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Wreaths Across America at Andersonville
National Cemetery
Annual ceremony to occur on Saturday,
December 13, 2014
ANDERSONVILLE, Georgia - Andersonville
National Historic Site would like to invite
you to remember and honor our military
veterans during the winter season by
participating in the Wreaths Across America
program on
December 13, 2014 at 12:00 p.m.
Wreaths Across America is a national program
that encourages individuals, community
groups and families to sponsor wreaths for
placement in national cemeteries throughout
the United States. These wreaths may be
placed on specific graves, or left
undesignated to place on one of thousands of
unvisited graves. Wreaths may be purchased
and sent to Andersonville National Cemetery
by visitingwww.wreathsacrossamerica.org.
Wreaths may also be purchased from local
florists or home improvement stores and
placed at the cemetery throughout the month
of December.
Each year, Andersonville National Cemetery
receives approximately 200 donated wreaths
for its over 19,000 gravesites. To ensure
that each grave will be decorated at least
once, volunteers and park staff rotate
wreath placement by sections. For 2014,
undesignated wreaths will be placed in
Section B, which contains burials dating
from the Civil War to the early 1900s.
On
December
13, 2014 at 12:00 p.m. the
Civil Air Patrol will conduct a brief
ceremony honoring America's armed forces in
the Andersonville National Cemetery. This
ceremony is open to the public. Attendees
are encouraged to bring a wreath, for
placement after the service.
If you, your family, organization, or
business is interested in sponsoring one or
more wreaths, you can learn more about the
program and sponsor wreaths online at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.
Please remember to visit the Andersonville
National Cemetery page to ensure your wreath
arrives at the intended location.
Beginning
December 1, 2014, wreaths and floral
blankets no larger than 2 by 3 feet are
permitted in the cemetery. Wreaths should be
brought in person, or delivered by a
florist, directly to the gravesite. To find
the location of a specific grave, please
visithttp://gravelocator.cem.va.gov or
stop at the National Prisoner of War Museum
for assistance.
"The laying of a wreath at the grave of a
friend, family member or stranger is a
simple expression of gratitude," says
Charles Sellars, Superintendent of
Andersonville National Historic Site. "At
this busy time of year, the wreath ceremony
helps us pause to remember the many
sacrifices of these men and women who chose
to serve their country."
150th Anniversary First Saturday Programs--December
6, 2014
Park staff and volunteers explore the winter
of Andersonville
ANDERSONVILLE, Georgia - At the beginning of
December 1864, Andersonville was a shell of
its former self; since September over 25,000
prisoners had been relocated from
Andersonville to other military prisons in
Georgia and South Carolina in order to
prevent Sherman from liberating them.
Andersonville had become a hospital prison,
with most of the remaining population sick,
dying, or tending to those in need.
Sherman's march to the sea resulted in the
abandonment of Camp Lawton, one of these
replacement prisons. In the days around
Christmas, over 3,400 prisoners were
returned through the gates to Andersonville.
Their holiday season was one of uncertainty.
In his diary, George Clarkson despaired, "my
heart almost fails me, hope I shall never
see another such a black Christmas."
Join park staff and volunteers for special
programs on the First
Saturday of December (Saturday,
December 6, 2014),
to learn more about the Andersonville
Prison. There is no admission fee and all
programs are open to the public.
10:00 a.m. --
Special Program-- The Road To Andersonville:
Departure
Join a park ranger on a guided walk
following in the footsteps of the 45,000
United States soldiers held at Andersonville
prison from 1864-1865. The tour begins at
the National Prisoner of War Museum at
Andersonville National Historic Site and
lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes. The tour starts
promptly at
10:00 a.m. Reservations are required
for this program and may be obtained online
at http://go.nps.gov/roadtoandersonville
11:00 a.m. --
Prison Site Walk
Join longtime volunteer Jimmy Culpepper at
the Wisconsin Monument to explore the
history of the prison site.
1:00 p.m. --
Prison Site Talk: "Freedom's Winter"
For the 4,000 prisoners at Andersonville by
the end of December, the smaller prisoner
population in the stockade brought no
increase in comfort or rations. Hope for
exchange or rescue had faded, and prisoners
relied on each other for support and
survival. Join a park ranger at the prison
site to explore the winter experiences at
Andersonville.
