National Prisoner of War Museum at Andersonville National Historic Site

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The Andersonville National Prisoner of War Museum is open daily from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM, except when closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Keep in mind that times can always change, so before making travel plans, be sure to check the National Park Service’s Operating Hours and Seasons web page for Andersonville National Historic Site.

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Many Civil War battlefields were originally preserved and governed by the United States War Department, including the Andersonville prison camp site. In 1933, all of these properties except for Andersonville became National Parks under the control of the National Park Service. The reason Andersonville was omitted was because Southern Congressmen feared the federal government would create a park that would blame the South for the deaths of an estimated 13,000 Union soldiers, making the South look bad in the eyes of the nation (parks are created by acts of Congress). When Southern Congressmen finally agreed to vote for the creation of Andersonville National Historic Site in 1970, it was with the understanding that the park’s reason for existence was not to harp negatively on the South’s role at Andersonville, but “to provide an understanding of the overall prisoner of war story of the Civil War, to interpret the role of prisoner of war camps in history, to commemorate the sacrifice of Americans who lost their lives in such camps, and to preserve the monuments located within the site.”

Sculpture at the Memorial Courtyard behind the Andersonville National Prisoner of War Museum

Opening in 1998, the National Prisoner of War Museum at Andersonville National Historic Site was founded on the same principle as the park—to honor POWs of all wars. As a result, the museum has exhibits on wars since the American Revolution up through the recent wars in the Middle East. The older wars—the Revolution and even the Civil War—are the least represented. The bulk of the exhibits are on World War II, Vietnam, and the Korean War.

Exhibits on POWs of recent wars, Andersonville National Prisoner of War Museum

Exhibit at the Andersonville National Prisoner of War Museum

The museum is one of the largest in the National Park system. Exhibits include information panels, photographs, letters, diaries, personal items donated by POWs, and plenty of actual artifacts from prison camps.

Personal item of former POW Arthur Plummer, Andersonville National Prisoner of War Museum

Original cement memorial from the WWII Japanese prison camp, Camp O’Donnell in the Philippine Islands

“Tiger Cage” used to hold prisoners in Vietnam, Andersonville National Prisoner of War Museum

Audio and video presentations also make up a large part of the museum, most consisting of archival footage and interviews with veterans who served in World War II up through the Iraq War. You could spend hours just watching videos.

Video exhibit on the homecomings of former POWs, Andersonville National Prisoner of War Museum

Aspects of POW life are chronicled in the different galleries. Topics include how prisoners dealt with the lack of proper nutrition, how men communicated in secret, torture and interrogation, how prisoners were used for propaganda by the enemies, how families dealt with the situation, escape attempts, recreation, etc. My personal favorite was the interrogation exhibit that featured plenty of video interviews with POWs from Vietnam, Korea, and the recent wars in the Middle East.

Resourceful inventions of POWs, Andersonville National Prisoner of War Museum

Exhibit on the families of POWs, Andersonville National Prisoner of War Museum

Exhibit on barter systems established at prison camps during WWII, Andersonville National Prisoner of War Museum

Exhibits at the POW Museum at Andersonville National Historic Site

There is also a separate section that deals with the Civil War prison camps, with a very minor focus on Andersonville itself.

Civil War exhibit area at the Andersonville National Prisoner of War Museum

Information panels about Civil War prison camps, Andersonville National Prisoner of War Museum

To spend less than an hour at the National Prisoner of War Museum would be a disservice to yourself, but I’m sure most people breeze though in 15 minutes or so. For those truly interested, plan to spend at least two hours, and three or more if you watch all the video presentations.

For those interested in the POW experience, be sure to read my essay, Memories of Jimmy Carter. As a teenager I met Colonel Charles Scott, who lived in the neighborhood behind me. The Colonel was held prisoner for 444 days in Iran back in 1979-1981, an event known as the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Links to interviews with the Colonel are contained in the essay.

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