49th Annual Captain Henry Wirz Memorial Service held in Andersonville (GA)
The Annual Memorial Service for an Innocent Man That Became a Scapegoat for anti-Southern Bigots
The 49th Annual Capt. Henry Wirz Memorial Service was held at the Bandstand in the town of Andersonville recently. It was sponsored by the Alexander H. Stephens Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans. Capt. Wirz was the Commander of Andersonville Prison Camp during the last 14 months of the War Between the States. The public was invited to attend, and people from Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida were present.
George Larsen, Commander of SCV Camp 78, was the Master of Ceremonies, and led the group in the pledge of allegiance to the United States and Georgia flags and the salute to the Confederate flag. Rev. Mark Carter had the invocation. The guest speaker was Past SCV Chaplain in Chief Gary Carlyle from Guntersville, Alabama. He discussed the trial of Capt. Wirz in 1865 in Washington, DC and how unfair it was. He also talked about our Southern heritage and what we should do to preserve it.
After his speech Speaker Carlyle presented the Chaplain J. Williams Jones Christian Service Award to SCV 9th Brigade Commander Jack Cowart. Dignitaries from a number of Southern Heritage organizations brought…