I’ve heard people in recent times, especially in the time of Trump’s term as president, say they want a Civil War. And I say outright, anyone saying such a thing is a complete imbecile. Stupid. Disgraceful.
They have never lived through a Civil War. And neither have I. But I have read enough about them to know of the atrocities, the unimaginable suffering, the terror it brings to a nation.
And now, as we see the war in Ukraine, I can only wonder why anyone would wish for such destruction of life.
Here in the United States, each war has left an indelible mark. The wretchedness was impossible to believe, each time. But believe it.
Mostly, today though, I am thinking of the Civil War. On this date, February 27, 1864, Union inmates began to arrive at that deadly Andersonville prison near Andersonville, Georgia. It was also known as Camp Sumter.
The word “civil” can mean a couple of things. It either relates to ordinary citizens and their concerns or struggles. OR. It can mean to be courteous and polite.
As we know, there was nothing civil about the Civil War.
Back to Andersonville. Captain Henry Wirz commanded the site. After the war, he was tried for his war crimes, found guilty, and executed. They hanged him at 10:32 a.m. on November 10, 1865, at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington D.C. It was located next to the U.S. Capitol. Somehow, I am not surprised by the next thing to come for him. His neck did not break from the fall. There was a crowd of 200 spectators there, guarded by 120 soldiers. They all watched as he writhed and slowly strangled. He was 42 years old.
He was found to be completely responsible for Andersonville. It was overcrowded to four times its capacity, and the prisoners were faced with an inadequate water supply, very little food, and highly unsanitary conditions. More than 45,000 Union prisoners were held at Andersonville during the war. Of those, nearly 13,000 died.
I’m sure the stories from that horrible place are many. One prisoner named Newell Burch recorded the poor conditions in his diary. He was in the New York Volunteer Infantry, and unfortunately, Newell was captured on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Initially, he was taken to the prison at Belle Isle in Richmond, Virginia. From there, he was transferred to Andersonville. It is not a great record to have, but he is credited with being the longest-held Union prisoner of war during the Civil War. Remarkably, he survived a total of 661 days in Confederate hands. His diary tells the tale.
Another guy, Dorence Atwater, was also a prisoner. He was chosen to record the names and numbers of the dead at Andersonville. This list was to be used by the Confederacy and the federal government after the war ended.
Young Dorence believed the federal government would never see the list. He was right. Day in, day out, he sat next to Henry Wirz, writing down the names. But while he kept the list for Wirz, he secretly kept his own duplicate list. What a great risk he took. When Atwater was released, he smuggled it through the lines without being caught.
He gave the list to the federal government. Dorence voiced his opinion that Wirz was trying to ensure that Union prisoners would be rendered unfit to fight if they survived. The government refused the list for some reason, chastizing Wirz. When Horace Greeley, the owner of the New York Tribune, caught wind of all this, he published that long list in the Tribune.
So. A short glimpse into a long war.
I am not sure why anyone today would wish for war.
May peace be with us all. For peace is the key to life.
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“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”
― Voltaire
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“Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.”
― Herbert Hoover
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“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”
― Albert Einstein
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