This Georgia Prison Camp Became “The Deadliest Ground of the Civil War” Without a Single Shot Fired

Andersonville National Historic Site

Sitting in Macon County, Georgia, this 515-acre site was once Camp Sumter, where the Confederates held Union soldiers during the Civil War.

The prison operated from February 1864 to May 1865, and in those 14 months, it held more than 45,000 Union soldiers. A team of enslaved workers rushed to build the prison in just four months.

The 15-foot wooden stockade walls weren’t properly secured, made of roughly hewn logs. Guard towers were placed at each corner of the prison, providing a high vantage point for Confederate soldiers to watch over the prisoners.

Sadly, almost 13,000 soldiers died here. Here are more facts about America’s deadliest POW camp.

Providence Spring

During a terrible drought in August 1864, a spring suddenly burst through the ground inside the stockade.

The prisoners, who had been drinking sewage-contaminated water, saw this as a gift and named it ‘Providence Spring.’ The water was funneled into the stockade using a trough built by prisoners.

In 1901, survivors collected $1,500 in donations to build a beautiful Victorian-style spring house around it.

The Andersonville Raiders

The Andersonville Raiders led by six chieftains: Curtis, Sarsfield, Delaney, Sullivan, Collins, and Munn, terrorized their fellow prisoners.

These “Raiders” violently stole food, blankets, and anything valuable from weaker inmates. In response, brave prisoners like Leroy Key and Edward Carrigan organized the “Regulators” to restore order.

The Confederate guards allowed a proper trial in June 1864, complete with a jury of 12 men. The Raiders were found guilty and punished in 1864, their graves remain separate today, marked with the word “RAIDER.”

Three Heroes Who Made a Difference

Union soldier Dorence Atwater, captured after the Battle of Gettysburg, worked as a clerk in the prison hospital and secretly copied down the names of every prisoner who died.

After the war ended, he joined forces with Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, and Wesley Payne, a freed slave who had helped bury the dead. Thanks to Payne’s incredible memory of where each numbered stake was placed, they they’ve identified almost all of the 13,000 graves. This helped countless families find their loved ones’ final resting places.

National Prisoner of War Museum

The National Prisoner of War Museum opened in 1998 is the only museum in America dedicated to telling POW stories.

This impressive 10,000-square-foot facility houses over 700 artifacts, including handmade weapons, escape tools, and personal diaries from various wars.

Interactive displays let you experience what it was like in Vietnam’s tiger cages, bringing history to life in powerful ways. This includes archival footage of American war veterans from multiple conflicts, tin cups from North Vietnam, uniforms, and dog tags worn by POWs.

The POW Shebangs

When temperatures soared, prisoners dug elaborate underground shelters called ‘shebangs’ to escape the heat.

A 1989 archaeological study found some pits curved while others draped in hardened clay. Prisoners used scavenged wooden planks to reinforce the walls and created smart drainage systems to handle rain.

Ground-penetrating radar has stockade trenches and burial sites alongside prisoner shelters, including hand-dug wells and crude dwellings.

There’s a Monument to a War Criminal

Swiss-born Captain Henry Wirz faced justice in Washington D.C. after the war. His trial ran from August 23 to October 18, 1865, with about 150 people testifying.

The trial lasted nearly two months and was one of the first war crimes trials in U.S. history. The military court charged him with conspiracy and murder.

Found guilty, Wirz was hanged on November 10, 1865, at the Old Capitol Prison. A monument to Wirz, erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, stands today in the town of Andersonville.

A Monument to Ohioan Soldiers

The Ohio State Monument at Andersonville stands 25 feet tall, about 390 feet south of the North wall and some 200 feet east of the West wall of the prison site.

The eastern face has the phrase “Death Before Dishonor” while the front inscription is dedicated to the Ohio dead at Andersonville.

The impressive monument, made from Barre granite, features a bronze soldier standing guard at its peak. Local stories say it holds personal items, photos, and a list of Ohio soldiers who died here.

The Line of Death

A wooden rail exactly 19 feet from the stockade wall marked the infamous ‘Dead Line.’ Guards in sentry boxes had orders to shoot without warning any prisoner who crossed this boundary.

Private William Collins of the 88th Pennsylvania Infantry was shot reaching for his wind-blown hat. The Andersonville National Historic Site includes a recreation of the Dead Line to educate visitors about the harsh realities faced by Union prisoners during their captivity.

A Star-Shaped Fort

The Star Fort, equipped with artillery, served as a constant reminder of Confederate authority over the prison. Built as headquarters for Captain Henry Wirz and General John H. Winder in 1864.

The fort is a pentagon-shaped earthen structure, measuring approximately 135 feet on each side. The fortification once mounted 12 artillery pieces. Confederate troops used exact geometric calculations to create overlapping firing zones.

Today, you can explore the 17-foot-high walls and intact powder magazine. This military engineering has survived 160 years.

Blast from the Past

Union cartographer Robert Knox Sneden’s watercolors from Andersonville are renowned depictions of the Civil War.

Found in 1994, the paintings were later sold to the Virginia Historical Society. John L. Ransom’s diary was indeed published as “Andersonville Diary” in 1881. It is a well-known account of life at Andersonville Prison and provides firsthand insights into the experiences of Union prisoners.

Writer MacKinlay Kantor drew on such memoirs for his best-selling novel Andersonville, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1956.