Research Blog Post 5 – picture

I found this image in one of the many books that I used to try and find information on Andersonville. This picture originally comes from the book “Locating Union and Confederate Records” by Nancy Justus Morebeck. However, i could not use that image because I did not have the copyright and thus was not allowed to take a picture of it This specific image that is below I found on the site civilwarhome.com  and clicking on civil war potpourri , then prisoners and prisons, then civil war prisons, then finally andersonville prison. However, it is that exact same one in the book and can be found in the book on page 64. I was just flipping threw the book to see if I could find an estimate from her on how many troops died in Andersonville, alone and while I did not find the answer to that question I did come across this picture. This picture show a number of Union soldiers waiting to get their rations for the day. One of the things that stuck out to me about this picture was how crowded the camp was. If you look you can see long lines of make shift tents and people. The overcrowding of Andersonville is one of the main complaints that is brought against Andersonville. Another thing that you can see from the picture is the basics of the outline of the camp. You can see the high fences that kept the prisoners in. You can also see the cook house in the back. Which means that the small river that ran through the camp is not to far from where the picture was taken. Furthermore, you can tell that the camp has no shade which makes the summers and the hot weather even more unbearable as well as no place besides the rough ground to sit and rest. I also found that the photographer was a confederate known as A.J. Riddle who was allowed to take 8-9 photographs. Why he choose this one is still a little puzzling.

http://www.civilwarhome.com/images/andersonville.jpg

1) courtesy of http://www.civilwarhome.com/andersonville.htm

2) Nancy Justus Morebeck, Andersonville Prison, Ga. Issuing Rations. 1864 August 17. Locating Union and Confederate Records. (Utah, North Salt Lake: Heritage Quest, 2001) 64

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One Response to Research Blog Post 5 – picture

  1. Matthew Pinsker says:

    You need to provide better citation information for this image (including page number). Also, remember your assignment is to go to archives and research images there. Ideally, for your topic, you would find a way to make it out to the Military History Institute at AHEC / War College barracks in Carlisle. If not, then at least try to figure out a creative way to use the college archives or Cumberland County Historical Society.

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