking at doing Federal again. Hopefully will have more guys from my groups to turn out for the event.

[1 Yellowhammer]

Ya, the guards were awful. It totally took away from the experience of the event to have a preteen girl in a crappy uniform guarding me.

[GaWildcat]

Heck yeah it did... and the preteen boys in Crappy uniforms weren't much better.. thats when we talked to Brad Quinlin of the 21s Ohio, and the rangers and volunteered to come as guards next year....and believe me, the emails have been flying fast and furious..

[1 Yellowhammer]

I'll volunteer to be a guard, anything to get those yahoos off the towers. I have a pretty good homeguard impression.

[GaWildcat]

Cool, drop our CO a line at hcove06@hotmail.com.. we have a bunch of fellers coming already from FL, LA, and AL.... one more wont hurt, we're doing a split impression.. Saturday is 2 Companies of the 26th Alabama and Sunday is the 1st Georgia Reserves.

[Southern Cal]

I'm not interested in a debate or an argument one way or another about Andersonville. I'm wondering if there is any objections from the public about having "living history" at Andersonville. I've visited the site and explored it for several hours during the last time I was in Georgia. I was impressed by the reconstructions of the stockade corner, gate enclosure, and the bit of the "camp" that illustrate the conditions. I entered this ground and exited with the same solemn respect as I do when visiting any Civil War site where many have persihed and are buried nearby.

Understanding that no prison camp on either side during the Civil War were conditions at all adequate, that most prisoners on both sides were neglected, and giving complete benefit of the doubt that the unnecessary thousands of deaths at Andersonville was a matter of bureaucratic snafus and negligence and not willful cruelty on the part of Confederate forces assigned there; facts are facts, and the fact remains that Andersonville was not a fortress, works, or battlefield but a straight up concentration camp, the worst POW camp by far on both sides.

Having paid my respects at Andersonville and seen all the exhibits, it would personally creep me out to wear a period uniform there. I would never question anyone's motives, but in a practical sense, how do you edify and honor the dead in that place while in reenactment mode? I'm not criticising anyone, I just fail to understand.

Respectfully,

[GaWildcat]

Lawrence,

I cannot speak for the "Battle of Andersonville" which takes place near the town I believe, not having nor likely ever to attend, said event, as I do believe such an event is somewhat disrespectful.

I can say that the living history is done with the utmost respect, and with every attempt to put in the spotlight, if only for a brief moment, what things could have have been like in that little corner or the stockade. While I cannot speak for everyone, I do believe that everyone there, with the possible exception of the immature and juvenile guards from last year, feels on entering the deep sadness and horror of the site. I can tell you this, when you enter the reconstructed north gate, and they close the outer gates... it is a VERY unusual and interesting sensation.

For those of us in my unit, we have a deep pull to Andersonville, as not only were members of our Federal impression held there, but two of our members are descendants of prisoners: a private in Co I, 4th Indiana Cavalry, who died on Aug 13, 1864 and is buried there (Grave #5547), and the other a captain in the 125th New York, who was held at Caste Reed, before being sent to Macon.

[Southern Cal]

Thank you for expounding on a touchy subject. I understand now.

When kids come through our reenactment camp with their papers of questions to ask for homework assignments, one of the common questions is "What is the worst thing about the Civil War?" I always make them write the number 620,000 and tell them that's about the number of people who died in the Civil War fighting each other and that this statistic represents the greatest national tragedy. But the worse thing is that the 620,000 dead were all Americans and I make them write that fact down. If the kids don't remember anything else, they won't forget that 620,000 died and that they were all Americans.

Respectfully,