Team Up to Clean Up Andersonville National Cemetery for "Park Day"

Date: March 4, 2011
Contact: Eric Leonard, 229 924-0343

Civil War Trust

Almost exactly 150 years after the first shots of the Civil War were fired, another wave of volunteers is about to descend on America’s storied battlegrounds – only this array of dedicated men and women will be armed with paint brushes, trash bags and weed whackers.

On Saturday, April 2, 2011, history buffs and preservationists from around the country will team up with the Civil War Trust to help clean and restore America’s priceless battlefields, cemeteries and shrines. The nationwide effort – dubbed Park Day – is underwritten with a grant from History™, formerly The History Channel, and has been endorsed by Take Pride in America, a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Park Day, now in its 15th year, is an annual hands-on preservation event created by the Trust to assist local groups with the maintenance of Civil War sites. This year, more than 100 sites in 22 states are expected to take part in the effort, with activities ranging from trash removal to trail building. In exchange for their hard work, volunteers receive t-shirts and learn the site’s history from local experts.

Andersonville National Historic Site will participate in Park Day 2011. Volunteers are needed for clean-up activities in the Andersonville National Cemetery in advance of the Memorial Day holiday.

Volunteers will meet at the Cemetery Administrator's Office and parking area adjacent to the Andersonville National Cemetery at 8:30 a.m. For more information about Park Day at Andersonville National Historic Site, or to sign up for the event, please contact Eric Leonard by phone at 229 924-0343 ext. 110 or e-mail us

With 55,000 members, the Civil War Trust is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States. Its goal is to preserve our nation’s endangered Civil War sites and to promote appreciation of these hallowed grounds through education and heritage tourism. The Trust’s website is located at www.civilwar.org.

Andersonville National Historic Site is located ten miles south of Montezuma, Georgia, and ten miles north of Americus, Georgia on Highway 49. Park grounds, including Andersonville National Cemetery, open at 8:00 a.m. and the National Prisoner of War Museum opens at 8:30 a.m. The park, cemetery, and museum close at 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 229 924-0343 or visit on the web at www.nps.gov/ande