The Play

The Sesquicentennial Commemoration

Presentation of “The Andersonville Trial” by The Battle of Nashville Preservation Society, Inc. and Lamplighters Theatre

As part of the Sesquicentennial Commemoration of the Civil War, BONPS and Lamplighters Theatre sponsored three performances on June 17 and 18, 2011, of “The Andersonville Trial,” the time-tested play by Saul Levitt that explores the legal and moral conflict between military orders and human conscience.

Levitt based his play on the official records of the actual trial of Captain Henry Wirz, the commander of the Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, Georgia. During the 14 months of the prison’s operation, more than 40,000 Union prisoners were kept there, and nearly 13,000 died.  Clara Barton assisted with the processing and identification of bodies at Andersonville at the end of the war and realized the need for an organization to assist in cases of dire need. She founded the American Red Cross as a result 16 years later.

Mike Parker as president judge Gen. Lew Wallace

The play dramatizes the Union court martial of Capt. Wirz, presided over by Gen. Lew Wallace, who later became famous as the author of the novel Ben Hur.Captain Wirz was the only officer, North or South, tried and convicted for war crimes during the Civil War.  He was sentenced to death by hanging.

As audiences arrived at the church, they were treated to performances of original period 19th Century music written by numerous Nashville songwriters as part of the 1961 Project.  For more information, see http://1861project.com/, and to sample the music, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl8yyfZNh0U&feature=player_embedded#at=76.

1861 Project singers set 19th Century tone for performance

In addition, preliminary remarks giving perspective to Civil War POW camps, including Andersonville, were made by historian and author Thomas R. Flagel.

Historian Thomas Flagel explains Civil War prisons

The performances occurred at the Downtown Presbyterian Church, once the church of Andrew Jackson.  The church was present at the corner of 5th and Church Streets during the Union occupation of Nashville.  During the war, it was used as a hospital for wounded soldiers and was known as Hospital No. 8 containing 206 beds.  For more details of the church’s history, see The Church.

Downtown Presbyterian Church during the Civil War

Cast