3:00 p.m. --
Prison Site Talk: "The Fugitives"
Prisoners attempted escape as a calculated
act of resistance against their captors and
only if they felt the risk of recapture and
punishment were low. Most of the very few
successful escapes from Andersonville
occurred during the fall and winter of 1864.
Successful escapes relied on more than luck
and ingenuity; join a park ranger at the
prison site to explore the circumstances of
escape.
All programs are subject to change due to
weather and other concerns.
First Saturdays are one of a variety of
programs over the two-year period of the
150th anniversary of the prison in 2014 &
2015 that will explore the prison site and
the prison experience at Andersonville while
also addressing the larger story at other
military prisons, in the north and south.
For more information on anniversary
programs, themes and other featured prisons,
please visit the park website at:http://go.nps.gov/cwprisons
Holiday Hours at the Andersonville National
Historic Site
ANDERSONVILLE, Georgia - During the upcoming
winter holiday season, the National Prisoner
of War Museum at Andersonville National
Historic Site will be closed on Thanksgiving
Day,
November 27, 2014; Christmas Day,
December 25, 2014: and New Years Day,
January 1, 2015. The park entrance,
prison site, and picnic area will also be
closed on these three days.
The Andersonville National Cemetery will be
open to the public each of these holidays,
from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Holiday
access to the National Cemetery will be
through the Cemetery gate, located just
north of the city of Andersonville on
Highway 49. "The National Cemetery remains
open on holidays to allow families to visit
their loved ones," remarked acting park
superintendent Eric Leonard.
The Friends of Andersonville and American
Ex-Prisoners of War Receive National
Director's Partnership Award
The park's Friends Group and Former
Prisoners of War partnered with the National
Park Service to develop the "Victory From
Within" traveling exhibit.
ANDERSONVILLE, Georgia -The Friends of
Andersonville and American Ex-Prisoners of
War (AXPOW) received the 2014 National Park
Service Director's Partnership Award for
their efforts to complete an interactive
traveling exhibit about the Prisoner of War
(POW) experience. A multi-year fundraising
effort and long-standing collaboration with
the staff of Andersonville National Historic
Site was acknowledged with this award, which
highlights the national significance of the
partnership.
Working together, the two organizations
raised $221,000 to complete the traveling
exhibit. Former prisoners of war from World
War II, Korea, and Vietnam donated
artifacts, shared their personal stories,
and contributed to a companion teacher's
curriculum. The exhibit, entitled Victory
From Within: The American Prisoner of War
Experience,
was created to give more citizens the
opportunity to understand the American POW
story. The 1,200 square foot exhibit
explores the POW experience and displays
artifacts and audio-visual interviews from
actual prisoners of war. The exhibit will
travel to universities, museums, and other
institutions nation-wide, ensuring the POW
legacy is preserved.
The Friends
of Andersonville was
established in 1988 to provide support to
Andersonville National Historic Site. This
dedicated group works closely with park
staff to foster public understanding of the
role this military prison camp played in our
nation's history. AXPOW is
a service organization that aims to assist
the surviving U.S. military prisoner of war.
Based in Arlington, Texas, AXPOW was founded
in 1942. Both organizations also played a
critical role twenty years ago in
fundraising and development of the National
Prisoner of War Museum at Andersonville. Jim
Covington, Chairman of the Friends of
Andersonville board remarked, "The Friends
are very humbled by this award; it has
always been our honor to support the
National Historic Site at Andersonville and
to serve with other fine organizations, such
as the American Ex-Prisoners of War in the
furtherance of this mission."
"A long-time goal of the park and its
partners is to make these compelling stories
of sacrifice more accessible to audiences
across the country," remarked acting
superintendent Eric Leonard, "and thanks to
the support of former POWs, this goal has
been achieved."
2015 Prisoner of War
Research Grant Program Announced
ANDERSONVILLE, Georgia -
Andersonville National Historic Site, home
of the National Prisoner of War Museum,
seeks applicants for an annual grant program
which will provide financial assistance to
support original research and writing
leading to interpretive works on the history
of American Prisoners of War. These
research grants are made possible through
the generosity of the Friends of
Andersonville.
