Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1906-08-27
WISCONSIN SHAFT
At ANDERSOkV|L
TO BE DEDICATED EARLY IN NO.
VEMBER.
GENERAL RUSSELL RETURNS
Tells of Prison Grounds as They Are
Today-Former Horror-Pen Now
Beautiful Park-Finest of All Gov
eminent Cemeteries-Governo ard
Staff Will Attend.
Madison, August 81.

Madison, August 81.
General and Mrs. c. H. Russell have
returned from trip of six weeks in
southern Georgia. General Russell
went to superintend the work on the
Wisconsin monument on the old An
Jacksonville prison stockade at Ander-
sonville, Ga. 1t is now known as the
Andersonville prison park. The Wom-
ans Relief corps purchased 100 acres
there, including the prison pen and
the five surrounding forts. These
forts, says General Russell, stand in
tact, almost as they did AZ years ago
during the civil war. The main fort,
called Star fort, which was the largest
of the five, stands complete with the
magazines, we'll and other features
in 1865.
The old prison pen is now beautiful.
There are nearly 40 wells that were
dug by federal prisoners in 1854.
These wells were never stoned or
walled up and are of an average depth
of so feet. They were sunk down in
to the clay and are in a remarkable
state of preservation. Around each
we'll beautiful trees have grown, many
of them as large and high as the trees
in the capital park. At every point
of interest is a tablet stating how
many prisoners were confined there,
how many died, how many escaped
and pointing out where prisoners were
shot by the guards, and where raiders
were hung. By means of these tab
lets the interesting facts of each local
ity are told. The location of the
stockade and dead line are indicated
by neat posts, painted white and
marked "stockade' and dead line
The locations of tunnels dug by es-
Gaping prisoners are marked. While
many, many prisoners escaped by
these tunnels, many more failed. Gen
eral Russell helped in the digging OF
seven different tunnels in his prison
days, but never succeeded in getting
out of one. A short distance from
the prison pen is the government Gem
etery, in which lie some $4,000 union
soldiers who died at this prison. Dur
ing the months of June, July, August
and September in 1864 the deaths av
eraged one in every % minutes,
caused by starvation and exposure.
The prisoners had no shelter, were
given poor and insufficient food and
not enough fuel to cook the little corn
meal that was allowed as rations.
"The cemetery" says General Rus
sell, 'fs one Of the most beautiful
ever saw l have seen a good many
government cemeteries, including
beautiful Arlington at Washington,
and think Andersonville is most beau
tiful of all Captain Bryant, an old
Wisconsin boy, is the superintendent,
and he showed us every courtesy"
In this cemetery nine states have
erected monuments; Wisconsin makes
the tenth. There will be six, inclKl
ing that of Wisconsin, in the prison
pen, and four in the cemetery. Each
soldiers grave has a marker. In the
digging of the foundations of all the
prison monuments save that of Wis
consin, human remains were found,
where soldiers had been buried in
the pen and never accounted for nor
counted in the list of deaths. Other
states are appropriating money for
Andersonville monuments, and it is
probable that eventually all the north
ern states will be represented.
The Wisconsin monument is about
two-thirds completed. General Rus
sell has visited various battlefield
parks, including those at Chickamauga
and Missionary Ridge. and he feels
sure that the Wisconsin monument at
Andersonville will be the finest in the
south, with the exception of the very
pretentious monuments of New York,
Ohio and Georgia.
The Wisconsin memorial will be
dedicated early in November. It is
expected that the governor and his
staff and other distinguished people
will be there. The party will leave
Madison about November IS, will
travel in special sleeping cars and
will have a round trip rate of not
more than $50. The trip will take iu
all the historical points of interest, in
Guiding Nashville, Stone River, Chat
tanooga, Marietta, Kenasaw Mountain
and battlefelds around Atlanta. Tie
trip will require a week or more. In
the party will be the members of the
Wisconsin Andersonville monument
commissioners Russell of Madi-
son, Lansing Williams Of Columbus
and David G. James of Richland Cen
ter