Andersonville

THU July 1

I have realized that I have driven US-101 on the west-coast in San Diego and going up passing San Simeon, through Monterey and Big Sur and now I have been on US-1 to/from Key West and on and off several times through Florida and I sure I will hit it more times as I head north.

I drove into St Augustine, the oldest continuously occupied city in the US, and the historic district; kind of difficult pulling the trailer through narrow streets. Park, walk and see a few things, nice.

I woke up this morning to discover a new water leak in the trailer from the rain. But not to worry because it is on Marla’s side of the bed and she isn’t with me for a while, just one more thing on the fix-it list.

Road notes:
0 = Take exit 75 on I-75 in Georgia to a Stuckeys shop selling their usual Pecan Rolls, souvenirs and Mexican blankets.
0 = Needed a bacon for breakfast fix and the breakfast bar had fried baloney.
0 = You know you’re in the South when Grits, Black-eyed Peas are on most buffet lines
0 = You know you’re in the South when getting a “To-Go” cup is normal and you aren’t charged for a second drink.
Detoured away from the coastal region in order to go to the Confederate prison in Andersonville GA. [From the brochure.] “Andersonville, or Camp Sumter, was one of the largest of many Confederate military prisons established during the Civil War. During the 14 months the prison existed, more than 45,000 Union soldiers were confined in the stockade. Of these 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure to the elements.” But in a movie then had it also said that the Union administration during the war turned down a request to parole these prisoners because they felt they would have to parole a similar number of Southern prisoners and that meant fighting them all over again. The movie also said that Northern prisons were much the same as Andersonville; but it seems to me that Andersonville got the name because the victors write the history.

On the site of the actual prison the National Park Service has recreated an example of the prison stockade and several states have erected monuments to soldiers from their state that died at Andersonville.

Andersonville is also still an active National Cemetery.

The Andersonville National Historic Site is also the home of the National POW Museum.