from andersonville.stant relative was one of them, his name was john eager. -- it wanted by chance wondered by chance of she knew anything about him. he ended up dying in ohio at a military hospital in 1878. she had leg injuries that he developed at andersonville. i know it's a long shot, i wondered if she knew anything about him. i'm sorry, idon: don't. that's quite a remarkable story. there were not that many escapes. it was very hard to get out of here. that's something that your relative did make it out. i think it also speaks to, as you said, he still suffered from the experience of being here. there were escapes. from the 16th, some of the officers -- officers weren't kept her, but some officers and ended up in charleston, for example, they escaped. there has been some new work done on this question of escaped prisoners. need more work on this. we don't know as much about these stories. i don't know, i'm sorry about your relative. becausere escapes low of the structure, were there other factors? pr

>> well, i think andersonville, and some of the things i was just speaking to.esn' i think andersonville, it of doesn't fit with the larger heroic narrative of so many civil war battlefields, of qu gettysburg and decisive leaders. it leaves us with a lot of ways complicated, conflicting questions and emotions, and i think that'sab in many ways, mae the way it should be when you're studying a subject and thinking about a subject as vast as the n civil war. i think that's legacy of andersonville. and it really, it needs more 13 attention. it's appropriate that this funeral is here for these 13,000. they very much wanted these menh to be remembered. they wanted to ensure that they had a proper burial. and i think it's appropriate bc that wke think about them and keep coming back to try to ence. understand this experience. >> our guest is a history professor at the university of akron and the author of "a broken reggement, the 16th." >>> american history tv features the civil war every saturday at 6:00 and 10:00 eastern. we've covered the war extensively the past five years as many state and

from andersonville.relative was one of them. his name is john eager. i just wondered by chance if she knew anything about him. i in know he ended up dying in ohio at a military hospital in 1878. he got an invalid pension for leg injuries that he developed while he was at andersonville. but anyway, i know it's a long shot but i wondered if she knew anything about him. >> no, i'm sorry, i don't. but that's quite a remarkable story. and yeah, there were no that many escapes. it was very hard to get out of here. so that's something that your relative did make it out. i think it also speaks to, as you said, he still suffered from the experience of being here. there were escapes, i know from the 16th that some of the officers -- of course officers weren't kept here but some officers ended up in charleston, for example, they escaped. there's been some new work done on this question of escaped prisoners. and we need more work on this. we don't know as much about these stories. so no, i don't know, i'm sorry, abo

the men of andersonville have survived.of what makes our nation great, the american people. as i conclude with you today, my hope is for the 13,000 souls lost here to rest in peace. one aowledge sacrifice prosperous world in an ever evolving nation. and legacy lives on in the heartbeats of their descendents, and the democratic spirit they inspire in those who follow in their footsteps. although tragic, their sacrifice and service paves the way for us to become a great nation. the greatest nation in the world has ever known. the united states of america. it is a great day to be a soldier, and i am honored and privileged that these enlisted men gave me that opportunity. god bless them, not bless their families. godbless their legacy, bless our pows and mia past and present, god bless this great state of georgia, and god bless the united states of america. [applause] sgt. maj. dailey: please join me and stand for military honors. [drumroll] [gunshots] ♪ [taps playing] [indiscernible] [drumroll] >> you may be seated. at this ti

caller: i haven't ancestor in andersonville -- had an ancestor in andersonville. at the end of the war, i don't know how we got to washington and died and is buried at arlington. i just wondered what happened at the end of the war to the prisoners there? professor gordon: he might have been like some of the soldiers i studied. to aght have made his way place like camper oh, dash cam perrault, there was one in fairfax virginia. he might have been in one of those hospitals due to his imprisonment, no doubt. and he died and he ended up in arlington. that would be my suspicion. and that was the end of his story. host: what would you say is the legacy of andersonville? professor gordon: i think andersonville -- some of the things i was speaking to -- andersonville doesn't fit with the sort of larger heroic narrative of so many civil war battlefields, gettysburg, of courageous soldiers and decisive leaders. it leaves us with a lot of complicated, conflicting questions and emotions. theink that's in many ways way it should be when you are studying subjects and thinking a

he's the former chief of interpretation at the andersonvil andersonvil andersonville historic site. we are also opening up our phone lines so that you can join in on the conversation. if to give us a call and ask questions, 202-748-7900 in the eastern time zones. if you want to send us a tweet, do so @cspanhistory. thank you for joining us this afternoon. >> it's my pleasure to be here. >> let's start with what is andersonville for someone who does not know. where does it fall? >> it's important to start with this idea that military prisons and prisoners of war are not part -- often are let out of the mainstream telling of the war because quite frankly there's no winners in this story. this isn't a battlefield. it's something entirely different. valor and honor take different forms here. in the standard telling of the war, there's an acknowledgment, yes, there are prisons, prisoners of war, and then you move right back on to the battles. often there's -- in addressing this story, there's an acknowledgment of it and then no detail and then you move on. andersonville has a name brand

