Andersonville
Andersonville Prison
I was excited to learn of this assignment because I recently made a trip to Andersonville with my Army unit in March. During the bus ride, we watched the film “Andersonville” to gain a deeper sense of what the historical site was about before we arrived. To be quite honest, the historical site itself is actually quite boring and not much is left of the original grounds. Watching the film prior to arriving gave the visit much more meaning to me and I was able to actually visualize the events that took place and really feel a connection and understanding. After visiting the prison site, we moved over to the memorial cemetery, where approximately 13,000 imprisoned soldiers are buried, along with the six Raiders who were executed. The cemetery also accepts veterans and their family members for burial in adjacent plots to the Andersonville soldiers. There is also a Prisoner of War museum which I found to be the most interesting part of the whole visit.
The movie begins depicting the Civil War battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia on June 1 1864. A platoon size element of Union soldiers gets pinned and eventually some of the soldiers trying to escape are captured. While being held and transported two soldiers make a hasty plan for escape one night. As soon as the first soldier makes a move to get up and use the bathroom, which is part of his plan, he is shot dead. This really sets a violent tone for the movie and really punctuates how serious this war was, and how dedicated each side was to its own cause. The Union soldiers are then loaded on trains like cattle and herded to the South for encampment. The
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Union soldiers all wear clean blue uniforms, while the Confederate soldiers all wear various patterns and some wear rag looking clothes. They separate the officers from the enlisted men and board them on the trains. The soldiers are led through the gates of the Andersonville prison after a...
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