Andersonville in Sumter County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Andersonville
⎯⎯⎯
Father Peter Whelan

Photographed by David Seibert, January 24, 2011

1. Andersonville / Father Peter Whelan Marker (Side 1)

Inscription. (Side 1):
The city of Andersonville was incorporated in 1853 as the village center of a small farming community. It came to national attention when Camp Sumter Prison opened here in 1864 and especially when its commandant, Capt. Henry Wirz, was tried for alleged crimes against humanity in 1865.

Today, the community proclaims itself a “Civil War Village” and honors both the memory of Union soldiers who suffered here and Confederate soldiers who did their duty while experiencing illness and death in numbers comparable to their unfortunate prisoners.
(Continued on other side)

(Side 2):
Father Peter Whelan
(1802-1871)
(Continued from other side) Father Whelan was an Irish priest serving the Diocese of Savannah at the outbreak of the War Between the States. He volunteered to serve as chaplain to CSA troops at Ft. Pulaski and was taken as a POW when the fort fell to Union forces. After being held over a year at Governor's Island and Ft. Delaware, he returned to Savannah where he answered the plea to minister to the prisoners held at Camp Sumter. Whelan came to Andersonville on 16 June

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1864 and he remained here for four months daily tending to the needs of prisoners in the stockade. After the war, Whelan publicly defended Capt. Wirz as an innocent scapegoat. His life was cut short by a lung disease he contracted here and died on 6 February 1871. He was remembered by Confederate and Union soldiers alike as truly a “Good Samaritan.”

Erected 1994 by Andersonville Guild.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is February 6, 1871.

Location. 32° 11.681′ N, 84° 8.363′ W. Marker is in Andersonville, Georgia, in Sumter County. It is on Church Street 0 miles east of Oglethorpe Street, on the left when traveling east. The marker stands in front of the old Andersonville Depot. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Andersonville GA 31711, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Piedmont.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it

Andersonville / Father Peter Whelan Marker (Side 2) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by David Seibert, January 24, 2011

2. Andersonville / Father Peter Whelan Marker (Side 2)

finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: POW * MIA (here, next to this marker); Wirz Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); Captain Henry Wirz (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Camp Sumter Confederate Prison Site (approx. 0.3 miles away); Star Fort (approx. half a mile away); The Commandant's Perspective (approx. half a mile away); The Prison Hospital (approx. half a mile away); Stockade Branch (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Andersonville.

Photographed by David Seibert, January 24, 2011

3. Andersonville / Father Peter Whelan Marker (Side 1)

The marker and the old Andersonville Depot

Photographed by David Seibert, January 24, 2011

4. Andersonville / Father Peter Whelan Marker (Side 2)

Looking at Church Street from the old Andersonville Depot

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on March 15, 2011, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 1,727 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 15, 2011, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.

Andersonville⎯⎯⎯Father Peter Whelan

Andersonville
⎯⎯⎯
Father Peter Whelan