Georgia Magazine - September 2013 - (Page 26)

Buried treasure Archaeologists continue excavation of long-lost Civil War prison camp near Millen BY ANNE MARIE KYZER ANNE MARIE KYZER T he dark circle is telling. Archaeologist Lance Green crouches in an excavation pit and runs his ﬁngers over the patch of carbon-colored soil. It’s a sharp contrast to the sandy clay packed around it. “That was one of the pine posts,” he conﬁrms, then raises his head and points out where thousands of others would have been lined up next to it to form a 15-foot-high stockade wall. Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s men set ﬁre to them nearly 150 years ago, along with much of the rest of Camp Lawton, a Confederate prisoner of war (POW) camp near Millen. It was said to be the largest in the world when it was constructed in 1864 near the close of the Civil War to ease overcrowding at the notorious Andersonville prison, also known as Camp Sumter, outside Americus. Camp Lawton was occupied for just six weeks before its nearly 10,000 prisoners were marched to the nearby railroad in the middle of the night and loaded Lance Green, a professor who leads the archaeology team from Georgia Southern University, points out features in a trench to Mason Mobley and Charlie Gentry, of Waynesboro, who visited the Camp Lawton site with their families. August 1864: Prison conditions at Andersonville become so poor and overcrowded that Confederate leaders decide to construct another prison, at Magnolia Springs. Sept. 18, 1864: The ﬁrst prisoners are moved to Camp Lawton. Some write of their relief to see better conditions, though illness, exposure and insufﬁcient rations would still prove fatal for hundreds. 26 Oct. 15, 1864: The 42-acre prison is completed. According to the only known report submitted by the prison’s commander, Capt. D.W. Vowles, 10,299 prisoners were at the prison, of which 349 had enlisted with the Confederates, 486 had died, and 285 were working at the prison. Historians believe at least 725 Union prisoners ultimately died there. Nov. 26, 1864: The prisoners are evacuated in the middle of the night, just four days before Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s army reaches Millen. Their hasty exit may be why so many arti1865: The land where the camp was situated is returned to its previous owner, local widow Caroline Elizabeth Jones. VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, MSS5.1.SN237.1V.6P.139 Timeline of Camp Lawton This map, drawn by Union Pvt. Robert Knox Sneden during his internment at Camp Lawton, helped archaeologists locate the prison camp’s stockade walls. Georgia Southern University, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources have partnered to excavate the camp, which may turn out to be one of the most well-preserved POW camp sites from the Civil War. More online at www.georgiamagazine.org GEORGIA MAGAZINE http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - September 2013

Georgia Magazine - September 2013
Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Liberty Notes
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar of Events
Currents
Georgia’s Energy Outlook
From Rural Georgia to the Governor’s Mansion
Buried Treasure
Celebrating 75 Years in the Community
Lessons for Learning
Around Georgia
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Georgia Cooks
Snapshot

Georgia Magazine - September 2013