Andersonville+in+Comparison+2

 Original Author: Josh Sissel, ENG348 FL09  Revision:   The Civil War was a bloody time in America. Yet we survived. In these bloody times in our history we often find fascinating facts about events, places and times. This essay will talk about one of the worst places to be in the south during the Civil War, Andersonville prison. I will talk about the general logistics in a time line of Andersonville. Then I will talk about the problems that Andersonville had. I will also talk a little about the man who ran Andersonville prison. Then I will do a contrast and comparison to what is considered the north’s version of Andersonville the Rock Island Arsenal Prison. Through all of this I hope to show an informative look at Andersonville and just what it was all about.   In November of 1863 a man by the name Captain W. Sidney came to a village called Andersonville in Sumter County, Georgia with instructions from the Confederate Army to find a site for a prison. This location was chosen because of an availability of fresh water and its closeness to the Southwestern railroad. The village of Andersonville consisted only of 20 people and had no choice but to allow the prison. In December of 1863 Captain Richard B. Winder was brought in to oversee the construction of the prison. Andersonville prison was designed to be 16.5 acres and was thought could hold a capacity of ten thousand prisoners. The wonderful source of fresh water was a little creek that ran through the middle of the Prison. The prison would actually be called Camp Sumter. The stockade enclosure was one hundred and ten feet long and seven hundred and eighty feet wide. The walls were made of pine logs tied together into a giant square shape. These logs were p[laced in trenches five feet deep. It was said “//matched so well on the inner line of the palisades as to give no glimpse of the outer world”// (Andersonville Civil War Prison Historical Background, pp. 01). A fence known as the Dead Line was placed nineteen to twenty five feet inside the stockade to mark a no man’s land in hopes it would discourage the prisoners from escaping. Anybody who crossed that line was shot immediately. There were two gates built along the western stockade wall built with small stockade pens. This kept the outside world on one side and the prison on another it was meant for total isolation from the outside world. In February of 1864 prisoner started to arrive, fast. By June the number of prisoners was around twenty thousand. It was decided that Camp Sumter needed to be enlarged. In June the enlargement process of the prison began. Walls got extended sin hundred and ten feet north which took up another ten acres, which brought the size of the prison to 26.5 acres. By August of 1864 the population of the prison was around thirty three thousand. Defensive works were added because of fear of raids by the Union Army. Altogether there were around forty five thousand troops that ended up in Andersonville over a period of fourteen months. The little creek that ran through the prison was named Sweet Water Branch and ended getting used for bathing, drinking, and the sewer. There were no barracks to speak of and prisoners were not even allowed to build any. They were allowed to put up tents and real flimsy lean-tos.   Andersonville was chalk full of problems. With no real shelter, very little medical treatment, and little food Andersonville was budding sickness and disease. Prisoners were supposed to get rations like there jailers but what they got was rancid grain and mealy beans of peas. The south was already having a hard time feeding its people northern prisoners were not a huge concern. Due to the lack of shelter, medical treatment, and poor sanitary conditions, and over crowdedness disease was abundant. Dysentery, Malaria, and Scurvy was the most common of these diseases. During the summer months around one hundred prisoners died daily. In all thirteen thousand Union prisoners died in those fourteen months.   Though the south’s own poor conditions were partially to blame for this atrocity at Andersonville there was one other reason, the superintendent of Andersonville, Captain Henry Wirz. He was said to be heartless and a cheat. Here is an account about this man from a Michigan Union soldier named John L. Ransom //“Captain Wirz was very domineering and abusive, is afraid to come into camp any more. A thousand men here would willingly die if they could kill him first. The worst man I ever saw”// (Anderson Civil War Prison, pp. 01). After Andersonville was investigated Captain Wirz was tried and hanged by a military court.   The south however was not the only place that had horrible prisons like Andersonville. The north had them as well. One such prison was the Rock Island Arsenal Prison. This prison was not as overcrowded as Andersonville with only twelve thousand one hundred and ninety two prisoners. However many problems still occurred. Disease, due to poor sanitation conditions and sub zero weather. Small pox was a devastator at Rock Island. Eventually Rock Island prisoners had their rations cut altogether, due to the response over Andersonville. These two prisons however shared an eerie similarity. Poor funding, malnutrition, disease, and in general an overall lack of concern for the prisoners. I guess no matter what side you fought for if you got captured life was going to be terrible.   In conclusion, I hope that one can understand the suffering that prisoners went through in Andersonville prison. This was caused due to a lack of money all around by the south and one uncaring man. Remember though that as I have showed this poor prisoner treatment was very common.   <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> “Andersonville Civil War Prison Historical Background” N.A. NPS. 06 October 2009. [] <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> “Andersonville Prison (Camp Sumter)” August 30, 2009. Anderson National Historic site. 06 October, 2009. [] <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> “Andersonville Prison” N.A. Civilwarhistory.com. 06October, 2009 [] <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> “Andersonville Prison” 20 December 2009. Civilwarhome.com. 06 October, 2009 [] <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> “Andersonville Civil War Prison” N.A. censusdiggins.com. 06 October, 2009 [] <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Andersonville in Comparison 2 **
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Works Cited **