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On March 8, 2006, The CCWRT produced an
original play, "The Court-Martial of Henry Wirz", written by Roundtable
Historian, Dale Thomas. The play dramatized the war crimes trial of CSA Captain Henry
Wirz, commandant of the infamous Confederate POW camp at Andersonville, Georgia.
Author's Comments:
"I dedicate this play to
Nathan Hawkins and Ansel Jordan, soldiers of the 103rd OVI from West
Rockport Township, who died at Andersonville. They are buried
in a mass grave outside the prison. After the Civil War,
family members placed stones in their honor in Pioneer Cemetery
located today in Fairview Park, Ohio.
"With the exception of Louis
Schade's "A Defense of Captain Henry Wirz," which comes
from The True Story of Andersonville Prison by James M. Page
(1906), the dialog is taken from trial records and other material
that the former Judge Advocate, Norton P. Chipman, put in his book, The
Tragedy of Andersonville, The Trial of Captain Henry Wirz, the
Prison Keeper. Published in 1911, Chipman wrote his tome
in reaction to the dedication of a Wirz monument near the prison
site, two years earlier.
"The Wirz trial is significant
because it was cited in the trials of war criminals in the twentieth
century. Military personnel were now to be held accountable for
following orders that resulted in crimes against humanity which
violated the rules of war.
"I thank my wife, Lea Thomas,
for her help in making this play a reality."
- Dale
Thomas
Additional information
on Andersonville Prison and the trial of Henry Wirz:
Andersonville
Prison
Henry Wirz
|
 |
| Captain
Henry Wirz |
"The
Court-Martial of Henry Wirz"
Cast of Players |
| George
George |
Major-General
Lewis Wallace
Court-Martial Judge |
| Casey
Wolnowski |
Lt.
Colonel Norton P. Chipman
Judge Advocate |
| Mel
Maurer |
Otis
T. Baker
Defense Counsel |
| Warren
McClelland |
Henry
Wirz
Defendant |
| William
Vodrey |
Courtroom
Clerk |
| Mark
Banks |
Courtroom
Guard |
| John
Fazio |
Dr
G.G. Roy
former prison doctor |
| David
McCrone |
Major-General
J.H. Wilson
US Military Division of the Mississippi |
| Diane
Mintz |
Miss
Clara Barton
nurse |
| Terry
Koozer |
Corporal
A.G. Blair
former prisoner |
| Mary
Adams |
Mrs.
Ambrose Spencer
wife of Georgian farmer |
| Robert
Hook |
Reverend
Peter Whelan
former prison priest |
| Eddie
Myers |
F.G.
Ruffin
former CSA Lt. Colonel |
| Anthony
Kellon |
Augustus
Moesner
former prisoner
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