Event
“POWs: Captor’s Burden, Prisoners’ Anguish”
Fee:
Free.Location:
River Raisin National Battlefield ParkDates & Times
Date:
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Type of Event
Description
RIVER RAISIN NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD PARK COMMEMORATES NATIONAL POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY: “POWs: Captor’s Burden, Prisoners’ Anguish”
River Raisin National Battlefield Park will host a Sunday, September 17 talk, “POWs: Captor’s Burden, Prisoner’s Anguish” to commemorate National POW/MIA Recognition Day 2023. 2:00 pm Sunday, September 17, 2023.
Warring armies have always been challenged by, and sometimes indifferent to, humane treatment of prisoners of war. A flood of prisoners can overburden victorious forces, while animosities bred by conflict intensify the challenge of providing for the vanquished. Two nineteenth century examples of arguably criminal treatment of POWs are: British troops’ management of their five hundred American prisoners following the War of 1812’s second Battle of the River Raisin; and the overcrowded, disease-ridden confines of the Confederacy’s Andersonville Prison during the Civil War.
Erika McDowell, our speaker, is Events Manager for the Historical Society of Michigan (HSM). She oversees numerous HSM events throughout the year, including three major conferences that take place across the state. McDowell also hosts the weekly History Hounds Lecture Series, in which a presenter joins HSM to discuss varied topics of Michigan history. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public History and Anthropology from Central Michigan University and has written for Michigan History Magazine. In 2019, McDowell served as a National Park Service intern at the Andersonville National Historic Site and National Prisoner of War Museum. The grounds contain the remains of Camp Sumter–more commonly known as Andersonville, the prisoner of war camp operated by the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Reservation or Registration: No
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