ANDERSONVILLE PRISON

ANDERSONVILLE PRISON

Early in the war both sides exchanged prisoners, so there were not large numbers of men that had to be guarded and taken care of. After hearing that Union black soldiers were being shot when captured, Grant ordered the exchange stopped. He said if the South s army got smaller in number, it would aid in ending the war sooner.

As the number of war prisoners grew in the Confederacy it became necessary to find a place to keep them. In November 1863 the Confederate government approved for a new prison to be built in south Georgia near Andersonville The prison was to cover about 27 acres and hold 10,000 prisoners Officially it was called Camp Sumter but was more commonly known as Andersonville

Before barracks could be built, 600 prisoners were sent to Andersonville Feb. 1864 The population grew quickly: March 12,000 May 19,000 June 23,000 August 33,000 (the largest the population got) The Confederacy was not prepared to take care of this many prisoners they barely had enough supplies for themselves

To help control the growing number of prisoners the guards put up a wooden rail about 3 feet inside the prison wall That rail was known as the deadline and anyone who crossed it for any reason was shot

Conditions in the camp became increasingly worse The only source of water was a small stream that ran through the stockade and was very polluted What food was available was old, stale, and rotten There was not enough clothing or medical supplies for the prisoners

Because the population of the prison grew so rapidly there was never any shelters built to keep the prisoners out of the elements The only thing they had were tents they could make themselves out of blankets, old clothes, or whatever they could find. Many dug holes in the ground as a way to get out of the sun or wind

During the summer of 1864 more than 100 prisoners were dying a day During that summer the camp was inspected by men from the war department and suggestions were made to improve conditions at the camp In Sept. 1864 many of the prisoners were moved to other camps this did help the situation at Andersonville some The prison was officially closed at the end of the war

INCREDIBLE STORY!! In August of 1864, a "great number of the prisoners" gathered together under the very hot sun, kneeling against each other, and prayed to God. The larger-than-usual number asked not only for rain to cool them and raise the stream level which made the water a little better to drink, they also asked this time for an answer to their water needs.

Many times before they had received rain after praying. This time they received a thunderstorm which did not move in from somewhere else. It appeared in a clear sky right over them and became very strong. They received the rain they asked for. They also received a miracle in the form of a monster lightning bolt which struck the ground. The rain was an answer to prayer, a miracle. That the lightning missed the men was the second miracle that day. The third miracle was the new spring of cool, clean water that appeared at the spot the lightning hit. The spring still flows today, it is now called Providence Spring

The prison had been open only 14 months but had held a total of 45,000 prisoners. Almost 13,000 men died in Andersonville. Captain Henry Wirz was the commander at Andersonville and was sent to Washington, DC after the war for violation of the rules of war. Wirz was able to show documentation that he had asked the Confederate government for supplies and help to improve conditions at the camp.

The north was looking for someone to punish for the war so Wirz was found guilty and hanged on Nov. 10, 1865 There were also prisons in the north that were just as bad for Confederate prisoners that were captured. Point Lookout, Camp Douglas and Elmira were some of the worst. Over 26,000 southerners died in Union prison camps as well.

IMAGES OF THE PAST AND PRESENT Emogene Marshall first visited the grave of her brother, Edwin Niver, in December 1901. Although the natural landscape of the park has changed, Andersonville National Cemetery still looks much the same as it did that blustery day in 1901.