The following information
will be of interest to those who desire to
apply for financial assistance.
- Academic
scholars (including graduate students),
independent scholars and professional and
non-professional writers are encouraged to
apply.
- Awards
would provide a maximum of $1,000 and can be
used to offset travel expenses and other
research related activities excluding large
equipment purchases.
- The
applicant should state clearly the research
topic and chronological period to be covered
in the study. In addition, the applicant
should state whether the research project is
for a degree program or a manuscript being
prepared for publication.
- The
grant is designed to promote interest in the
prisoner of war experience and encourage
scholarly research which leads to
documentation of the prisoner of war
experience in a variety of media including
theses, publications and audiovisual
productions. Especially encouraged are
projects that cover subjects not well
represented in the published record.
This includes an administrative history of
the park from the Civil War to the present,
prisoners of war during early conflicts in
American history, individual prisoner of war
camps and the experiences of minorities as
prisoners of war. Subject matter can also
extend to relevant aspects of the prisoner
of war experience, such as the families of
POWs and the guards at prisoner of war
camps, including the Georgia Reserves and
others at the Andersonville Prison.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Applicants should submit an application
packet for the Prisoner of War Research
Grant which includes an application cover
sheet, a current curriculum vita and two
letters of recommendation to the mailing
address below.
Applications submitted
by electronic mail or fax will not be
accepted. The application deadline for 2015
awards is December
12, 2014. Awards will be
made by January
30, 2015. Andersonville
National Historic Site will acknowledge
receipt of complete applications if a
self-addressed, stamped envelope is included
with the application. Incomplete
applications will not be considered. The
application cover sheet can be found at: http://go.nps.gov/POWresearchgrant
MAILING ADDRESS
Applications and letters of recommendation
should be sent to:
Andersonville National
Historic Site
POW Research Grant Program
496 Cemetery Road
Andersonville, GA 31711
For questions regarding the research grant
program, please call Chief of Interpretation
and Education Eric Leonard at 229
924-0343, extension 201.
Andersonville National Historic Site is
located 10 miles south of Oglethorpe, GA and
10 miles northeast of Americus, GA on
Georgia Highway 49. The national park
features the National Prisoner of War
Museum, Andersonville National Cemetery and
the site of the historic Civil War prison,
Camp Sumter. Andersonville National Historic
Site is the only national park within the
National Park System to serve as a memorial
to all American prisoners of war. Park
grounds are open from 8:00
a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The
National Prisoner of War Museum is open 9:00
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., daily.
Admission is free. For more information on
the park, call 229 924-0343, or visit at www.nps.gov/ande/Visit
us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AndersonvilleNPS,
Twitter www.twitter.com/andeNHS
www.nps.gov
About the National Park Service. More
than 20,000 National Park Service employees
care for America's 401 national parks and
work with communities across the nation to
help preserve local history and create
close-to-home recreational opportunities.
Learn more atwww.nps.gov.
About the Friends of Andersonville. The
Friends of Andersonville are a 501[c][3]
organization fostering public understanding
of the role Andersonville National Historic
Site plays in our Nation's History. Learn
more at www.friendsofandersonville.org
November "Night Museum" Returns to
Andersonville National Historic Site
Experience the National Prisoner of War
Museum and the prison site after dark.
ANDERSONVILLE, Georgia - On the evening of
Saturday, November 15, the popular "Night
Museum" program will return to Andersonville
National Historic Site.
From 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.,
the National Prisoner of War Museum will be open
for a rare night-time opportunity to view the
museum exhibits and experience the prison site
by lantern light.
At 7:00
p.m. a special program, "Andersonville in
Motion: Prison Transfers, Mass Escapes, and the
Collapse of the Confederacy" will be presented
by Professor Lorien Foote. Ms. Foote's program
will explore the history of United States
prisoner confinement and relocation during the
Civil War and how this "prison transfer debacle"
in the fall of 1864 contributed to the collapse
of Confederate home front and ended effective
Confederate authority in the Department of South
Carolina, Georgia and Florida. This program will
also include stories of thousands of escaping
Union prisoners and the slaves, deserters, and
southern Unionists who helped the fugitive
Yankees to Union lines.
Lorien Foote is professor of history at Texas
A&M University. She is the author of two books,
most recently The Gentlemen and the Roughs:
Manhood, Honor, and Violence in the Union Army
(2010), which was a finalist and Honorable
Mention for the 2011 Lincoln Prize. She is the
creator and principal investigator of a project
with the Center for Virtual History at the
University of Georgia that is mapping the
movement of 3,000 Federal prisoners of war who
escaped from the Confederacy during the American
Civil War (http://www.ehistory.org/projects/fugitive-federals.html).
"A visit to the National Prisoner of War Museum
is a moving experience under any circumstance,"
stated Acting Superintendent Eric Leonard, "but
we hope that this Night Museum program will
better illuminate the complex prison experience
for soldiers. Thousands of prisoners waited for
the cover of darkness to make their bids for
freedom, and when we have an opportunity to
share that setting, it reveals the desperate
acts of dying men."
Andersonville National Historic Site is located
10 miles south of Oglethorpe, GA and 10 miles
northeast of Americus, GA on Georgia Highway 49.
The national park features the National Prisoner
of War Museum, Andersonville National Cemetery
and the site of the historic Civil War prison,
Camp Sumter. Andersonville National Historic
Site is the only national park within the
National Park System to serve as a memorial to
all American prisoners of war. Park grounds are
open from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.. The
National Prisoner of War Museum is open 9:00
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., daily. Admission is free. For
more information on the park, call 229 924-0343,
or visit at www.nps.gov/ande/Visit
us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AndersonvilleNPS,
Twitter www.twitter.com/andeNHS
About the National Park Service. More
than 20,000 National Park Service employees care
for America's 401 national parks and work with
communities across the nation to help preserve
local history and create close-to-home
recreational opportunities. Learn more atwww.nps.gov.
150th Anniversary First
Saturday Programs-November
1, 2014
Park staff and volunteers explore the prisoner
experience at Andersonville
ANDERSONVILLE, Georgia - In November 1864,
Georgia was being divided by United States
forces. Following the occupation of Atlanta,
General Sherman and 62,000 Union troops pushed
southeast and scorched the countryside in his
unforgettable march to the Atlantic Ocean. His
campaign to the coast forced Confederate
officials at Andersonville to hastily relocate
over 20,000 prisoners to prisons in Savannah,
Millen, Charleston and Florence in a matter of
weeks. For the few hundred prisoners left
behind at Andersonville, the possibility of
freedom is tantalizingly close and the fear that
they will die before seeing that freedom is
devastatingly real. Prisoners determined to
change their fate contemplated the election of
McClellan over Lincoln, and some went so far as
to enter the Confederate service to buy their
liberty at the price of treason.
Join park staff and volunteers for special
programs on the First Saturday of November (Saturday,
November 1, 2014), to learn more about
the history of Andersonville Prison. The event
is free and all programs are open to the public.
10:00 a.m. -
Special Program- The Road To Andersonville:
Departure
Join a park ranger on a guided walk following in
the footsteps of the 45,000 United States
soldiers held at Andersonville prison from
1864-1865. The tour begins at the National
Prisoner of War Museum at Andersonville National
Historic Site and lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes.
The tour starts promptly at 10:00 a.m.. Reservations
are required for this program and may be
obtained online at http://go.nps.gov/roadtoandersonville
11:00 a.m. -
Prison Site Walk
Join longtime volunteer Jimmy Culpepper at the
Wisconsin Monument to explore the history of the
prison site.
2:00 p.m. -
Special program: Temporary Camps
Join a park ranger in the theater to explore the
history of temporary prison camps during the
Civil War. This is an indoor presentation at
the National Prisoner of War Museum
3:00 p.m. -
The Burying Ground: A Walk through the
Andersonville National Cemetery
Join a park ranger to walk through the
Andersonville National Cemetery and learn more
about the process of burying the dead at the
Andersonville Prison. Meet at the Georgia
Monument at the entrance to the National
Cemetery.
