Prisoner Life
In a word, prisoner life was horrible. The prisoners were forced to make huts out of the clothes on their backs or sticks they found around. These materials would not help with the wet winter months. Gambling tents and “stores” opened up. It was a way to attempt to stay humane and normal in their prison state.
Due to the desperate conditions, inmates would go after each other if they thought somebody had something they wanted. An organized group began robbing people to benefit themselves. These men became known as “The Raiders.”
These men would beat other prisoners, take their goods, and leave them to die. Most of the men that were part of The Raiders were led in battle by General William T. Sherman. They felt as if they deserved more control than anyone else because of General Sherman's reputation as a strong, respected, and victorious commander.
These men would beat other prisoners, take their goods, and leave them to die. Most of the men that were part of The Raiders were led in battle by General William T. Sherman. They felt as if they deserved more control than anyone else because of General Sherman's reputation as a strong, respected, and victorious commander.
After multiple attacks on the newcomers of the prison, the prisoners decided that they wanted a Court Martial. They felt it wasn’t fair that some men beat others into giving them whatever they wanted. The Court Martial decided that the men that made the group of “The Raiders” was guilty. Six of the known Raiders were sentenced to death by hanging. It is doubtful that they used their real names. They were hanged on July 11th, 1864 ,and their graves lay undecorated on Memorial Day. After the Raiders, the prisoners tried to come up with a police force to keep control, enforce sanitation, and stop any more possible raiders.
The prison had a security system unbeatable at the time, or so the Confederate guards thought. They had a deadline, cannons, guards, dogs, and two 20ft walls surrounding the outside of the prison. This made an almost impossible escape attempt. Inmates would attempt to escape while on work detail outside of the prison. Examples of these work details might include work on the walls or work on the earthworks.
Believe it or not, there were eighty known escape attempts. Most were unsuccessful because they were spoiled by informants who were trying to get on the Confederates’ good side. There were however some sympathizers for the Union prisoners. They would include a few southerners who felt sorry for them, and mostly slaves.
Clara Barton
Clara Barton was known as the “Angel of the Battlefield” because of her willingness to help. She wanted to ease the suffering and pain of the soldiers and help as much as she could. She founded the Red Cross in 1881 at age sixty but began helping at Andersonville before the establishment of her organization. She had started her help by taking taking supplies to the Massachusetts 6th Infantry at the beginning of the war. She begged the Army to let her go onto the battlefield and help the soldiers because she couldn’t stand sitting at home and watching these men die when she knew she could help. The surgeon on hand at Andersonville thanked God for her because she had a come at just the right time when the prison population swelled to about forty-five thousand.
Providence Spring
There is a myth about a Providence Spring that sprung up as prisoners begged for mercy and water. The myth says lightning struck the hillside and water sprung up from the ground. Even though it was a life saver at first it soon caused mayhem. People were bathing in it and used it as a bathroom, which soon led to several diseases in the water that they used for drinking. The stream wasn’t powerful enough to move along the diseases. This meant that during the drought season, the stream became more of a swamp than a life saver.