The Henry Wirz Monument stands in the center of downtown Andersonville. This monument, erected in 1908 by the Georgia chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, honors the memory of Captain Henry Wirz who was the prison commander at Andersonville. In August 1865, the U.S. Government convicted Wirz of war crimes for his treatment of Union soldiers. The monument stands in the center of Andersonville, where Union prisoners would have once passed through when being transported to the prison camp just a mile outside of the town. The main town square, where the monument stands today, was located by Wirz’s office and would have been the first sight to greet prisoners when disembarking the train.
The prison camp officially called Camp Sumter became known as Andersonville prison after this rail station located nearby. Chosen for the remote location, the Andersonville train station is located in the heart of this small town. The train provided access to supplies despite the inland remoteness of the camp, as well as a train depot for easy transport of Union prisoners. Thousands of soldiers boarded trains from across the South, especially Richmond, and arrived at the Andersonville Train Depot. From here, they disembarked the train to begin a brief march to the camp site.
Prisoners departed the train depot in Andersonville and began approximately a quarter mile long march to the gates of Camp Sumter, the prison camp. Often coming from other prison locations such as Richmond or Tuscaloosa, these Union soldiers were exhausted and drained from long journeys across the South. Captain Henry Wirz supervised the transport of prisoners from his office site at the end of Main Street. A large stockade and forbidding guard towers at the North Gate greeted prisoners upon arrival at the camp.
Large mounds of earth at the sides and corners of the prison site are original earthworks constructed to contain prisoners. Guards stood outside the earthworks looking into the prison camp. Slaves from local farms built the earthworks and cleared the prison camp of trees prior to the camp's opening. These earthworks, shaped in diagonal and diamond form, allowed guards to look into the camp and also offered protection in case of attack. Today, visitors can walk around the earthworks at the corners of the prison site.
After walking from the railroad station in the center of Andersonville, prisoners saw first an imposing set of gates. The structure which stands here today is a reconstruction of the North Gate in the prison stockade. Thousands of prisoners entered the North Gate as the primary entrance to the prison camp. Two sets of doors with immensely tall, guarded walls surrounding left no room for escape. Once they passed through the gates, prisoners faced a miserable existence with little food or adequate water.
Inside the prison walls, Union soldiers suffered. Lack of adequate food and clean water led to rapid spread of disease, starvation, and emaciation among the captured soldiers. The small creek that ran directly through the stockade in the valley of the camp site provided the only source of water for most prisoners, and quickly became contaminated by human waste and runoff. The stone memorial shelter which stands here commemorates a new source of water which miraculously sprung forth in August 1864. A spring, buried by stockade construction, burst open and provided a small source of clean water for soldiers, considered to be an act of God. This spring became known as Providence spring and provided a major source of hope and comfort for sick and ailing prisoners.
The Star Fort is one of the remaining existing headquarters of Captain Henry Wirz and General John H. Winder. The fort overlooks the corner of the prison and was chosen because the elevation offered a clear view down into the stockade. Cannons placed here helped to guard against prisoner riots or escape attempts. The existing earthworks that outlined the fort can be seen today, demonstrating the advantageous position of the fort for Confederate commanders.
The open field just east of Star Fort is the grounds on which the camp hospital stood. A makeshift hospital made up of sheds and tents, the hospital had inadequate medical supplies to treat the number of sick and dying prisoners. Many prisoners chose to remain within the stockade to die among companions instead of strangers. The position of the hospital uphill of the stockade also contributed to waste runoff that polluted the small stream, the primary source of water inside the camp.
This reconstruction illustrates for visitors the efforts prisoners took to create minimal shelters amidst the imposing stockade walls. Prisoners retained only meager belongings such as blankets and coats, which they propped up using sticks found inside the camp to create tents or lean-tos. These small shelters provided some relief from the burning sun in summer or cold rain in winter. However, these shelters were often insufficient. The stockade walls did not provide any relief either, instead offering a reminder of their imprisonment. Guards, stationed at towers along the stockade, stood ready to shoot prisoners who approached the deadline or tried to escape. These walls reminded prisoners each day of their unfortunate circumstances and the endless monotony of captivity.
Small round historical markers and stone blocks dot the upper side of the field inside the deadline of Camp Sumter. These markers indicate locations of historical wells which prisoners dug in attempts to find clean water. Prisoners also expanded wells into possible escape tunnels. Prisoners faced possible death or punishment if they were discovered digging. Many soldiers recall the terrifying sense of defeat felt when tunnels and wells were blocked off or filled in by Confederate leaders who prevented prisoners from using them as water sources or escape routes. Today, visitors can walk the field and stand over several dozen different sites where wells were dug.
Nearly 13,000 Civil War soldiers died in fourteen months inside Camp Sumter prison. The Andersonville Prison Site includes the Andersonville National Cemetery, established July 26, 1865 as a permanent resting place for victims of Andersonville prison. The cemetery is also an active military cemetery honoring veterans. Bodies of veterans from other Civil War prisons and battlefields and hospitals of south and central Georgia were brought to Andersonville National cemetery for honorable burial. Today, five hundred of these graves are marked as unknown soldiers, and the cemetery is actively used as a burial site for deceased veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.
In the prison camp, soldiers occasionally banded together to defend themselves against other prisoners. Lack of food and water and ground space on which to sleep drove many men to desperate measures even inflicting violence on fellow prisoners. One particularly nasty group of men were called the Raiders. These Raiders, a group of about six men, stole food and belongings from other prisoners and were viewed with hatred by large numbers of men inside the camp. The prisoners eventually organized a policing group amongst themselves identified as “The Regulators” who arrested accused Raiders. Out of the 75 men arrested on suspicion of camp violence, six were condemned to death. These six prisoners were hanged and buried in the cemetery. Their graves are separated from the other Union prisoners as a sign of isolation and derision for their actions while inside the prison camp.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This tour describes sites near and within Andersonville National Historic Site. The tour is a walking tour of prisoner experience inside Camp Sumter, one of the Civil War's most notorious prison camps. The tour can also be done as a driving tour.
American Civil War
