The Irish in Andersonville 'the deadliest place in America'
Irish History Podcast
Fin Dwyer
4.7 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 15 November 2023
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the mid 1860s, Andersonville became one of the most feared places in America.
This sleepy corner of Georgia gained notoriety in the later stages of the US Civil War when the Confederacy opened a prison camp there. Nearly one third of all prisoners who entered Andersonville never left.
Among their number were hundreds of Irish men. This podcast tells their stories.
I am joined by historian Damian Shiels who runs the Andersonville Irish project. An expert on Irish involvement in the US Civil War, Damian explains what Andersonville was and why conditions were so bad. He also shares his latest research including stories of prisoners who had fled the Great Hunger at home.
You can find out more about the Andersonville Irish at https://irishamericancivilwar.com/andersonville-irish/
Listen to my 2018 episode with Damian where we discuss broader Irish involvement in the US Civil War. https://play.acast.com/s/irishhistory/the-us-civil-war-and-the-great-famine
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Transcript
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| 0:24.6 | which, best be honest, is quite often. |
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| 0:43.0 | With amazing deals and unmissible offers, it's easy to give joy to those who deserve it most. |
| 0:48.0 | Boots, give joy. The 1860s were one of the bloodiest decades in the history of the United States as the country was torn apart by Civil War. |
| 1:03.0 | While battlefields like Gettysburg became famous, |
| 1:07.0 | a remote corner of Sumter County in southern Georgia |
| 1:10.0 | gained notoriety as the deadliest place in the U.S US in the later stages of the war. |
| 1:15.0 | In 1864 the remote and sleepy community of Andersonville was transformed |
| 1:21.0 | when a notorious Confederate prison camp was opened there. |
| 1:25.0 | While tens of thousands of union prisoners would pass through the gates of Andersonville, |
| 1:30.4 | the death toll was staggering. |
| 1:33.0 | Around one in three men incarcerated there, died in the prison. |
... |
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