Author Tracy Groot to speak at the January “Night Museum”

Date: December 9, 2014
Contact: Eric Leonard, 229 924-0343, ext. 201
Contact: Stephanie Steinhorst, 229 924-0343, ext. 203

Experience the National Prisoner of War Museum and Andersonville after dark.

ANDERSONVILLE, Georgia – On the evening of Saturday, January 24, 1015, the popular "Night Museum" program will return to Andersonville National Historic Site for the first time in the new year. From 6:00 - 8:30 p.m., the National Prisoner of War Museum will be open for a rare night-time opportunity to view the museum exhibits and experience the prison site by lantern light.

At 7:00 p.m., a special program will be presented by Tracy Groot, author of Sentinels of Andersonville. Mrs. Groot's program will discuss her book and what inspired her to use the setting of Andersonville to explore fundamental moral questions about decency and conscience—questions that can be asked about all wars.

Tracy Groot is the critically acclaimed and Christy Award–winning author of several novels. Tracy's novels have received starred Booklist and Publishers Weekly reviews and have been called "beautifully written" and "page-turning" by Publishers Weekly and "gripping" with "exquisitely drawn" characters by Library Journal. Tracy and her husband have three sons, and live in Michigan.

"A visit to the National Prisoner of War Museum is a moving experience under any circumstance," stated Superintendent Charles Sellars, "and we hope that this Night Museum program will illuminate the complex choices that prison presented for the civilians living around it."

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.