Andersonville prison camp!
Confederate prison camp during civil war from 1864-1865
What was it like?
Andersonville prisoner
Due to lack of supplies, prisoners being held at Andersonville were "walking corpses".
Henry Wirz
Henry Wirz was the commander of Andersonville prison camp, and was one of the few people that were executed for crimes during the Civil War.
Overcrowded
Although Andersonville was designed to hold 10,000 prisoners, over 33,000 prisoners were held in this 16 acre camp.
Why was the Andersonville prison camp important during the Civil War?
Andersonville prison camp was a huge act of desperation on the South's side. It was started because they had just lost an argument with Abraham Lincoln that caused all prisoner trade to stop. The confederate army didn't know what to do with its prisoners, so they built a camp using slave labor in the middle of Georgia, away from the battleground. The land had been destroyed, and food was scarce to everyone in the south. I think that the Andersonville prison camp not only showed the poor conditions of camp life, but the condition of our entire country, especially the south. Everyone was desperate, weakening due to exhaustion, disease, injury, and malnutrition.
Why is Andersonville prison camp important now?
Andersonville prison camp, although extreme, can be compared to many different prison camps during wars throughout the world and time. During war, times are desperate, and less and less time is spent treating and making sure that prisoners are comfortable. On the other hand, some may purposely treat their prisoners unfairly. One example of this is Auschwitz, a huge death camp in Nazi Germany. The victims of Auschwitz (mainly Jews) were treated in such horrific ways on purpose. This included not providing enough food and supplies for their prisoners, making it easier to hold more of them at once. I think that this is a dramatic example of what war does to the human race, making us forget that our enemies are human beings just like we are.