This historic marker preserves the history of the experience of the initial entry into the Andersonville stockade at Andersonville National Historic Site at Andersonville GA.
The marker reads as follows:
"A TIGHT STOCKADE
Andersonville’s first phase
Based on archaeological evidence, this stockade is an accurate reconstruction of the prison's North Gate.
These carefully hewn, closely fitted logs reflected the deliberate design of the prison's initial sixteen and one-half acres. At the far northeast corner, haphazardly spaced tree trunks revealed the hasty construction of the camp’s ten-acre addition.
The Confederate's original p;an broke down under a wave of overcrowding. The contrasting stockade walls suggest that things had begin to go terribly wrong by the summer of 1864.
When the prison site was selected, dense pine and oak forest covered the slopes. Slaves felled the straightest pines, topped them to a uniform length and hewed them with broadaxes. The logs were set in a ditch 5 feet deep (as shown in the archaeologist’s photo, below), and stood 17 feet above the ground.”
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.”