This historic maker about escape tunnels and wells is located at Andersonville National Historic Site at Andersonville GA.
The marker reads as follows:
"ESCAPE TUNNELS
Concrete markers indicate sites where other wells and tunnels have been discovered. Most of been filled in by the park staff to help preserve the integrity of the historic features.
The ground at this end of the prison is pocked with deep holes -- either tunnels or wells. Overcrowding disguised the digging. Beneath the sea of tattered shelters, prisoners could work undetected with mess plates, spoons, and canteen halves.
It is tempting to call every excavation and escape tunnel, but many may have been wells. With the Stream lethally polluted, the search for freshwater was as urgent as the need to escape.
Some tunnels emerged beyond the stockade walls, but nearly all who tunneled free were recaptured. Most of Andersonville's approximately 300 successful escapees eluded guards while on work details outside the stockade.
“Just as it was coming light in the East we heard dogs after us. In a few moments the hounds came up with us and began smelling of us. Pretty soon 5 mounted rebels arrived on the scene of action. They laugh to think we expected to get away.”
-- John L. Ransom, 9th Michigan Cavalry, April 26, 1864"
From the National Park Service: (
visit link)
National Prisoner of War Museum
Hours of operation
The National Prisoner of War Museum, which also serves as the park's visitor center, opens at 9:30 a.m. and closes at 4:30 p.m. It is open every day of the week year-round, except on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.
Park Grounds
The park grounds are open daily from 8:00 am until 5:00 p.m., allowing access to the National Prisoner of War Museum, the historic prison site and the Andersonville National Cemetery. The park grounds including the National Prisoner of War Museum and the historic prison site are closed only three days per year: New Years Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
Andersonville National Cemetery
The National Cemetery is open every day of the year from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. On New Years Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day access to the National Cemetery is provided through the Cemetery Entrance Gate."