Tweet
Group will rededicate Civil War prison statue
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
By Gary W. Morrison
The Grand Rapids Press
History will repeat itself Sunday when local members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War travel to Georgia to rededicate a monument to soldiers who died in a prison there.
Michigan Gov. A.T. Bliss originally dedicated the memorial on May 30, 1904, to the state's 720 Union soldiers who died in the Andersonville prison, said Bruce Butgereit, commander of the Grand Rapids Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War group.
Andersonville, known as Camp Sumter then, is the site of the infamous Confederate prison camp built in 1864 where Union soldiers were kept in harsh, disease-ridden conditions. During the 14 months the prison existed, almost 13,000 Union soldiers -- more than a quarter of those held there -- died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition or exposure.
The Michigan monument is one of several dedicated to soldiers who died at Andersonville. This will mark the first time a group has returned for a rededication on the site.
Butgereit said the local group, which will include members of Sons of Union Veterans groups from all over the state, will replace a wreath that once was part of the original monument with one made by Mercene Karkadoulias, whose Cincinnati-based studio restored the Kent County Civil War Monument.
Group members also will bring soil from different parts of the state to scatter at Andersonville as part of the rededication ceremony, he said.
"I am bringing soil from the cemetery at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans," he said. "People from other parts of the state are doing the same.
"It will mean that soldiers who died and never set foot in Michigan again will have earth from their home state scattered over their grave sites."
While in Andersonville, the Michigan contingent will march in a parade along with members of Sons of Confederate Veterans of the Civil War, Butgereit said. Central Congregational Church of Atlanta also plans to send representatives to the rededication, just as it did to the original ceremony in 1904.
"So much that happened then will happen again," Butgereit said. "Except for not having the governor join us, events that take place will be just about the same as they were 100 years ago."
© 2004 Grand Rapids Press. Used with permission
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
By Gary W. Morrison
The Grand Rapids Press
History will repeat itself Sunday when local members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War travel to Georgia to rededicate a monument to soldiers who died in a prison there.
Michigan Gov. A.T. Bliss originally dedicated the memorial on May 30, 1904, to the state's 720 Union soldiers who died in the Andersonville prison, said Bruce Butgereit, commander of the Grand Rapids Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War group.
Andersonville, known as Camp Sumter then, is the site of the infamous Confederate prison camp built in 1864 where Union soldiers were kept in harsh, disease-ridden conditions. During the 14 months the prison existed, almost 13,000 Union soldiers -- more than a quarter of those held there -- died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition or exposure.
The Michigan monument is one of several dedicated to soldiers who died at Andersonville. This will mark the first time a group has returned for a rededication on the site.
Butgereit said the local group, which will include members of Sons of Union Veterans groups from all over the state, will replace a wreath that once was part of the original monument with one made by Mercene Karkadoulias, whose Cincinnati-based studio restored the Kent County Civil War Monument.
Group members also will bring soil from different parts of the state to scatter at Andersonville as part of the rededication ceremony, he said.
"I am bringing soil from the cemetery at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans," he said. "People from other parts of the state are doing the same.
"It will mean that soldiers who died and never set foot in Michigan again will have earth from their home state scattered over their grave sites."
While in Andersonville, the Michigan contingent will march in a parade along with members of Sons of Confederate Veterans of the Civil War, Butgereit said. Central Congregational Church of Atlanta also plans to send representatives to the rededication, just as it did to the original ceremony in 1904.
"So much that happened then will happen again," Butgereit said. "Except for not having the governor join us, events that take place will be just about the same as they were 100 years ago."
© 2004 Grand Rapids Press. Used with permission