Department of Georgia, G. A. R. Office of Board of Trustees of Andersonville "Prison Pen" Property 1891 Advertising Flyer

[Georgia]: n/a, 1891. Brochure. Very good. Brochure. 8" x 11". 3 pages. 4th page blank. Folded twice. Light toning at the folds. This is an advertising brochure appealing for financial aid to maintain the Andersonville "Prison Pen" property. The trustees (listed at the top) state in their opening remarks, "...We have made the purchase of that hallowed ground and some improvements have been made, as you will see by the enclosed report, but we are in debt about $1000 for cash borrowed for same. The total cost of the property and improvements, as per reports to May 14th, is 3,242.15. It is now the intention and desire of the Department of Georgia to convey the title of this property to the National Organization of the G.A.R., so that each and every member of the G.A.R. will have an equal interest and ownership in it. In order to do this, we must have your aid at once...." In 1889, Georgia and South Carolina, the smallest of G.A.R. groups spearheaded the effort to buy the property outright and make improvements. The southern group decided to raise money with the help of the G.A.R. northern groups to sell subscriptions. Several advertising flyers were mailed out to raise the funds. Enough funds were raised to purchase the property in 1891. J. W. Stone, President of the Atlanta G.A.R. chapter went north on a lecture tour to other G.A.R. posts also to raise funds. The financial turmoil of 1894 put the restoration of the property into doubt but the economy had recovered enough and by 1910 the property was secure and in the hands of the federal government. "If not for the dedicated efforts of our forefathers of the old G.A.R. Dept. of and the steadfast loyalty of the Woman's Relief Corps, Andersonville may have been relegated to a mere historical marker as have been the fate of a number of other POW camps, such as Camp Sorghum and the Florence Stockade."(Summarized from Volume 118. No. 3. Journal of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Spring, 2014).