THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR: History in an Hour by Kat Smutz

Author:Kat Smutz [Smutz, Kat]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Andersonville Prison

During its time, Andersonville (pictured above in August 1864) saw 45,000 prisoners pass through its gates. Out of that number, nearly 13,000 died of exposure, starvation, malnutrition, diarrhoea and disease. There were no barracks in the 23-acre compound, and the site was surrounded by a 15-foot stockade. A ‘deadline’ fence, 19 feet inside the stockade, created a no-man’s-land to keep prisoners from scaling its walls. Anyone passing the deadline was shot by sentries. With no housing, prisoners burrowed into the ground in the attempt to shelter themselves from the elements.

The lack of sufficient supplies and the poor quality of the food that did arrive contributed to the horrific conditions at Andersonville. Water came from a shallow creek called Stockade Creek, which ran through the center of the compound. Part of the creek was used as a sink or latrine.

Accused of deliberately increasing the mortality rate among Union soldiers, the camp’s warden, Captain Henry Wirz, became one of only two men tried for war crimes in the aftermath of the American Civil War. Wirz was arrested in May 1865 and taken to Washington DC, where he was tried by a military tribunal on charges of conspiracy to impair the lives of Union troops.

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