Prisoners of War Camps during the Civil War

Kelsey Bush and Jasmine Cohen

Civil War Minutes Part 46 - Prisoner of War Camps:

Andersonville Civil War Prison, located in the village of Andersonville, Sumpter County, Georgia, became notorious for its overcrowding, starvation, disease, and cruelty.  It was in operation from February 1864 to April 1865.

Andersonville Prison was established as a "stockade for Union enlisted men".  The prison consisted of 27 acres and was enclosed with walls made of pine logs, which stood 15-20 feet high.  The "stockade" held a hospital but no barracks were ever constructed for the prisoners.  Originally intended to hold 10,000 men, Andersonville at one time held over 33,000 men.  According to records, a total of 49,485 prisoners went through the gates of Andersonville Prison.

Prisoners suffered from hunger, disease, medical shortages, and exposure.  The death rate at Andersonville was the highest of all Civil War prisons.  A staggering 13,700 men died within thirteen months!

The superintendent of the prison was Captain Henry Wirz.  It is said he was heartless and high-handed.  John L. Ransom, a Michigan sergeant and Andersonville prisoner, wrote in his diary on May 10, 1864:  "Captain Wirz very domineering and abusive, is afraid to come into camp any more.  A thousand men here would willingly die if they could kill him first.  The worst man I ever saw."  Captain Wirz was tried and hanged by a military court after the war.

Andersonville Prison was investigated by the Confederate War Department and they recommended that the majority of the prisoners be transferred to Florence, SC and Millen, GA.  This mere fact would attest to the horrors suffered by prisoners at Andersonville.

The prisoner's burial ground is now a National Cemetery and contains 13,737 graves, of which 1,040 are marked unknown.  The area is now designated as a National Park and can be visited.  Visitors will experience a great sense of sorrow upon seeing this vast number of graves.

Information above was borrowed from: http://www.censusdiggins.com/prison_andersonville.html

http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/11andersonville/11facts2.htm 

^ Life as a Prisoner

www.civilwarhome.com/prisoners.htm

^ Treatment of Prisoners

Questions:

1) In what ways were the prisoners captured?

2) How were the prisoners treated while under captivity?

Grading Checklist:

Primary Source Document: Civil War Diary of John Beck:  http://www.censusdiggins.com/civil_war_prisons.html

Actual diary: