Documentary will explore Charleston during Civil War
Quote:
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - A new documentary on Charleston during the Civil War is expected to air on PBS stations sometime this summer.
Filmmaker Mike Kirk is focusing on both the Lowcountry battlefields as well as everyday life during the war in his documentary "America's Iliad: The Siege of Charleston."
Kirk is working with noted historian Stephen Wise and the film will be based in part on Wise's book "Gate of Hell."
Thanks for the heads up. You are hereby appointed Official Documentary Watcher responsible for updates on the Charleston Documentar, for which service, you will receive another stripe soon.
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
I'll be interested in this documentary as my Confederate great-grandfather was one of the "Immortal 600" POWs the Federals positioned in a pen in front of the Union batteries on Morris Island to deter the Confederate gunners in Charleston from firing back at the Union batteries.
Pogster: Wow. A new thing to me. Would you please elaborate on the "Immortal 600" for me? Just the basic story is okay. Appreciate it.
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
In 1864, 600 Confederate POWs, mostly officers, were loaded on a ship at Point Lookout Prison and, under the guise of being exchanged, were shipped down to Charleston where they were confined in an open pen on Morris Island, just in front of the Union artillery that was bombarding the city. The idea was to deter the Confederate gunners in the city from returning the Union fire. The ploy didn't work and several weeks later, the prisoners were shipped to Hilton Head SC and Savannah GA, where they were confined until the spring of 1865. Of those who had survived, some signed the Oath and were released, but many did not. By the time the remnant returned to Point Lookout, most were in deplorable physical condition and were kept imprisoned until mid-summer (when they had fattened up somewhat and their appearance would not be such an embarrassment to the government).
The survivors referred to themselves as "The Immortal 600" and the name stuck with the public.
in USA Today (I was staying in a hotel) and it sounded like it was airing soon, is that correct? Now of course the paper is in the trash somewhere in that hotel and I am home, so keep us updated!!
__________________ "Live in the world you inhabit. Look upon things as they are. Take them as you find them. Make the best of them. Turn them to your advantage." - R. E. Lee
Thank you, Pogster. So long as you're not holding that up as a singular incident in the war, I'll chalk it up as yet another -- sigh -- unfortunate incident in the War between the states.
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
I had never heard of the Immortal 600. I learn something new here everyday!
As for the documentary, it'll be sometime this summer. I'll keep my eyes and ears open.
Roger
Thank you, Pogster. So long as you're not holding that up as a singular incident in the war, I'll chalk it up as yet another -- sigh -- unfortunate incident in the War between the states.
Ole
Ole said:"So long as you're not holding that up as a singular incident in the war"
I posted that information merely to express the reason for my interest in the Charleston documentary. While there were excesses on both sides in the war, this incident, to me, is unique in that I know of no other similar incident,
and this incident involved my ancestor. I have no axe to grind here and am only interested in learning more about the war, particularly the portions involving my ancestors.
Pogster- Thank you for the information. That this occurred is indeed so. However, it was not done out of malice or a simple expedient to protect the Union batteries. As I understand the case, these men were being used as 'collateral' as it were to ensure the safety of Union officers of Negro regiments taken prisoner by the Confederates. These officers had been proscribed as fomenting slave revolt and were not accorded status as legitimate prisoners of war, and if I'm not mistaken were under censure of death. Again, I'm not certain about this last; though the Confederates had indeed enacted a decree promulgating a death sentence to captured officers of Negro troops, whether it was still considered as policy at the time of the Confederate officers being placed 'under the guns' perhaps someone can elucidate. However, it is certainly a part of this equation. This being the case, in no way is it reprehensible for the Union to act as it did. That doesn't lessen of course, the trials and tribulations of your ancestor who was made to suffer thusly.
__________________ 'It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag'
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Documentary will explore Charleston during Civil War 
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