This has really been in the news a lot this past week.
August 16th CNN "Major archaeological find at Civil War prison."
The exact stockade location and many personal artifacts of Union prisoners has been found at Millen Prison. Georgia. Camp Lawton replaced Andersonville Prison in the fall of 1864. Students from Georgia Southern began looking for it earlier this year near Millen, Georgia, in the southeastern part of the state.
Camp Lawton was only open for six weeks and even in that short time got the reputation of being "foul and fetid." Between 725 and 1330 died in the 42 acre enclosure which reached 10,000 prisoners before it was closed when Sherman's troops approached.
One prisoner, Private Robert Knox, painted watercolors of it and kept a 5,000 page journal.
When Sherman's soldiers arrived, they found an empty prison and a freshly-dug area and a board reading "650 buried here." Outraged, much of the stockade was burned along with camp buildings. Then, a depot and hotel in Millen met the same fate.
Always great When New Civil War Things Are Discovered. --Old B-Runner
No comments:
Post a Comment