ANDERSONVILLE PRISON CAMP - South view of Stockade Taken about 1864 (note the "latrine" which was also the water supply) Nov 2016
While researching a family tree recently I happened upon a family member's muster roll from the Civil War of the 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry Company K. Interesting in itself and looking closer there were many "dittos" across half the company which was out of place. Looking closer it showed that all of these men were captured in North Carolina and sent to a prison camp. Handwritten on the notes area was the location destination: ANDERSONVILLE . With some additional research I found his name on the camp prisoner list. It's times like this that having a background in history brings this all to life just reading that one name. In college I spent an entire semester learning Civil War Battle formations...not the most interesting but it served a purpose in that it taught the thinking behind the battles. But my favorite semester was learning Civil War Social History. This included home life, society and also included prison camps. Learning about how people were living was fascinating. Social history is something that brings those facts and dates to life. So now on to some facts about Andersonville. This Confederate prison of war camp was opened in February of 1864 in southeast Georgia to house Union soldiers who couldn't fit in the already crowded Virginia camps. Originally about 16 acres in size, that number was increased to 26 acres in June 1864. So within just 4 months, we see just how many soldiers were put into this camp. No barracks were ever constructed so they were forced to find their own protection from the sun, rain and cold. The Civil War was really the first time in history that the general public witnessed the horrors of war because of the new invention called the camera. So many pictures were taken of the Civil War that historians still say that more photos were taken during this time until the advent of WWII. Photos were seen by the public and the horrors of seeing dead and dying brothers, fathers, and sons increased the tensions of the time. Conditions at the camp were so horrible that's it'shard to even image. Inadequate food supply, little wood for cooking or keeping warm and inadequate water made such unsanitary conditions that at one point an "expert" with the Confederacy was brought in to find out why so many were dying. At one point it was 100 men per day that were dying due to scurvy, diarrhea and dysentery. Inadequate food supplies in the South during the war created an even more scarce supply for the prisoners. Rations consisted of some milled corn flour and because little fire wood was made available for the camp, nothing could be cooked or boiled. The only water source was a small stream that came through the camp after coming by the neighboring Confederate Army camp. This water was the only source for drinking, sanitation, bathing and cooking. It's no wonder that the unsanitary conditions quickly created a perfect disease environment. The camp was created to hold about 10,000 soldiers but grew quickly to over 32,000 and over 13,000 men died from exposure, disease and starvation who were buried nearby in a mass grave. The atrocities of the camp were slow to reach those outside the camp but a poem in the POST newspaper from May 1865 highlights the outrage of the time. “In the Prison at Andersonville” - by Phila H. Case “He faded day by day—a prayer Upon his lips for one sweet breath-- What wonder when the reeking air Was chill and dank with dews of death. But why delay my tale—he died And careless hands bore him away, For what was one when, side by side, Hundreds were dying every day?” The camp was finally liberated in May 1865 at the end of the war. To think that the camp was only active for about 14 months and in that time so many died is hard to fathom. The camp commander, Captain Wirz was put on trial immediately following the war's end and the only Confederate official convicted of war crimes. He was hanged in November 1865. The site of Andersonville Prison is now a memorial to all prisoners of war and is run by the National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/ande/index.htm Today, this National Historic Site comprises three distinct components: the former site of Camp Sumter military prison, the Andersonville National Cemetery, and the National Prisoner of War Museum, which opened in 1998 to honor all U.S. prisoners of war in all wars.
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11/5/2022 11:04:15 am
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AuthorTeri Patterson writes on all things pertaining to history. Many blog posts are references to family tree information Archives
July 2020
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