First Saturdays are
one of a variety of programs over the two-year
period of the 150th anniversary of the prison in
2014 & 2015 that will explore the prison site
and the prison experience at Andersonville while
also addressing the larger story at other
military prisons, in the north and south. Every
two months during the anniversary period, the
park will focus on a single word theme that
represents the events, conditions, or emotions
of prisoners during the war. To expand the
prisoner story, the park will feature other
Civil War prisons and draw on their stories to
present a fuller picture of the captivity
experience.
For more information on anniversary programs,
themes and other featured prisons, please visit
the park website at:http://go.nps.gov/cwprisons
Andersonville National Historic Site is located
10 miles south of Oglethorpe, GA and 10 miles
northeast of Americus, GA on Georgia Highway 49.
The national park features the National Prisoner
of War Museum, Andersonville National Cemetery
and the site of the historic Civil War prison,
Camp Sumter. Andersonville National Historic
Site is the only national park within the
National Park System to serve as a memorial to
all American prisoners of war. Park grounds are
open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m..The National
Prisoner of War Museum is open
9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., daily.
Admission is free. For more information on the
park, call 229 924-0343, or visit at www.nps.gov/ande/Visit
us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AndersonvilleNPS,
Twitter www.twitter.com/andeNHS
About the National Park Service. More
than 20,000 National Park Service employees care
for America's 401 national parks and work with
communities across the nation to help preserve
local history and create close-to-home
recreational opportunities. Learn more atwww.nps.gov.
Living History Weekend at Andersonville National
Historic Site
Explore the prisoner experience at
Andersonville during the 150th Anniversary
ANDERSONVILLE, Georgia - As part of the 150th
commemoration of the Civil War, Andersonville
National Historic Site will be hosting a living
history weekend on Saturday, October 25
and Sunday, October 26, 2014
In the autumn of 1864, General Sherman's
campaign in Georgia was rolling south, bringing
change to all the inhabitants of Sumter County.
After weeks of hurried prisoner evacuations, the
remaining United States soldiers held at
Andersonville hoped that their liberation was at
hand. Confederate guards and commanders
were anxious over their position at
Andersonville as Sherman's forces moved closer.
Thousands of prisoners have died before their
eyes, and no witness to the prison left
unchanged. Civilians were uneasy at the
possibility of Union forces overtaking their
homes, based on reports from northern parts of
the state. Come meet with living history
volunteers as they portray the prisoners, guards
and civilians caught in those tumultuous days.
"This year, as a special living history event,
we are tackling the complex topic of 'freedom,'"
remarked Eric Leonard, Acting Superintendent.
"For visitors who have come out to our living
history events in the past, this will be a new
experience. At Andersonville, it is not
always August and the prison population changes
with the war."
The fall of 1864 was a period defined by
dramatic changes and heartbreaking choices.
The failure to keep prisoners alive is
dreadfully apparent when people view the 11,000
graves created in just over six months of prison
operations. No one is certain of anything,
and the war grinds on.
Living historians and park staff will share
these stories and many others as we examine the
prison from a different perspective. What
freedoms does each person stand to gain or lose
before the New Year arrives?
A variety of programs will be offered on both
days. Living historians will be present at
the prison site from
10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday, and from 10:00
am to 3:00 pm on Sunday. A Junior Ranger
Station will be available for kids to complete
their Junior Ranger books and earn patches and
badges. This event and admission to the
park are free.
Andersonville National Historic Site is located
10 miles south of Oglethorpe, Ga., and 10 miles
northeast of Americus, Ga., on Georgia Highway
49. It features the National Prisoner of War
Museum, Andersonville National Cemetery and the
site of the historic Civil War prison, Camp
Sumter. Andersonville National Historic Site is
the only national park in the National Park
System to serve as a memorial to all American
prisoners of war. Park grounds are open
from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The National
Prisoner of War Museum is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., daily. Admission is free. For more
information on the park, call 229 924-0343, or
visit at www.nps.gov/ande/ Visit on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AndersonvilleNPS
or Twitter www.twitter.com/andeNHS
About the National Park Service. More
than 20,000 National Park Service employees care
for America's 401 national parks and work with
communities across the nation to help preserve
local history and create close-to-home
recreational opportunities. Learn more atwww.nps.gov.
