Prisons in the south during the civil war were very brutal towards the inmates, but one of the worst prisons to get sent to was Andersonville. The history being this terrifying building, the people that were killed or barely survived, and the people controlling the prison will make it known that Andersonville was the worst prison you could go to at this time during the civil war. Andersonville prison was founded in early 1864 in Andersonville, Georgia. The prison was surrounded by large pine logs that were around 15 to 17 feet in height. Then in late June, 1864, the prison was expanded and covered 26 ½ acres. Around the building every 90 feet there was sentry boxes that the guards would stand in to survey the prison. What was also around the
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“The first stop on Keiley’s [a prisoner] journey north was Point Lookout Prison on a spit of land on the land on the Maryland Shore between the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay” (Gourley 40). The way a person would get to Andersonville depended on how far away a person was captured. If a Union soldier was captured far from the prison, then the captured soldiers would march in a group surrounded by Confederate soldiers to the closest boxcar that would be able to transport the group to Andersonville prison or they would march to the shore to be transported by ship. During the trip the prisoners would hardly be fed and would usually live off of cornmeal, sometimes potatoes if the prisoners could barter for them, and very rarely raw meat that the prisoners had to cook …show more content…
When this happened Confederate soldiers quickly started moving the prisoners to different prisons in the south. When the war ended in April, 1865, the stories of Andersonville were heard throughout the states and the citizens of the north were furious. The Captain of the prison, Henry Wirz, was charged with murdering in violation of the war. He was sentenced to death and was the only person killed for war crimes. Even after the war the prison was never taken down and is still standing to this
“The first stop on Keiley’s [a prisoner] journey north was Point Lookout Prison on a spit of land on the land on the Maryland Shore between the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay” (Gourley 40). The way a person would get to Andersonville depended on how far away a person was captured. If a Union soldier was captured far from the prison, then the captured soldiers would march in a group surrounded by Confederate soldiers to the closest boxcar that would be able to transport the group to Andersonville prison or they would march to the shore to be transported by ship. During the trip the prisoners would hardly be fed and would usually live off of cornmeal, sometimes potatoes if the prisoners could barter for them, and very rarely raw meat that the prisoners had to cook …show more content…
When this happened Confederate soldiers quickly started moving the prisoners to different prisons in the south. When the war ended in April, 1865, the stories of Andersonville were heard throughout the states and the citizens of the north were furious. The Captain of the prison, Henry Wirz, was charged with murdering in violation of the war. He was sentenced to death and was the only person killed for war crimes. Even after the war the prison was never taken down and is still standing to this