Andersonville National Historic Site
Location:	Georgia, United States
Nearest city:	Americus, Georgia
Coordinates:	32°12′00″N 84°07′46″W / 32.2, -84.12944
Area:	495 acres (2 km²)
Established:	April, 1864
Total Visitation:	132,466 (in 2005)
Governing body:	National Park Service

The Andersonville prison, located at Camp Sumter, was the largest Confederate military prison during the American Civil War. The site of the prison is now Andersonville National Historic Site in Andersonville, Georgia. It includes the site of the Civil War prison, the Andersonville National Cemetery, and the National Prisoner of War Museum. 12,913 Union prisoners died there, mostly of diseases. Captain Henry Wirz, commandant, was the only Civil War soldier executed for war crimes. Image File history File links Red_pog. ... Image File history File links US_Locator_Blank. ... Americus is a city located in Sumter County, Georgia. ... The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. ... Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (traditional) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Government Republic President... Military Prison is where the level military operates some type of military prison system. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Andersonville is a city in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. ... The 21st Michigan Infantry, a company of Shermans veterans. ... The execution of Henry Wirz before the US Capitol as the trap door is sprung Captain Henry Wirz (November 1822 – November 10, 1865) was the only Confederate soldier executed in the aftermath of the American Civil War for war crimes. ... In the context of war, a war crime is a punishable offense under International Law, for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ...

Early in the Civil War prisoners of war were commonly paroled and sent home to await a formal exchange before they could return to active service. After an incident at Fort Pillow in Tennessee in which troops of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest murdered black Union troops even after their surrender, Union General Ulysses S. Grant voided that policy on the Union's part, and Federal authorities began to hold Confederate captives in formal prison camps rather than paroling them, until such time as the Confederacy pledged to treat white and black Union soldiers alike — which Confederate President Jefferson Davis and General Robert E. Lee refused to agree to. In return, Confederate military and political leaders began to likewise construct prison camps to hold Union prisoners. Maj. Gen. Howell Cobb, former governor of Georgia, suggested the interior of that state as a possible location for these new camps since it was thought to be quite far from the front lines and would be relatively immune to Federal cavalry raids. A site was selected in Sumter County and the new prison opened in February 1864. Parole can have different meanings depending on the area and judiciary system. ... Fort Pillow is a fort in Henning, Tennessee on the Mississippi River that was used by both sides in the American Civil War. ... Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Largest metro area Nashville Area  Ranked 36th  - Total 42,169 sq mi (109,247 km²)  - Width 120 miles (195 km)  - Length 440 miles (710 km)  - % water 2. ... For the World War II general, see Nathan Bedford Forrest III. Nathaniel Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821–October 29, 1877) was a Confederate Army general during the American Civil War. ... Ulysses S. Grant[2] (born Hiram Ulysses Grant, April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was an American general and the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877). ... Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history from 1861 to 1865 during the American Civil War. ... // This article is about the Confederate general. ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ... Howell Cobb (September 7, 1815–October 9, 1868) was an American political figure. ... Sumter County is a county located in the state of Georgia. ...

Photo of Andersonville prisoners and tents

Because of the scarce resources of the Confederacy, Andersonville prison was frequently short of food, and even when this was sufficient in quantity, it was of a poor quality and poorly prepared on account of the lack of cooking utensils. The water supply, deemed ample when the prison was planned, became polluted under the congested conditions. During the summer of 1864, the prisoners suffered greatly from hunger, exposure, and disease, and in seven months about a third of them died from dysentery and were buried in mass graves, the usual procedure there. Many guards of Andersonville also died for the same reasons as the prisoners — however, it is highly debated whether these deaths were the same as the others or if they were from common factors in the American Civil War, such as trench foot. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x819, 138 KB) Summary Source Image URL: http://memory. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x819, 138 KB) Summary Source Image URL: http://memory. ... Dysentery (formerly known as flux or the bloody flux) is the term for tenesmus (painful straining to pass stool), cramping, and frequent, small-volume severe diarrhea associated with blood in the feces. ... Trench foot (also known as immersion foot) is a medical condition caused by prolonged exposure of the feet to damp and cold. ...

At Andersonville, a light fence known as the deadline was erected approximately 19-25 feet (5.8-7.6 m) inside the stockade wall to demarcate a no-man's land keeping the prisoners away from the stockade wall. Anyone crossing this line was shot by sentries posted at intervals around the stockade wall. Deadline can refer to several things: A deadline is a point in time at which something must be completed. ...

