150th Anniversary First Saturday Programs—November 1, 2014

Date: October 9, 2014
Contact: Stephanie Steinhorst, 229 924-0343, ext. 203

Park staff and volunteers explore the prisoner experience at Andersonville

ANDERSONVILLE, Georgia – In November 1864, Georgia was being divided by United States forces. Following the occupation of Atlanta, General Sherman and 62,000 Union troops pushed southeast and scorched the countryside in his unforgettable march to the Atlantic Ocean. His campaign to the coast forced Confederate officials at Andersonville to hastily relocate over 20,000 prisoners to prisons in Savannah, Millen, Charleston and Florence in a matter of weeks. For the few hundred prisoners left behind at Andersonville, the possibility of freedom is tantalizingly close and the fear that they will die before seeing that freedom is devastatingly real. Prisoners determined to change their fate contemplated the election of McClellan over Lincoln, and some went so far as to enter the Confederate service to buy their liberty at the price of treason.

Join park staff and volunteers for special programs on the First Saturday of November (Saturday, November 1, 2014), to learn more about the history of Andersonville Prison. The event is free and all programs are open to the public.

10:00 a.m. —Special Program—The Road To Andersonville: Departure
Join a park ranger on a guided walk following in the footsteps of the 45,000 United States soldiers held at Andersonville prison from 1864-1865. The tour begins at the National Prisoner of War Museum at Andersonville National Historic Site and lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes. The tour starts promptly at 10:00 a.m. Reservations are required for this program and may be obtained online at https://go.nps.gov/roadtoandersonville

11:00 a.m. — Prison Site Walk
Join longtime volunteer Jimmy Culpepper at the Wisconsin Monument to explore the history of the prison site.

2:00 p.m. —Special program: Temporary Camps
Join a park ranger in the theater to explore the history of temporary prison camps during the Civil War.This is an indoor presentation at the National Prisoner of War Museum.

3:00 p.m. —The Burying Ground: A Walk through the Andersonville National Cemetery
Join a park ranger to walk through the Andersonville National Cemetery and learn more about the process of burying the dead at the Andersonville Prison. Meet at the Georgia Monument at the entrance to the National Cemetery.

First Saturdays are one of a variety of programs over the two-year period of the 150th anniversary of the prison in 2014 &2015 that will explore the prison site and the prison experience at Andersonville while also addressing the larger story at other military prisons, in the north and south. Every two months during the anniversary period, the park will focus on a single word theme that represents the events, conditions, or emotions of prisoners during the war. To expand the prisoner story, the park will feature other Civil War prisons and draw on their stories to present a fuller picture of the captivity experience.

For more information on anniversary programs, themes and other featured prisons, please visit the park website at: https://go.nps.gov/cwprisons

Andersonville National Historic Site is located 10 miles south of Oglethorpe, GA and 10 miles northeast of Americus, GA on Georgia Highway 49. The national park features the National Prisoner of War Museum, Andersonville National Cemetery and the site of the historic Civil War prison, Camp Sumter. Andersonville National Historic Site is the only national park within the National Park System to serve as a memorial to all American prisoners of war. Park grounds are open from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The National Prisoner of War Museum is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., daily. Admission is free. For more information on the park, call 229 924-0343, or visit at www.nps.gov/ande/ Visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AndersonvilleNPS, Twitter www.twitter.com/andeNHS

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 401 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.