Andersonville

Four hours south of Chattanooga and 25 miles off I-75 lies Andersonville, Georgia.  This was the notorious Confederate prison for Union soldiers which was only in operation for 14 months but turned into a Hell for its detainees.  Overcrowded conditions along with an unfortunate creek which cut the ground in half caused untold suffering. 

An artist's rendition of Andersonville Prison.

This is the north end of the camp which spread from this point clear across to the far treeline.  Andersonville now is more an idea than a historical structure.  Nothing remains except the ground itself, and the creek, that damn creek which, in theory, should have provided running water and a latrine for the Union soldiers.  This ground was picked purposely for its water system.  

Again, states contributed to memorials across the grounds.

This is Michigan's memorial - 378 Michiganders died at Andersonville.

Andersonville was 80 acres, more or less.

There were several escape attempts, none successful.  Prisoners would dig around trees to escape the elements and provide some shelter.  

Trees and camp vents provided for warmth, shelter, and the occasional escape tunnel.

Replica of the fence and examples of tenting that existed.

Andersonville National Cemetery.

At first the cemetery carved names into the stone markers, but gave up when the dying became too much, and many are now in mass graves.

In its 13 month existence some 900 prisoners died each month, and at one stretch a hundred died each day.

"T he overcrowding, the inadequate shelters, the coarse, meagre rations, and the poor sanitary conditions resulted in widespread disease and a high mortality rate. Altogether more than 45,000 Union soldiers were confined in Andersonville. Of these 12,912 are buried in the Andersonville cemetery. Most of the deaths were caused by diarrhea, dysentery, gangrene, and scurvy – diseases that the Confederate surgeons could not arrest because they lacked proper facilities, personnel, medical supplies, and medicines. During the prison’s 13-month existence, more than 900 prisoners died each month."

This is the creek that was supposed to provide prisoners with water while flushing away waste.  What actually happened was the creek couldn't run fast enough to provide for the immense number of prisoners and eventually stopped running and drinking water and waste festered creating disease.  Dysentery was the main culprit.

Replica fence walls.  Escape was difficult and almost always unsuccessful.

One of the more interesting aspects involve 6 Union soldiers who became thugs and forcibly stole rations from new inductees.  They beat people senseless and sometimes caused heir deaths.  A group of soldiers appealed to the camp Cocommandant Capt. Wirz asking for permission to find these guys, try them in court and punish if found guilty.  Wirz gave his blessing, a trial commenced and the aforementioned six were found guilty and executed by hanging.  The stones you see above are set aside from the other headstones and no rank is carved, as befitting their crimes against fellow soldiers.

Ironically,  Capt. Wirz was the only person executed for their conduct after the Civil War.  A trial deemed him guilty of neglect and he, too, was executed in Washington D. C. in 1965.