27 May 2025, Andersonville RV Park, Andersonville, Georgia
Jeeps – 1 (ours)
Barry has come down with a cold, so he slept a little later this morning.
Our first stop was the
National Prisoner of War Museum. It’s a beautiful brick building next to the
Andersonville Prison Site. The gift shop is located to the left upon entry, and I stamped my passport books. I then purchased the stickers I needed for my passport books and a Christmas ornament.
We then watched the 27-minute movie
Echoes of Captivity, narrated by Colin Powell. It covered POWs from the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and the First Gulf War, including a woman pilot. If you have the time, click on the link to watch the film. One of the service members interviewed was Senator John McCain. As I was writing this blog, I conducted a Google search for John McCain and ended up down a rabbit hole, where I discovered the program from the
dedication ceremony of the museum. It contains a wealth of valuable information. Please take the time to look through it. One thing I found fascinating was how many women were involved, from the architect and producer of the movie Echoes of Captivity to the sculptor artists.
It took us about 3 hours to go through the museum. The most memorable exhibit for me was a wall of photos and TV screens featuring interviews with family members, which showcased what it was like for them. The other exhibit at the top of my list was how thin paper escape maps were sandwiched between layers of pasteboard by the U.S. Playing Card Company in Cleveland, Ohio...just excellent. The exhibits include many artifacts. It is one of the best museums I have visited. Bring tissues if you visit this museum.
Then we went to Andersonville Prison, which is behind the POW museum. There is a road you can drive around and stop at all the monuments and signs. We stopped at all the signs so I could read them and take photos. The original prison was 26 1/2 acres. It took us about an hour. Once you see the outline of the prison, it’s hard to imagine how any of the 32,000 prisoners survived.
It was 1:00 PM, and we were starving. The RV park was only 5 minutes away, so we went home to grab a sandwich. After lunch, it was back to Andersonville National Cemetery. Last night, I found two photo requests on Find A Grave and decided to fulfill them. It was easy to find the gravesites. I’ll upload the photos tomorrow morning before we leave for Plains, Georgia, to visit the President Jimmy Carter National Historic Park Sites.
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| NPS Andersonville Brochure pg. 1 |
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| NPS Andersonville Brochure pg. 2 |
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| I heard this guy this morning making a lot of noise |
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| The front of the Naational POW Museum |
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| What a great idea |
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| A great timeline |
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Those are guns sticking out of the wall.
When you press the screen, the room goes dark,
and the guns fire at you. Very effective. |
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| A poem written by President Jimmy Carter |
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Very moving exhibits just outside the museum, and before
entering the area where Andersonville prison was. |
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| Side view of the exhibit |
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| Walkway down to the spring |
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| Replica of the north gate above the spring |
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This building was not covering
the spring during the Civil War
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| Information about the spring |
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| St. James Pennington church, plaque below |
Copyright © 2025 by Jacqueline Threet Henderson, Jacqueline's Jaunts. All rights reserved.
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