Andersonville prison

The guards, disease, starvation, and exposure were not all that prisoners had to deal with. A group of prisoners, calling themselves the "Raiders," attacked their fellow inmates to steal food, jewelery, money, or even clothing. They were armed mostly with clubs, and even killed to get what they wanted. Several months later, another group rose up to stop the larceny, calling themselves "Regulators." They caught nearly all of the "Raiders" and, under the supervision of Wirz, sentenced them to various punishments. These included running the gauntlet, being sent to the stocks, ball and chain, and, in six cases, hanging.^[1] Image File history File links Andersonville_birdseye_ransom. ... Image File history File links Andersonville_birdseye_ransom. ... In the United States, larceny is a common law crime involving stealing. ... The execution of Henry Wirz before the US Capitol as the trap door is sprung Captain Henry Wirz (November 1822 – November 10, 1865) was the only Confederate soldier executed in the aftermath of the American Civil War for war crimes. ... The FUSTUARIUM (an abstraction from the Latin fustis, a branch or rod) was a Roman military form of execution by cludgeling, which was copied by later armies. ... The stocks are a device used since medieval times for public humiliation, corporal punishment, and torture. ... The Ball And Chain is a more common name for the song Make This Love Right, written and produced by New Jersey house music producer Romanthony. ...

In the autumn, after the capture of Atlanta, all the prisoners who could be moved were sent to Millen, Georgia, and Florence, South Carolina. At Millen, better arrangements prevailed, and when, after General William Tecumseh Sherman began his march to the sea, the prisoners were returned to Andersonville, the conditions there were somewhat improved. Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders William T. Sherman James B. McPherson† John B. Hood Strength Military Division of the Mississippi Army of Tennessee Casualties 3,641 8,499 The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta campaign fought during the American Civil War... Millen is a city located in Jenkins County, Georgia. ... This article is about a city in the US state of South Carolina. ... “General Sherman” redirects here. ... Engraving by Alexander Hay Ritchie depicting Shermans March Shermans March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign, conducted in late 1864 by Major General William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army during the American Civil War. ...

During the war almost 45,000 prisoners were received at the Andersonville prison, and of these 12,913 died (40% of all the Union prisoners that died throughout the South).^[2] A continual controversy among historians is the nature of the deaths and the reasons for it, with some contending that it was deliberate Confederate war crimes toward Union prisoners and others contending that it was merely the result of disease (promoted by severe overcrowding), the shortage of food in the Confederate States, the incompetence of the prison officials, and the refusal of the Federal authorities in 1864 to make exchanges of prisoners, thus overfilling the stockade.

The execution of Henry Wirz before the U.S. Capitol as the trap door is sprung

After the war Henry Wirz, the superintendent, was tried by a court-martial featuring chief JAG prosecutor Norton Parker Chipman, on charges of war crimes and on November 10, 1865, was hanged. Wirz was the only prominent Confederate to have his trial heard and concluded (even the prosecution for Jefferson Davis dropped their case). The revelation of the sufferings of the prisoners was one of the factors that shaped public opinion regarding the South in the Northern states, after the close of the Civil War. The prisoners' burial ground at Andersonville has been made a national cemetery and contains 13,714 graves, of which 921 are marked "unknown". November 10, 1865 execution of Captain Henry Wirz after the trap was sprung. ... November 10, 1865 execution of Captain Henry Wirz after the trap was sprung. ... United States Capitol The United States Capitol is the building which serves as home for the legislative branch of the United States government. ... A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a military court that determines punishments for members of the military subject to military law. ... Norton P. Chipman Norton Parker Chipman (March 7, 1834 – February 1, 1924) was an American Civil War army officer, military prosecutor, politician, author and judge. ... November 10 is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 51 days remaining. ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... // This page is about death by hanging. ... Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history from 1861 to 1865 during the American Civil War. ... A U.S. National Cemetery is a designation for nationally important cemeteries in the United States. ...

In 1891 the Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Georgia bought the site of Andersonville Prison from membership and subscriptions from the North.^[3] The site was purchased by the Federal Government in 1910.^[4] Stephenson GAR Memorial, Washington, D.C. For the fictional Star Wars military force, see Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army who had served in the American Civil War. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Andersonville prison

• Reconstruction
• Camp Douglas (Chicago)
• Elmira Prison
• Johnson's Island
• Libby Prison

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... Reconstruction was the attempts from 1865 to 1877 in U.S. history to resolve the issues of the American Civil War, when both the Confederacy and slavery were destroyed. ... Camp Douglas Camp Douglas was a Union prisoner-of-war camp in Chicago, Illinois, USA, during the American Civil War. ... Elmira Prison was a prisoner-of-war camp constructed by the Union Army during the American Civil War to house captive Confederate soldiers. ... Johnsons Island was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate officers captured during the American Civil War. ... Libby Prison, located in Richmond, Virginia, was a former tobacco warehouse located on Tobacco Row, converted into prison used by the Confederacy to house captured Union officers during the American Civil War. ...

Notes

External links

• Andersonville Civil War Prison Historical Background
• Andersonville National Historic Site at NPS.gov
• See Andersonville: Prisoner of War Camp for a lesson on the prison camp from the National Park Service's Teaching with Historic Places.
• Andersonville Civil War Prison
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 32.1981° -84.1289°
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