ANDERSONVILLE — The 43rd annual Capt. Henry Wirz Memorial Service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11 in the town of Andersonville. The service is sponsored by the Alexander H. Stephens Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans, in Americus. The public is invited. In case of inclement weather, the Memorial Service will be held in the Village Hall in Andersonville. Capt. Henry Wirz was the Commandant of Andersonville Prison Camp during the War Between the States.
The guest speaker for the service will be retired Army Maj. and now attorney, Glen LaForce from Hilton Head, S.C. LaForce was born at Fort Benning Army Hospital, the son of a career U.S. Army Infantry Officer. He won an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1972, and graduated as a second lieutenant of infantry in the Bicentennial Class of 1976. After graduating from law school at the University of South Carolina in 1982, he transferred to the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He was assigned to Fort Benning in 1984. During that assignment he visited Andersonville Prison as part of his research into the law of war, and became very interested in Maj. Henry Wirz and his trial. LaForce earned his post doctorate LLM degree from the University of Virginia and his post-doctorate thesis was on the trial of Wirz. His thesis, entitled “The Trial of Major Henry Wirz – A National Disgrace,” was chosen for publication in the U.S. Army publication, “The Army Lawyer” in 1988.
LaForce retired in 1996, after 20 years of service in the U.S. Army, and moved to Hilton Head, S.C., to open his private law practice. He presently has an active law practice on Hilton Head Island, and is married to Linda. They have two children.
Beginning at 2:30 p.m., the musical group, Southern Sounds, will provide Southern music and church hymns. The Muckalee Guards re-enactment group will provide Honor Guard Services.
For more information, contact James Gaston at 229-924-7460 or email gaston7460@bellsouth.net