Return to Americus and a Civil War History lesson at Andersonville

Sunday, November 18
We made the return trip to Americus today. We were there yesterday (November 17) and certainly didn't spend enough time exploring. There was a walking and driving tour of the community we wanted to complete.

When Hurricane Michael came across the Florida Panhandle a couple of months ago there was not much to stop it from coming across country into Georgia. As we drove around the area we could see the results of the high winds. There were some roofs with tarps on them and some signs blown over, but the most obvious signs were the Pecan groves. Pecan trees have very shallow roots. The winds were too much for many mature trees. You can see the results below.

We heard the cotton crop was damaged as well. I can imagine a lot of the cotton balls blew off.

In Americus we began by wandering in the downtown area. Some impressive business structures.

This building was built in 1892 and was a clothing store originally.

This was a hardware store and built in 1883. Amazing brickwork.

Beautifully restored and maintained. This block dates back to 1910 to 1919.

The Rylander Theater (on the left) was renovated in 1999. It hosted Jimmy Carter's 75th birthday party.
The building in the middle is Monroe's. Their specialty is chili dogs and they serve over 600 pounds per week. Their motto is 'Best Dog Ever Bitten By A Man'.

First Methodist Church of Americus

We drove through some beautiful residential areas of Americus. Italian Renaissance Revival, Craftsman, Antebellum, Victorian, Greek Revival, Mediterranean Revival, etc., and blah, blah. There were lots of descriptions on the architectural style, but honestly......who cares. Below are some examples of the drop-dead gorgeous homes in Americus. You decide if you like them. We did!

After giving Americus a good looking over we headed up the road Andersonville. This was a very active spot during the Civil War. There was a Confederate Prison near here and at it's height held over 30,000 Union Troops. It was notorious for the terrible conditions, but in reality was no worse that the Union prisons in the north.

We spent some time in this well done museum. It held incredible artifacts and were all original, not reproductions.

A diorama of the Andersonville Prison. A meager stream ran through it to provide drinking water and sanitation for the prisoners. A good plan, but in reality the water flow was too little and the prisoner population too high. Disease ran rampant.

Original hats worn by various branches of the armies.

This should make your skin crawl! See below....

This is her original bonnet worn to her hanging! Yikes!

Weapons of all kinds.

Union soldiers.

Confederate soldiers.

The National Prisoner of War Museum covered all wars from Colonial to modern conflicts. It had very moving exhibits.

Of the 45,000 Union prisoners held here nearly 13,000 died.

As a prisoner of war camp they had to be ready for attack.

Remnants of the earthwork defenses. Cannons would have been placed on top.

We stopped at the cemetery. Many monuments are placed here and thousands of graves.

The number of dead exceeded the ability to build coffins so they began to bury the dead shoulder to shoulder, which explains why the headstones are so close together.

Many have 'Unknown' on their headstone. Originally the markers were rough wood, but the stone ones replaced them after the war.

This is still an active military cemetery. There are many recent graves.

We drove around the perimeter of the old prison. The marker on the left shows the location of the corner. The prison was actually a stockade made of felled trees so nothing remains of the original walls.

The low spot were the stream ran can be seen. The rebuilt wall on the left shows what the prison walls were like.

The water source for drinking and sewage.

The rebuilt north gate. Prisoners entered here. Many did not walk out.

This stone building represents the appearance of Providence Springs. As the story goes there was a lightening strike on the bank and a spring of fresh water appeared. It added to the flow of the water through the prison saving many lives.

The north gate mid way up the hill. The stone cairn on the left is the corner of the prison. Providence Springs hut shown in the bottom of the valley. The white stakes are the 'Dead Line', meaning if you were found in the area between the wall and the inside fence you were shot.

Civil War era cannon shown on the earthworks meant to defend the prison.

Another great day exploring the back country of middle Georgia and learn more about important historical events. What an awesome area to spend some relaxing time.

.....and that was Our View From Here!