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Yankee in the Garden 32.078098° -81.082878°
- 2023/03/13
- 再生時間： 25 分
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あらすじ・解説
Hey, everyone!Did you hear that?Somebody said, “The Yankees are coming!”Actually, we hear that all the time here in Savannah, Georgia.Today it would mean they were coming down for a few days of vacation… But back in 1864, it didn’t mean they were stopping in town to catch dinner at Sweet Potatoes Kitchen and buy a couple of tee shirts down on River Street.It would have been a little more distressing when those words were spoken around South Georgia.And so… to go with that… here’s a great story about a Union Prisoner of war in Savannah at the end of the American Civil War who heard those words and was very relieved…His story… gives you a perspective that you don’t often hear.Because in 1864, Union soldier Frederick Emil Schmitt and others endured the stench of filth and death in the infamous Confederate Civil War Prison camp near Andersonville, Georgia.Andersonville_Prison by John L Ransom former prisoner.But out of a stroke of genius and luck, he ended up in Savannah, hiding from the Rebels and waiting for the arrival of the army of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman.Union Major General, William T. Sherman.He has a great story that almost fell into obscurity. Sick around and I’ll give you my take on it.I'm JD Byous. Welcome to History by GPS, where you travel through history and culture, GPS location by GPS location. So click on your favorite map app and follow along.The coordinates for the location talked about in the podcast 32.078098° -81.082878°Now… on to our story… which, by the way… is one of three interesting historical events that happened years apart at this same location… we’re talking physically on the same spot of ground within a ten-yard circle.You’ll find those stories noted at the website too.For this episode the spot plays an important role in the life of Frederick Schmitt because he ended up hiding within this small tiny circle on the globe.If you recall the story of Andersonville, almost 13,000 of 43,000 Union prisoners died from hunger and disease during the years the prison was operating… 1861 to 1865...Now… I might add that similar conditions were experienced in Northern prisoner-of-war camps. There were no picnic either… but you don’t hear as much about them.The South lost the war in case you haven't heardAnd… as is always espoused… The victor writes the history.What made things worse in the South was that the population was low on food and provisions, which made prison life a living hell.By the way, JD Huitt over at The History Underground on YouTube has a great episode about the conditions at Andersonville. I’ll put the link in the show notes. It’s well worth a look.Okay… There at Andersonville… One day Frederick Schmitt’s luck changed in October 1864 when he noticed a group of prisoners by the main gate being placed in rank and file as if they were getting ready to march outside. It was drizzling rain when he saw his chance for a difference in scenery.But who was Frederick Schmitt?Great question! I’m glad you asked. It fits right in with the next part of the story.Schmitt came to America from Bavaria in 1859, settled in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and enlisted in the Union Army on February 10, 1864. He held the rank of private in Company D, of the 3rd New Jersey Cavalry regiment under Colonel Andrew J. Morrison.By June 1864, he was in the Union Calvary under Major-General James H. Wilson and found himself captured after the rebels raided his position outside of Richmond, Virginia. His friends and officers couldn’t find him and thought he was dead and they listed him as being killed in action.So, most of his military life… military experience… was in Prison.In 1919 he wrote his memoir of being a POW when he was 77 years old, fifty-five years after his experience in the South.But… ironically… his story wasn’t published until 1958, when his daughter gave it to the Wisconsin Historical Society.So, I guess there’s hope for some of the articles I wrote back in my newspaper days…Not much is known about Schmitt. I do know that he was an engineer, and I did find a master’s thesis written at the University of Wisconsin in 1904 by a Frederick Schmitt.It was on mass transit, you know, street trolleys, and things like that, and as far as I can tell, he was in that field… being an engineer, so he could have written it, I suppose.However, I suspect it may have been a son or someone else since he… Frederick… would have been 62 years old by that time.Then again… I got my history degree at the ripe old age of 53, so who knows.His recollection of the prison is an intriguing story in that it… bends, the typical narrative about Andersonville with an interesting perspective. It tells of his kindness toward his captors in a way that other prisoners did not record nor recollect afterward. At least as far as I’ve seen.Schmitt said… and I quote…, “Personally, I witnessed no cruelties to individuals, except ...