Booknotes: Camp Oglethorpe

New Arrival:
• Camp Oglethorpe: Macon's Unknown Civil War Prisoner of War Camp, 1862-1864
  by Stephen Hoy & William Smith (Mercer UP, 2019).

"The history of Camp Oglethorpe is largely overshadowed by that of nearby Camp Sumter in Andersonville, Georgia. It exists primarily as a footnote in the telling of Civil War prison narratives. A comprehensive reckoning reveals a saga that brings to light Camp Oglethorpe's decades-long role as a military training ground for Georgia's volunteer regiments and as a venue for national agricultural fairs which drew thousands of visitors to Macon. Its proud heritage, however, attracted the attention of leaders of the Confederate government." The Civil War history of the site is recounted by Stephen Hoy and William Smith in their book Camp Oglethorpe: Macon's Unknown Civil War Prisoner of War Camp, 1862-1864.

More from the description: "To the chagrin of Macon's citizens, the acreage at the foot of Seventh Street was surreptitiously repurposed for brief periods in 1862 and 1864. Although conditions at Camp Oglethorpe never approached the appalling state experienced by POWs at Andersonville, its proximity to and association with Camp Sumter cast a specter-haunted pall over the site." As such, Camp Oglethorpe "is predominantly remembered by its association with the atrocities of war as reflected in prisoner-of-war narratives(,)" and Smith and Hoy "tell this story not only as an admonition to the consciences of humanity, but to illuminate history and paint a more complete recollection of the encampment at the foot of Seventh Street."

1864-65 military events are also a major element of the book. The narrative incorporates a chapter-length account of the July 30, 1864 Battle of (East) Macon, which pitted Stoneman's cavalry raiders against the city's defenders. This action was part of General Sherman's plan, which proved disastrous to a large portion of his mounted arm, for his cavalry to sweep around Atlanta and wreak havoc on the rail lines leading into the city. The mission was accompanied by unrealistic hopes of also freeing Union POWs held in the state's interior at places like Camp Oglethorpe. Macon's surrender and occupation during Wilson's Raid in 1865 is also covered.

A number of maps and photos support the text, and a pair of appendices offer useful reference material associated with the POW camp. The first is an 1864 prisoner roster compiled from multiple sources and the second a list of Union prisoners who died at Camp Oglethorpe and were later reinterred at the national cemetery located at Andersonville.