Abraham Bates Tower: Civil War Veteran
Andersonville Prison Survivor and My Great-Great Grandfather
Years ago, I read Andersonville by MacKinley Kantor and was appalled at the starvation and hardships that the prisoners endured there during the Civil War. Little did I know that my own great-great-grandfather was a prisoner there after being captured at the Battle of Brice's Crossroads. Unfortunately we often don't become interested in our genealogy and family history until late in life. By then, many of the people who could answer our questions are gone. I'm lucky that my parents are still...

The Civil War and My Great-Great Grandfather
All about the Civil War and My Ancestor's Experience
I'm researching the life of my Civil War ancestor, Abraham Bates Tower. At the same time, I needed to learn all the details of a soldier's life, understand the battles and timeline of the war and track down as much information as possible about the people around him. He was a Yankee, serving in Company G, 93rd Indiana Infantry and spent part of the war in the notorious prison camp, Andersonville. The result will be 29 or more web pages featured here showing different aspects of his life. Squ...

Abraham Tower Leaves Andersonville Prison
My Civil War Ancestor Survived Andersonville
I knew that my great-great grandfather survived the notorious Andersonville Civil War prison, but I didn't have many details on that time in his life. In particular, I was curious about his leaving the prison. The prisoner exchanges had broken down with the North and South unable to agree on the exchange of captured black soldiers. Over 12,000 of Andersonville's prisoners of war were buried in the cemetery near the prison. My grandfather survived and was paroled from Andersonville in Decembe...