The Road to Andersonville

The Road to Andersonville
VIEWER DISCUSSION GUIDE
Top: Taken from a guard tower near
the north gate along the west wall, this
photograph shows the ration wagon with
prisoners crowded around. The structure at
upper center is the Sutler’s shanty. Credit:
AJ Riddle
Above: Taken from along the east wall,
south of the creek while looking northwest.
Shows the sinks and the cluster of shelters
known as “The Island.” Credit: AJ Riddle
Right: Some of the members of the
The Saginaw Chippewa Anishinabe
Ogitchedaw Veteran and Warrior Society
stand before graves at the Andersonville
Cemetery. At right are the film’s associate
producers Kookoosh Roger Williams
Kchinodin and Chris Czopek. Credit: Chris
Czopek
In Their Words
“The Creator, I think we’re put
on earth, we got a pattern to
follow. It’s all marked down by
Him what’s going to happen and
what we got to do down our trail
of life, when we complete our
circle, to go to the Happy Hunting
Ground.”
— Don Otto (Kenewegeshik—A Bird
that Flies at Night),
Chippewa Indian Tribe, former
Ogemaw of the Ogitchedaw and a
Weekaun, a holy man.
Program Synopsis
The Road to Andersonville is the first film to document the story of Michigan’s
Native Americans in the Civil War who served in Company K of the 1st Michigan
Sharpshooters. During the Civil War, a regiment of sharpshooters was being
recruited to fight for the Union. Since Michigan’s Native Americans were famous
as skilled hunters, it was decided to recruit one company—Company K—from
among the tribes in Michigan. Nearly 140 men volunteered for Company K in
the 1st Michigan Sharpshooters regiment. Company K was sent to Virginia in
1864 and fought in some of the fiercest battles of the Civil War: The Wilderness,
Spotsylvania and the Siege of Petersburg.
For a century and a half, the remains of seven of these men who died in
Andersonville, a Confederate prison camp, did not receive a traditional burial
ceremony. Descendants motored from Michigan to Andersonville to pay homage
and respect to the spirits of the men of Company K buried there.
Join the Ogitchedaw on their
journey to Andersonville prison
camp in Andersonville, Georgia,
to honor the men of Company K.
Sumter County,
Georgia
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VIEWER
DISCUSSION
GUIDE
The Road to Andersonville
Producer’s Notes
David Schock, Ph.D.
As most of my favorite film projects
do, this one came to me as a gift. My
friend Kookoosh Roger Williams
Kchinodin—a member of both
the Pokagon Band of Bodéwadmik
(Potawatomi) and the Anishinabe
Ogitchedaw Veteran and Warrior
Society of the Saginaw Chippewa
Indian Tribe—wanted to tell me
of a wonderful story…a story of 139 Michigan Native
Americans who, in the Civil War, volunteered for Company
K of the First Regiment, First Michigan Sharpshooters.
With Roger was independent historian Chris Czopek. Chris
had done extensive research, traveling all over Michigan,
to Washington, D.C., for official records, and lastly to
notorious Andersonville, where seven of these men were
buried in the Civil War prison cemetery. Roger and Chris
told me about a planned trip by modern-day veterans, all
Ogitchedaw, to honor the seven.
These latter-day soldiers would give the men from
Company K their burial rites, something we all were pretty
certain never had happened, to lay tobacco, feast them,
sprinkle earth from home on their graves, and say prayers
so that their spirits could walk on. And they wanted to
know: Could I make a film about this?
“You bet,” I said. And then I started asking questions:
How had the seven come to be buried there after their
capture at the Siege of Petersburg? What happened to the
others who’d been sent there? And I worked backward to
the questions of how and why these men volunteered?
What led them to risk their lives for a country that would
routinely refuse them citizenship until 1924?
I trust the film answers the questions—and more, but it
was made to memorialize not only the seven, but all the
139, and the Ogitchedaw who came to honor them.
By the Numbers
The gravestones at daybreak in the Andersonville National Cemetery. Courtesy of David Schock.
1. The American Civil War between the North and the
South began in 1861 and ended when General Robert
E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in April
of 1865.
4. The Andersonville Prison was under the command of
Captain Henry Wirz. Wirz was later tried and found
guilty of war crimes—the only Confederate officer
who was executed for his crimes.
2. It is estimated that over 620,000 soldiers died during
the Civil War from combat, disease, accidents and
starvation. This is more lives lost than both World
Wars combined and it was not until the Vietnam War
that the death toll matched this number.
5. Payson Wolfe was the only member of Company K
that was a U.S. Citizen at the time of the Civil War.
3. The Confederate prison camp at Andersonville,
Georgia was built to house 8,000-10,000 prisoners
but, at one point, held 30,000 prisoners in deplorable
conditions. Of the 45,000 prisoners held there during
the Civil War, 13,000 died.
6. Thomas Kechittigo was the first to enlist in Company
K, although one year earlier he was denied according
to Michigan Law.
7.
