Hey gang, Just a short reminder to the vets and newbies at this site of my free research for the asking here at Andersonville. Please email me directly with request so we dont tie up the county site. Kevin Andersonville Historic Site Historian / NPS Volunteer www.angelfire.com/ga2/Andersonvilleprison/index.html

Thanks Kevin for you willingness to assist others. In the interest of representing both sides on this issue (not to fight the war again), there were two POW camps in the north that were as bad if not worse than Andersonville for the Confederate POW's. How were they worse? The numbers of deaths and prisoners are comparable, but in the north, food, shelter and clothing were withheld not because they were unavailable as in the south, but because they could be. To make matters worse, in the winter months the temperatures at the northern POW camps were much lower than they were in Alabama. Elmira, New York was one of these two POW camps - a member of my family died of dysentery here and is buried there today in a numbered grave. The following links can get you started on your research (or your enlightenment) of those Confederates who were confined at Elmira (aka Hellmira) prison. "If there ever was a hell on Earth, Elmira Prison was that hell, but it was not a hot one, for the thermometer was often 40 degrees below zero." http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/elmiraprison/ http://home.jam.rr.com/rjcourt52/cwprisons/elmiran.htm http://www.civilwarhistory.com/ElmiraPrison/Elmira.htm The other notorious POW camp was named after Stephen A. Douglas and was located very near Chicago - Camp Douglas. The following links can enlighten you on this subject. At Camp Douglas the number of deaths was so staggering they stopped keeping records. Many of the dead were simply thrown into Lake Michigan rather than buried - only to wash up on the shore at a later time. http://www.censusdiggins.com/prison_camp_douglas.html http://www.prairieghosts.com/campd.html http://www.cw-book-news.com/release%20info/02-99/chicago.html The only monument at Camp Douglas reads "TO THE MEMORY OF THE SIX THOUSAND SOUTHERN SOLDIERS HERE BURIED ... WHO DIED IN CAMP DOUGLAS PRISON ... 1862-65" Again, this isn't to start a debate, but to promote education. I'm sure you've heard the story about the three blind men who were told to describe an elephant when each was placed at a different point around the elephant and was able to touch that part of the elephant - there were, of course, three completely different descriptions. With history, it is important to see all sides of the issue before you decide who was right and who was wrong. As with all things, the American Civil War was not literally a black and white issue - there were many shades of gray. Neither side was 100% wrong and neither side was 100% right and the fact that this is still being debated today is proof of that. It is also proof that the winners write the history books because during my education in public schools and on through receiving my B.S. (not in history) I had not ever heard of either of these two POW camps. Thanks for your time. Don Silvius Berkeley County, WV "a mind is like a parachute, if it isn't open, it doesn't work" -----Original Message----- From: Kevin Frye [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, April 09, 2006 1:02 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [WVBERKEL] Andersonville Civil War POW site Hey gang, Just a short reminder to the vets and newbies at this site of my free research for the asking here at Andersonville. Please email me directly with request so we dont tie up the county site. Kevin Andersonville Historic Site Historian / NPS Volunteer www.angelfire.com/ga2/Andersonvilleprison/index.html ==== WVBERKEL Mailing List ==== Address all of BERKELEY County List messages to:[email protected]