A Favorite Lesson

Six years ago our family took a trip to Florida. It’s a long story. But, I wasn’t particularly interested in going to Florida. I had been there multiple times before. But, we’d gotten a good deal at a resort and in the end, it was quite a restful and enjoyable trip. One of my requirements on this trip was to take a detour on the way back and visit Andersonville Prison and Prisoner of War Museum in Georgia.

If you’re not aware of Andersonville, it was the most notorious of POW camps in the south. It was a POW camp for fourteen months of the four year long Civil War. During that time, approximately 13,000 prisoners died there. Our visit came during the span of time that was the 150th anniversary of its existence. So, the photo of the included sign shows, for example, that 150 years to the day we were there 105 men died that day.

The primary cause of death was disease and malnutrition/starvation. The photo of the stream is to show you their source of drinking water which was already polluted before the water entered the stockade.

My primary reason for stopping here besides my interest in 19th century American history and Civil War history was that I had a relative who was captured in battle and taken here. He was one of the fortunate ones who survived it and lived until 1928.

A place like this does not evoke “happy thoughts.” In fact, it’s quite humbling to get a glimpse of the horrors of war and to realize what some people endured and sacrificed for the benefits of others. At such a cost, I’d hope that our desires would be for many others to also experience those benefits and liberties as well; that we would not have an “every person for themselves” attitude.