Andersonville Prison

Perhaps the most famous prison in United States’ military history, Andersonville Prison, or Camp Sumter as it was officially known, was the largest of several military prisons established during the Civil War. In November of 1963, a Confederate captain was sent to assess the possibility of building a prison for captured Union soldiers in the small village of Andersonville, Georgia. Its close proximity to the Southwestern Railroad, the abundance of freshwater, and its deep-south location made …

…to Andersonville during the 14 months the prison was in operation. Of these, 12,912 died from disease, malnutrition and/or exposure. Former prisoners blamed Capt. Henry Wirz, commander of the interior of the prison, for the suffering. As a result, Wirz was tried in August of 1865 after the Confederate surrender, on charges of murder and conspiring with Jefferson Davis (the Confederate leader) to murder. He was found guilty by a military commission, and hanged on November 10th, 1865.