Historical Background
Between the years of 1861-1865, the Union and the Confederacy fought against each other in the American
Civil War. Many battles were fought and many prisoners were taken from both sides. The Confederacy established what might have been the most notorious prison camps at a site in Andersonville, Georgia.
Located in Sumter County, ten miles away from Americus, Andersonville's main purpose was to house captured Union soldiers, known as prisoners of war. Established in February of 1864, Andersonville received and housed prisoners until its closure in April of 1865.
Andersonville was the largest Confederate prison in the South, and was built to house 10,000 prisoners but eventually accumulated upwards of 35,000 people. The life of a captured soldier was not easy as food was scarce and water almost foreign to the prisoners. In fact, Andersonville had the highest mortality rate of any Confederate prison. Out of the 30,000-45,000 prisoners held, 13,000 died from malnutrition, dehydration, and cruel living conditions. Getting sent to Andersonville was about the equivalent of a death sentence.
This might have led W.B. Smith, a prisoner from the 14th Illinois Infantry, as he entered Andersonville on October 9th, 1864 to observe that the prisoners looked " as if they might belong to a world of lost spirits."
Located in Sumter County, ten miles away from Americus, Andersonville's main purpose was to house captured Union soldiers, known as prisoners of war. Established in February of 1864, Andersonville received and housed prisoners until its closure in April of 1865.
Andersonville was the largest Confederate prison in the South, and was built to house 10,000 prisoners but eventually accumulated upwards of 35,000 people. The life of a captured soldier was not easy as food was scarce and water almost foreign to the prisoners. In fact, Andersonville had the highest mortality rate of any Confederate prison. Out of the 30,000-45,000 prisoners held, 13,000 died from malnutrition, dehydration, and cruel living conditions. Getting sent to Andersonville was about the equivalent of a death sentence.
This might have led W.B. Smith, a prisoner from the 14th Illinois Infantry, as he entered Andersonville on October 9th, 1864 to observe that the prisoners looked " as if they might belong to a world of lost spirits."
Andersonville may have given
Georgia a reputation for being unforgiving and cruel. After the war was over,
the Union finally accepted all of the Confederate States back, yet it is interesting to note that Georgia was the last state that was allowed to rejoin the Union in July of 1870. Clearly Andersonville was a tragic episode in the American Civil War and Georgia's history. Andersonville is also important to Georgia because it is the official Site selected by the government to pay homage to all American Prisoners of War throughout the United States' history.