- Andersonville National Historic Site
ATLANTA -- National Park
Service Southeast Regional Director Stan
 Austin
announced the selection of Charles Sellars as
superintendent of Andersonville National
Historic Site in Americus, Ga., effective
November 2. Sellars has been serving as the
deputy chief of facility management for Great
Smoky Mountains National Park since 2008.
"We are very proud to have
Charles join our Southeast leadership team as
superintendent of Andersonville," Austin said.
"He has served many parks in the region in
various capacities and has a broad base of
knowledge and experience. We know he will work
hard to strengthen the park's bonds with local
community leaders and other stakeholders."
Sellars began his National
Park Service (NPS) career in 1985 as a temporary
engineering draftsman at the Blue Ridge Parkway.
In 1986 he accepted a permanent position with
the parkway as an engineering draftsman, and in
1988 he became a civil engineering technician.
In 1996 he became the Maintenance Mechanic
Supervisor within the parkway's Pisgah District.
In 1998, Sellars moved to
Bandelier National Monument in Los Alamos, N.M.,
as chief of facility management. Sellars
returned to the Blue Ridge Parkway in 2000 as
the Ridge District facility manager. In 2002 he
moved to Big South Fork National River and
Recreation Area in Kentucky and Tennessee as the
chief of facility management.
Sellars moved to the Outer
Banks Group of North Carolina in 2004 to take
the position of chief of facility management. In
that role he managed facility operations at Cape
Hatteras National Seashore, Wright Brothers
National Memorial and Fort Raleigh National
Historic Site. In 2012 Sellars served as the
acting superintendent of Fort Donelson National
Battlefield and National Cemetery.
"I consider it an honor to be
selected as the superintendent of Andersonville
National Historic Site," Sellars said. "I look
forward to working with the park staff,
volunteers and partners in continuing to
preserve the stories of all American prisoners
of war, and to honor the sacrifices of all
veterans as we care for the National Cemetery."
Sellars, his wife Pam and
their two children will move to the Sumter
County, Ga., area in November. He enjoys
camping, reading and spending time with his
family.
Andersonville National
Historic Site is located 10 miles south of
Oglethorpe, Ga., and 10 miles northeast of
Americus, Ga., on Georgia Highway 49. It
features the National Prisoner of War
Museum, Andersonville National Cemetery and the
site of the historic Civil War prison, Camp
Sumter. Andersonville National Historic Site is
the only national park in the National Park
System to serve as a memorial to all American
prisoners of war. Park grounds are open
from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The National
Prisoner of War Museum is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., daily. Admission is free. For more
information on the park, call 229 924-0343, or
visit at www.nps.gov/ande/ Visit on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AndersonvilleNPS
or Twitter www.twitter.com/andeNHS
Andersonville Completes "State of the Park"
Report
New Report Summarizes Present Status of
Natural, Historic and Cultural Resources
ANDERSONVILLE, Georgia -
Scientists, historians and Andersonville
National Historic Site managers have taken a
long look at the natural, cultural and historic
resources in their care and summarized their
findings in a new "State of the Park" report
released this week.
"The report is part of a larger effort to
examine parks across the country, and gain
valuable insights on our most treasured
resources," said Acting Superintendent Eric
Leonard. "It lets us see the entire park at a
single moment in time. It's important because
this is a complex park and our stewardship
responsibilities are diverse and challenging.
For example, the park offers educational
programs, preserves artifacts and oral histories
related to the prisoner of war experience, and
manages an operational National Cemetery with
nearly 200 burials per year. We will use this
information to set park priorities for
improvement and report on our progress to the
American people."
The Andersonville National Historic Site "State
of the Park" report and others like it
summarizes complex scientific, scholarly, and
park operations information, highlights
stewardship efforts of park staff to maintain or
improve the condition of park resources, and
identifies the key issues and challenges the
park faces. The report is available online at www.nps.gov/stateoftheparks/ande/
The report for Andersonville shows an overall
positive trend for continuing to provide
visitors a place to consider the multiple
meanings of sacrifice. It recognizes consistent
high levels of visitor satisfaction since 2001,
recorded through annual surveys, and it
acknowledges recent achievements such as the Victory
From Within traveling
exhibit, ongoing 150th anniversary events, and
youth outreach including a very successful
junior ranger program. The report also
highlights recently begun projects to improve
stewardship of cultural resources, including a
Cultural Landscape Report and Historic Resource
Study. Some concerns identified in the report
include an increased number of burials in recent
years, aging exhibits, improvements needed to
enhance accessibility to some park features, and
deferred maintenance on all paved roads, parking
areas and bridges.