of andersonville.ries of the pruz ners who endured here, i will share the story of just one of them. this u.s. soldier and p.o.w. i highlight today is no better or worse than any other. to those dedicated family members who are here today, please accept my sincere apologies for not having enough time to tell the story of each and every one of them. i wish i could. just know that you are their voice and our nation appreciates you for keeping their unique cro chronicles alive. your contribution to the country's rich history of interesting, sad, exciting and complex people is invaluable. without you america would be a place defined by number on centuries old calendar or markers on a map where shells dropped and men were buried. instead our nation's history is one of men and women of all backgrounds, both successful in their endeavors and unsuccessful. who came together with their own dreams and built a place for us to endeavor as we may. with success at times and failures at others. sometimes through thes

love the program. >> well, now andersonville was the worse. it was the deadliest. it had the highest death rate. i don't know as much about camp douglas. in my own research, you know, the northern prisons, none of them -- the last caller, and i forgot to respond, that he had asked about whether there were shelter. the difference too with andersonville compared with these other locations like camp douglas, camp douglas, johnson's island, the northern prisoners were at either camps of instruction or former here, it n this open area. there was nothing. there was no structure here. so the men came in here, if they happened to make it in with any kind of coverings, they would use that. and of course, there was praying on by the men themselves with raiders and what have you. they only had whatever they could use, whatever they literally had on their backs. that was a unique difference that andersonville had compared to the northern prisoners like a camp douglas. the death rates of northern that andersonville had compared to the northern prisons, like a comp douglas. and

could you say more about andersonville? i don't know how you even begin to identify -- what is there now? is there a big cemetery or museum? ms. stiehm: as a matter of fact, yes. there is going to be a live event next week in andersonville to mark the flag being raised by ,arah barton, -- clara barton and the soldiers being honored. c-span is going to cover that, too. how do you identify thousands of emaciated corpses? i don't know. maybe they had a name or a badge -- papers on their clothes. she was not doing this alone, she was working with a lot of soldiers that were infuriated and devastated by what they were witnessing. it was a way to pay homage to them. to this day, andersonville sends chills through people's spines because, it was not just any war camp, it was human rights abuses. water.disgusting n" is when there were beautiful forests -- closed when therearters were beautiful forests. they could've gotten trick of water a mile away. it was almost like they were trying to turn these men into corpses. it will be the

it was a huge honor for her to go to andersonville. in 1861, the massachusetts sixth regiment after being stoned in the streets of baltimore, losing four of their ranks, they retired to the capital in the new senate chamber to recuperate. the building was eerily quiet because the southern senators had said their farewells like jefferson davis. basically the capital was out of business. although the chamber that we know well had just been built. the building was empty of lawmakers, and outside the capital had no crowning dome. it was still a work in progress. barton arrived soon after with her spirits lifted in furious sympathy for her home state men and friends. she made herself quickly busy and indispensable in the chamber. she read the newspaper aloud from the senate's president chair and she distributed which he had collected of her own volition. she gave encouragement and her clear, low voice. in itself a comfort. later, soldiers start for a woman's presence, fighting for their lives, said just listening to her comforted them. whic

tonight on american history tv in prime time, civil war historians on andersonville.we recently visited the camp sumpter military prison at andersonville, georgia, where 45,000 soldiers had been imprisoned and nearly 13,000 died. you can see that at 8:00 eastern on c-span 3. >>> also coming up tonight at 9:30 eastern on c-span, georgetown professor laura donahue on privacy laws and modern surveillance programs. she talks about nsa efforts to collect online pictures, video, and other materials from people who've not been accused of committing any wrongdoing. here's a portion of what you'll see tonight. is. >> web cam images and chat sessions appear to be collected under executive order 12033. gchq is one of our big partners. the government communication headquarters. the nsa's counterpart in the you mited kingdom. from 2008 to 2010, gchq files reference a program called optic nerve in which yahoo web cam chats were collected in bulk rega regardless of whether that person was a target. they collected visual data from 1.8 million yahoo users turns out nudity is a real pr

they lifted the military prison at andersonville, georgia. 45,000 soldiers were imprisoned there and nearly 13,000 died. that's at 8:00 eastern. at 9:30 eastern, georgetown professor laura donohue on privacy laws and modern surveillance programs. she talks about nsa efforts to collect online pictures, video and other materials from people who have not been accused of committing any wrongdoing. here's a portion of what you'll see tonight. >> webcam images and chat sessions also appear to be collected under executive order 12333. gchq is one of our big partners, from 2008 to 2010 they referenced a program called optic nerve in which yahoo webcam chats were collected in bulk regardless of whether the user was a foreign intelligence target. during one six month period they collected visual data from 1.8 millio

and tonight on "american history tv" in prime time civil war historians on andersonville. recently visited the ft. sumter military division where over 400,000 prisoners had been imprisoned. also coming up tonight at 9:30 eastern on c-span, georgetown professor laura donahue on privacy laws and modern surveillance programs. she talks about nsa efforts to collect online pictures and video and other materials from people not accused of committing any wrongdoing. here's a portion of what you'll see tonight. >> webcam images and chat sessions also appear to be collected under executive order 12333. gchq is one of our big partners, the nsa's counterpart in the united kingdom, the files reference a program called optic nerve in which yahoo! webcam chats were collected in bulk. regardless of whether the individual user was a foreign intelligence target. during one six-month period gchq with the help of the nsa collected visual data from 1.8 million yahoo! users. turns out that nudity is a real problem. they're trying to figure out how to keep their agents from looking at all the n