Day 4 Andersonville Prison Site and National Cemetery

The vacation wasn't all mindless fun. My cousin Sarah has started researching our family tree and found out that we had a grandfather, Nathaniel Green Henderson, who was a POW during the Civil War at Andersonville. Since we were so close to Andersonville, Kenny and I thought it would be a shame if we didn't go get some pictures of the tombstone and do some rubbings. Having been to Andersonville before, I was prepared for the eeriness of a Civil War Battlefield/Prison site. Knowing that you have a relative who was there and who died from a totally treatable disease today lends the place a whole new level of sadness. I did a little bit of research before we went to find out more about how our ancestor landed in Andersonville. He was from Tennessee, but fought with a Union Calvary Regiment. He was captured by General Forrest, the founder and first grand wizard of the KKK, at the Battle of Ft. Pillow, TN. Apparently, Gen. Forrest captured Ft. Pillow and took all of the Union soldiers there as POWs, except the Union regiments made up of African Americans. These he ordered his troops to slaughter, while the other POWs watched, by running them through with bayonets. From the accounts I read about this battle, it became a pivotal battle because it spurred the African American soldiers to fight even harder during battle. Apparently one of their rallying cries became "Remember Ft. Pillow". After reading about the battle and conditions at Andersonville, it was sobering to see how close the headstones were and realize just how many men of all ages lost their lives during the Civil War. It also made us reflect on how we humans never seem to learn, what with the headlines from today. On the day we visited, there was a funeral going on for a soldier. Unfortunately, the more things change, the more some things remain the same.