Historic Tree Grove Connections: Andersonville

Yesterday I met a gentleman named Dan who was taking photographs in the Historic Tree Grove at MOSI. Dan took a few moments out of his day to talk to me about his personal connection to the Andersonville Magnolia Tree and has graciously allowed us to share his story.

The Andersonville Magnolia and Seneca Stevens

Seneca Stevens was born in 1838 in Canada, the son of William Stevens and his wife Elizabeth Wixson. During the Civil War, Seneca was a member of the 22nd Michigan Infantry where he served as a Corporal in Company K.

He fought and was captured at the Battle of Chickamauga which was fought September 19–20, 1863. The bloody battle occurred in Northwest Georgia along the Chickamauga Creek and was the first major battle of the war to be fought in Georgia. Seneca was one of three Stevens brothers on the field at Chickamauga. Seneca's younger brother William was injured in the fighting but was taken to safety before surrender and their other brother Ralph served as a horse-drawn ambulance driver.

On September 20th, Union forces retreated from the field after three grueling days of battle but three units were left behind on a piece of high ground called Horseshoe Ridge. The 22nd Michigan, the 89th Ohio, and the 21st Ohio were left without sufficient ammunition or coordinated leadership. They used scavenged ammunition and their bayonets until they were surrounded.  In the end, the survivors surrendered to Confederate forces.

The battle was considered a loss for the Union Army of the Cumberland and ended with 1,657 killed, 9,756 wounded and 4,757 captured/missing, just among the Union forces. Both sides experienced heavy casualties in the Battle and the Union force was driven from the field and fell back to Chattanooga.

After the battle, captive officers were taken to Libby Prison while the Union enlisted prisoners were eventually taken to the newly opened Andersonville Prison. 'Prison' seems the wrong word to use for the place: a tall stockade fence and open ground without shelter. Stevens died on June 8th, 1864, just 9 months after he was captured on the field at Chickamauga. He succumbed to diarrhea, one of the many deadly diseases born of the deplorable conditions and dirty water of the prison camp. He was later buried in grave number 1741 in section K of the National Cemetery at Andersonville National Historic Site.

Seneca's younger brother Ralph survived the war and went on to have a family. 150 years after the Battle of Chickamauga, Ralph's great grandson Dan took a walk in our Richard T. Bowers Historic Tree Grove and got to share his story.

My personal thanks to Dan Stevens for sharing this history! It was great to meet you.

The Andersonville Magnolia @MOSI Outside

Andersonville was the site of a prison camp known as Fort Sumter. A rectangular stockade made of rough hewn pine logs was constructed and estimated to be able to contain some 10,000 Union prisoners of war. Housing up to 33,000 Union prisoners Andersonville provided no shelter, a single stream of contaminated water, and few supplies of food and medicine.

13,000 Union prisoners died due to malnutrition, disease, and exposure before the prison closed at the end of the war, April 1865. Andersonville became synonymous with the atrocities which both Northern and Southern soldiers experienced as prisoners of war.

The Andersonville Southern Magnolias were planted as grave markers for Union prisoners of war. Clara Barton identified bodies at Andersonville Prison after the Civil War, and it is thought that she was responsible for planting these trees. Our Andersonville Magnolia is a seedling grown from the Andersonville Magnolias.

Site Improvements for the Andersonville Magnolia

This tree has recently had a bench installed. The bench features a painting of the infamous cemetery and prison camp created by Tampa artist Terry Klaaren. A sign with art by Holly Bird now explains the history of the tree and a Remembrance Garden has been planted beneath the tree. The garden features rosemary and white flowering roses and lantana. Magnolia garden stakes donated by Tampa Bay Steel are placed throughout this garden. This project is part of our Historic Tree Grove improvements taking place right now at MOSI.

If you have a story about a connection to the Historic Tree Grove at MOSI that you would like to share with MOSI Outside, you can email Kristen at kristeng@mosi.org.