Andersonville National Historic Site — Attraction in Montezuma

The real reason I came here to visit was that it was on my way to another destination, plus I remembered 'Old Angel Eyes' from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly when there was a dishonorable mention about Andersonville. So I figured that I couldn't let that pass without checking it out. I needed to see just what the heck they were talking about.

When I got there, I discovered that this is a museum to all of our P.O.W.'s past, present and future. I appreciate the effort and investment in our Nations History which is a subject that absolutely does not receive the due diligence and the attention that the subject deserves.

I also had a conversation with the park ranger that was on duty there that day, and he said that he has to listen to upset and angry people from both sides of that conflict between 1861 - 1865. Truly a professional, I don't know if I would be able to go to work everyday knowing that I had to walk a fine line like that. I guess that I would ask those that get agitated and upset to please keep everything in historical context and remember that we live in a completely different time today. It's not as if anyone there was responsible for what happened 200 years ago.

It is sort of strange though, I listen to visitors of the Pearl Harbor Memorial that entertains a mixed demographic of Japanese and Americans. They reported that on the ferry boat on the way over to the Memorial everyone is chatty and friendly and all smiles but then on the way back EVERYONE'S mood suddenly changes and they aren't feeling the same way they did on the way over. I guess that visiting Historical sites can have that effect on people.

Thank God that this is a bygone era and we can look at each other as AMERICANS ALL, UNITED TOGETHER...

I am a travel writer for National Park Planner and I visited the Andersonville National Historic Site in November 2013. The park is located in Andersonville, Georgia, a rural town in south Georgia. The park preserves the most infamous of all Civil War prison camps, Camp Sumter, today known as Andersonville Prison. Nearly 13,000 Union prisoners died from starvation, disease, and exposure to the elements during the camp’s 14 months of operation from February, 1864, until the end of the war in April, 1865.

The park consists of a Visitor Center and massive POW Museum, a museum dedicated to prisoners of all American wars, not just the Civil War. Visitors are free to self-explore the prison site on foot or by car, or attend a Ranger-guided tour of the upper portion of the prison camp on select days. Partial reconstructions of the fort walls and original entrance gate can be found on the grounds of the former prison, as well as a variety of memorials to those who died. The Andersonville National Cemetery is also open to the public. It is here that many of those who died at the prison are buried. The cemetery is still operational and will intern qualifying persons until the land is full.

Visit National Park Planner (npplan) for complete information about the park and plenty of...

We suggest starting at the visitor center and getting your park stamps and oriented to park before you drive or walk around the sites. The exhibit includes a short movie that discusses the POW experience well beyond Andersonville and up to the current day. It was very well done From there check with Park Ranger and get your maps and apps ready to go. Go out the back door and look at the overview site before heading to the car.

The site is designed to drive around with parking spots that allow you to explore. It also has a recorded feature allowing you to learn about the site as you drive around. We started off with the prison camp and concluded in the cemetery. Park closes at five, so make sure you leave enough time. The visitor center takes at least 30 minutes and each narrated drive but that does not include stopping at points of interest and exploring.

I've seen the pictures in the past, but it really helps to see it in person and see the size and the scope and the same little riverbed flowing through 157 years later.

The park is well cared for and people...