By: Jonathan Rodgers

Life of a prisoner at Camp Sumter

(Andersonville Prison Camp)

This is the North Gate. Captured Union soldiers would enter this gate to get into the prison camp.

After entering the camp, soldiers had the chance to drink water from this creek.

After soldiers settled in the camp, they would have to make some type of shelter to keep the sun and rain off them. Soldiers used whatever material they had to make a shelter.

This is a view of the creek that soldiers drink out of and defecated at. On the left side of the creek is where soldiers defecated at. The creek stop flowing and the creek became lethal to drink.

This post represents the deadline. If soldiers crossed this line, then the guards would be order to shoot the prisoner. Prisoners knew not to cross this line. This line was so heavy guarded, that less then one percent of prisoners escaped Andersonville.

This is a replica of the fence that kept the prisoners inside Andersonville. Guards would keep a eye on the prisoners by sitting above the fence.

Prisoners had to deal with diseases, bad conditions, and the Six Raiders. The Six Raiders were prisoners who killed and stole items from fellow prisoners. They were hanged to death and they was buried separate from other soldiers.

When soldiers were formally buried, not all of the prisoners could be identified. The prisoners that could not be identified, they would label the gravestone as unknown to identify the prisoners.

This is a overview of some of the graves at Andersonville. Andersonville prison camp was so bad, that 13,000 people died during the duration of the camp. They had a higher death rate then any other prison camp during the Civil War.

Captain Henry Wirz ran Andersonville Prison Camp. He was tried and hanged after the Civil War. The blame of Andersonville was placed solely on him and he paid for it with his life. He was the only person to be killed for a war crime after the Civil War.