51 percent of Company K came from Grand River Band
of Odawa (Ottowa).
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The Road to Andersonville
VIEWER
DISCUSSION
GUIDE
Discussion Questions
1. An undertone throughout the film The Road to
Andersonville is the issue of citizenship and what it means
to be the citizen of a Native Nation. Why was citizenship for
“America’s first people” questioned?
2. During the first year of the Civil War, Michigan state law
barred any Native Americans from enlisting in the military.
One year later Company K, an all Native company, was
formed. What may have motivated the Native men to enlist
despite being turned away just one year earlier?
3. Throughout the film, we hear from many of the descendants
of the men of Company K about the deep pride and sense of
connection that these men feel to their relatives who served
in the Civil War. Discuss why the “Ogitchedaw” or Warrior
Society is such an important part of the Annishinabe culture
both then and today.
4. Of the 139 men in Company K, 15 were captured and held
in Andersonville. Of these 15, seven died and were buried in
the cemetery there. Explore why this group was motivated
to go and pay homage to those buried in Andersonville and
to complete their burial ritual.
5. Of all the men in Company K, only Antoine Scott was
nominated for a Congressional Medal of Honor for his valor
at the Battle of the Crater and again later at the Siege of
Petersburg. The medal was denied him. Have members of
your group think about a time when they were excluded
from an event or honor even though they felt deserving.
Share these stories with the group to explore the power of
inclusion and exclusion.
The Monument to the entire First Michigan Sharpshooters, listing
dates of actions, on the Capitol ground in Lansing, MIichigan.
Courtesy of Chris Czopek.
Suggested Activities
1.
As a class, do additional research on Andersonville to learn
about the conditions that caused such a high number of
deaths. Have group members pretend they are prisoners in
the camp and are able to write a “letter” from Andersonville
to a loved one at home. Ask them to describe the setting,
conditions and the experience of the prisoner from a firstperson point-of-view.
2.
The Road to Andersonville focuses tightly on a single group of
Native American men and their involvement in the Civil War.
As a group, conduct research to learn about the involvement
of other Native Nations in the Civil War. What part did other
tribes play? How many enlisted? Were Native Americans
enlisted in the war on both Union and Confederate sides?
3.
The Civil War was not the only war happening on American
soil. As a group, identify at least six key historical events
that occurred between the U.S. Government and different
Native people across the continent during the Civil War
years. What was the cause and outcome of these struggles?
4.
As the question of citizenship emerged throughout the
film, we come to understand the complexity of the status
of Native Americans in the early days of this country. Today
the issues of sovereignty and self-regulation continue to
be discussed and acted upon by Native People. As a group,
research more about Native Americans from the time of first
contact until they became U.S. Citizens. Create a timeline or
pictorial map of this historical unfolding.
Those that died at Andersonville were buried in shallow trenches
by their fellow prisoners who were paroled out onto work details.
Credit: AJ Riddle
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VIEWER
DISCUSSION
GUIDE
The Road to Andersonville
Resources
About the Film
http://roadtoandersonville.com/
Note: There is a 2-hour version of this film available for those who may
want to learn more about Company K.
About the Tribes
http://www.sagchip.org/warrior_society/#.VjuB67erRpg
History & Education
These Men Have Seen Hard Service, Raymond Herek, Wayne State
University Press. (http://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/thesemen-have-seen-hard-service)
Who Was Who in Company K, Chris Czopek, self-published.
(RedOak1863@aol.com)
Taken from a guard tower along the east wall near the sinks, looking
north. Credit: AJ Riddle
Associate Producers Kookoosh Roger Williams Kchinodin and
Company K historian Chris Czopek flank producer David B. Schock,
Ph.D., at the film’s premier at Central Michigan University. In the
background is a photo of Payson Wolfe, one of the men of
Company K. Photo Courtesy Peggy Brisbane.
All content in this Viewer Discussion Guide may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational use.
The Road to Andersonville is a co-production of penULTIMATE, Ltd. and Vision Maker Media with major funding
provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
This Viewer Discussion Guide was developed by Jamie Lee, an author and former instructor at the Oglala Lakota
College, where she taught for five years. Lee has a Master’s in Human Development and has been a communications
trainer and an educator for the past 30 years. Her stories and articles have appeared in The South Dakota Review,
Winds of Change Magazine and several other anthologies. She has published three non-fiction books along with
one novel and a collection of writings from Oglala Lakota College students. Her first novel, Washaka: The Bear
Dreamer, was a PEN USA finalist in 2007. Lee has written over 70 documentary programs including Public Radio’s
landmark 52-part Native music series, Oyate Ta Olowan: The Songs of the People.
Funding for this Viewer Discussion Guide was provided by Vision Maker Media. Vision Maker Media supports Native
stories for Public Broadcasting. For more information, please visit www.visionmakermedia.org.
Educational resources for this film are available at http://www.visionmakermedia.org/films/road-andersonville.
© 2015 Vision Maker Media. All rights reserved.
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