More "State of the Park" reports are underway
and they will be available upon completion
online at www.nps.gov/stateoftheparks/ and
on each park's website. By the National Park
Service Centennial in 2016, up to 50 parks will
complete these in-depth assessments of key
resources and values and will communicate their
findings to the American people.
Andersonville National
Historic Site is located 10 miles south of
Oglethorpe, GA and 10 miles northeast of
Americus, GA on Georgia Highway 49. The national
park features the National Prisoner of War
Museum, Andersonville National Cemetery and the
site of the historic Civil War prison, Camp
Sumter. -Andersonville National Historic Site is
the only national park within the National Park
System to serve as a memorial to all American
prisoners of war. Park grounds are open from 8:00
a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The
National Prisoner of War Museum is open 9:00
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., daily.
Admission is free. For more information on the
park, call 229 924-0343, or visit at www.nps.gov/ande/Visit
us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AndersonvilleNPS,
Twitter www.twitter.com/andeNHS
NPS
About the National Park
Service. More than 20,000 National
Park Service employees care for America's 401
national parks and work with communities across
the nation to help preserve local history and
create close-to-home recreational opportunities.
Learn more atwww.nps.gov Visit
us on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice,
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ANDERSONVILLE, Georgia - As
the changing color of the leaves outside denote
the arrival of cooler weather, the staff at
Andersonville National Cemetery would like to
remind the public of the following seasonal
changes to the floral decoration policy.
-
Fresh-cut flowers may be
placed on graves at any time.
-
During colder months,
from October
10 to April
15, artificial flowers and
wreaths are permitted.
-
Plantings, statues, vigil
lights, or other decorations are not
permitted at any time.
-
Christmas wreaths and
floral blankets no larger than 2 by 3 feet
are permitted from December
1 to January
20. After this time seasonal
decorations will be removed and discarded.
-
All flowers will be
removed when they become faded or unsightly,
at the discretion of cemetery staff.
"The coming of autumn and the
holiday season allows unique opportunities to
mark the graves of loved ones and our nation's
honored veterans who are laid to rest in the
National Cemetery," remarked acting
superintendent Eric Leonard, "we hope that
families take advantage of this time to
remember."
Upcoming events include a special Living History
Weekend October
25-26, First Saturday Programs
on November
1, the popular "Night Museum"
program on Saturday,
November 15, and the annual
Wreaths Across America service on December
13.
The Wreaths Across America program in December
offers a unique way in which families and
members of the public may decorate graves and
honor the fallen. You can learn more about the
program and purchase wreaths online at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org,
or contact your local florist to order an
appropriate floral decoration. Wreaths should be
brought to the gravesite in person or delivered
by a florist beginningDecember
1st. To find the location of a
specific grave, please visit gravelocator.cem.va.gov
The Civil Air Patrol will conduct the annual
Wreaths Across America ceremony honoring
America's armed forces in the Andersonville
National Cemetery on Saturday,
December 13, 2014 at 12:00 noon.
Andersonville National Historic Site is located
10 miles south of Oglethorpe, GA and 10 miles
northeast of Americus, GA on Georgia Highway 49.
The national park features the National Prisoner
of War Museum, Andersonville National Cemetery
and the site of the historic Civil War prison,
Camp Sumter. Andersonville National Historic
Site is the only national park within the
National Park System to serve as a memorial to
all American prisoners of war. Park grounds are
open from 8:00
a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The
National Prisoner of War Museum is open 9:00
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., daily.
Admission is free. For more information on the
park, call 229 924-0343, or visit at www.nps.gov/ande/Visit
us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AndersonvilleNPS,
Twitter www.twitter.com/andeNHS
About the National Park Service. More
than 20,000 National Park Service employees care
for America's 401 national parks and work with
communities across the nation to help preserve
local history and create close-to-home
recreational opportunities. Learn more atwww.nps.gov.
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