So-Called Dollar Discussions
Mssachusetts Soldiers Monument
This So Called Dollar is a definitely missed one by Hibler Kappen. It meets the qualifications 10 times over. Andersonville Prison in Georgia was built on 16.4 acres in January 1864 by the Confederacy to house Union prisoners of war. Designed to hold 20,000 at its peak it had 33,000 although 45,000 passed through it. (prisoner of war exchanges) With sizzling heat, contaminated water, lack of food, poor medical conditions and numerous infectious epidemics due to overcrowding 3000 soldiers a month were dying. A total of 12,916 Union Soldiers died. (28% of the population). Officially it was named Camp Sumter. These soldiers were all buried in mass graves outside the prison compound. There was a vast cash shortage following the Civil War but never the less Massachusetts still managed to erect and dedicate their Massachusetts Soldiers Monument on Sept 17, 1877 and celebrate their war dead yearly. The survivors and families of the dead at Andersonville were always critical of all these fallen dead that remained in Georgia. After much negotiation between the States, Federal Gov't Agencies, Veterans Groups and private landowners etc the way was finally cleared for Massachusetts and 7 other states to erect extensions of their Soldiers Monuments on special plots and sections of the cemetery. Massachusetts was the first to do so and Massachusetts dedicated their Soldiers Monument at Andersonville Georgia in December 1901. This beautiful chocolate brown spectacular So Called was issued in December 1901. The vignette of the Massachusetts State Seal is almost the same as the obverse of HK-148 National Monument to the Forefathers from Plymouth Massachusetts. Another distinguishing feature of this So Called is that on the edge it is stamped '7C' designating plot 7C in the cemetery where the monument is erected. The final tally of Massachusetts war dead in the mass graves was 790+. ,