Andersonville Ledgers

[debwallsmith]

Has anyone ever examined the original Andersonville records - not the microfilm but the actual documents? Even though NARA has provided me with the background information on the records, I still have a bunch of questions about the docs that were microfilmed including when were they compiled and how. Specifically, I would like to know whether there are pages that weren't originally microfilmed or whether there were missing pages prior to that time. Between September 16 and October 17, there were 2,493 POWs transferred from Andersonville to Camp Lawton. Between September 18 and 20, there were 1800 POWs sent to Rough and Ready (near Atlanta) for exchange and their names appear in the Departure Records. The names of those sent to Millen are not found in the records. The has lead me to ask why? I have attached images of a page that is available online for those who are not familiar with the records.

Thanks for your help.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

Calling @Gary Morgan ! They are the true Andersonville expert. They are also an author on Andersonville and an NPS Scholar on Andersonville.

 

[Gary Morgan]

Calling @Gary Morgan ! They are the true Andersonville expert. They are also an author on Andersonville and an NPS Scholar on Andersonville.

@debwallsmith is a friend of mine and an expert on Millen. I was looking at Naval records, then things that were raiders' related when I was there, so I wasn't looking specifically at Andersonville, but I was just watching a Youtube video of someone from NC, and he said that, for reasons I don't recall, someone was leading him down into the bowels of NARA and at one point he turned his head and saw the registers from Andersonville on the shelf. I remember thinking, "Well, that's cool!" I'll go back and see if I can find him, but this was a few months ago. I think he was the director of a museum or something, and he may have been talking about Salisbury. If I can find it again, I'll keep you posted.

 

[firstflabn]

Has anyone ever examined the original Andersonville records - not the microfilm but the actual documents? Even though NARA has provided me with the background information on the records, I still have a bunch of questions about the docs that were microfilmed including when were they compiled and how.

A general answer from my experience: NARA's official policy is to not pull original records that are available on microfilm. However, a good working relationship with the subject matter experts (or maybe it was my whining) has led to success twice in recent months at Archives I and they let me look at ledger books that had been sealed up in cellophane (to protect the deteriorating bindings). (Popping the cellophane makes quite a racket in that quiet room.)

Without overplaying it, I told them legibility of the microfilm was an issue (which it was) and that the microfilm readers could not enlarge the images enough to be readable (also true). They didn't check, but took my word for it. Their readers are mostly 1970s vintage and I think they are embarrassed about it (beyond being super nice folks).