This movie is yet another example of Ted Turner trying to re-write the history of the Civil War from a "Southern perspective."
The William Macy "inspector" character never existed, and the Confederate government never gave a damn about what was going on in Andersonville.
This whole "Myth of the Lost Cause" approach is annoying and anti-historical. But biased Southerners and uneducated Northerners continue to swallow it.
Racist.
shareIt's sadder that you're looking for true history in a movie...if you want the history read Marvel's book
shareI read a review of the movie by William Marvel in a issue of 'Civil War Times Illustrated' back in 1996. If you ever can find it I recommend reading it because it has some good History vs Hollywood information in it. Marvel, who is the author of 'Andersonville-The Last Depot', states that there were Confederate inspectors of Andersonville Prison but they stated nothing against Henry Wirz unlike in the movie when Macy's character heavily criticizes Wirz.
Also ,Marvel states, that when Confederates came to ask for recruits ,unlike in the film were the men turn it down in a stirring scene, many Union soldiers actually volunteered and probably deserted later.
I really recommend the article and also Marvel's book. They are a good start for historical information on the prison. And they help put the movie into a proper perspective.
Frank: Just a man.
Harmonica: An ancient race.
William Marvel is an overrated hack. His book on Appomattox is riddled with factual errors and casts doubt on the veracity of his Andersonville book.
shareTed Turner did not write the book or the screenplay.Do you know anything about movies? At least Ted Turner makes historical movies ,so the public won't be completely ignorant of their own American History.
shareYeah, blaming Turner is looking for a scapegoat; just because his network aired and helped produce the film does not mean that Turner himself was calling the shots.
shareMarvel is not an historian. He's a journalist and he looks for a sensational story. He considers himself an iconoclast and somebody who "sets the record straight". But some of his Civil War history books are not even carried in the book stores at the National Battlefield Parks because they are riddled with factual errors. Because of his popularity, very few people questioned his conclusions except for low level historians who are more interested in getting to the real facts then being celebrities.
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