When we remembered that all 4th grade students have free entry to all National Parks, we decided that everywhere we traveled, we would seek out one close by. The Andersonville National Park is actually a "National Site", and there was no entrance fee. Ford and I had been there many years ago and asked AA if she would like to visit it. It is now a national POW museum and has more information about POW over USA's history. The story about this prison camp is horrific, the way the Union soldiers were treated, no housing, very little food and no clean water for 14 months. When the North suspended prisoner swaps, over 40,000 men languished in this prison and over 13,000 died. This site is also a national cemetery with funerals held daily.
Walking the perimeter of the actual camp (stockade), there are many large memorials erected by individual States in memory of their fallen citizens.
Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address and the proclamation that created Memorial Day.
Tennessee's monument:
The spring that came to life near the end of war:
The main entrance into the stockade:
Looking at the recreated housing, which was non-existent: the men set up whatever they brought with them for shelter:
This is a statue showing the spring of water and a prisoner seeking water to drink:
In the National Cemetery:
As we began our drive home, we passed by fields of cotton (that was already picked). We stopped to show AA what a cotton plant looks like:
Our Saturday was fun, even AA said it was a great weekend! Now to get home for bedtime!
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