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Andersonville National Historic Site in Georgia is the location of Camp Sumter, a notorious Civil War military prison. During its 14 months in existence, over 45,000 Union soldiers were held there and almost 13,000 died. The camp was designed to hold only 10,000 prisoners but held up to 32,000 at its most crowded period.
The grounds at Andersonville National Historic Site are open daily from 8am to 5pm. Admission is free. Check the official website for a schedule of special events, and ask about ranger guided tours upon arrival. The nearest town is Andersonville, and the nearest town with facilities is Americus.
National Prisoner of War Museum
The visitor center at Andersonville doubles as the National Prisoner of War Museum. It opened in 1998 to honor all American POWs and tells the story of POWs throughout the country’s history.
The interactive exhibits feature sections on capture, prison conditions, communication, morale, escape, and freedom. On display are several different artifacts including care packages, items made by POWs during different wars, and items used for entertainment.
Outside the museum is a special section about military prisons during the Civil War, with a focus on Andersonville. One display explains the mostly futile escape attempts by the less than 1% of prisoners who dared to try.
Behind the museum is a memorial to POWs, with plaques dedicated by several organizations. From there, it’s possible to get a glimpse of the prison site and walk the loop around it if you choose.
Earthworks
We decided to save time and drive the loop around the prison. We started at the earthworks which defended the camp from Union raids. There are a few mounds surrounding the prison site with cannons positioned around them.
Monuments
Next, we visited the monuments, which were erected in both the camp and Andersonville National Cemetery mostly between 1899 and 1916. More monuments were placed by the National Woman’s Relief Corps in the 1930s, and a few more were added in the 1970s and 1980s. One monument is dedicated to Clara Barton, a woman who revolutionized nursing and founded the American Red Cross.
Stockade Branch
The loop continues to the North Gate area, where you first cross a small bridge over a stream called the Stockade Branch, a branch of Sweetwater Creek. This was the camp’s main water supply and the latrines were downstream from this point.
Providence Spring
A pavilion marks the site near Providence Spring, which miraculously gushed out during a heavy storm on August 14, 1864. Prisoners had been desperate for clean water and this event was an answer to their prayers. The pavilion was dedicated in 1901 to commemorate the event and contains a fountain.
North Gate
The reconstructed North Gate was the main entrance to the prison. Prisoners would enter through the gate, the doors would shut behind them, and another set of doors would open into the prison camp. New arrivals would be called “fresh fish”, and had to care for anything of value. The gate opened up to Market Street or Broadway, a path where food was distributed and where prisoners set up bartering sites.
Third Prison Hospital
The next stop is a field where the third prison hospital once stood. Two other hospitals were located nearby. Men would try to avoid going to the hospital because they noticed almost nobody returned.
Star Fort
Behind the hospital was the Star Fort, where command headquarters stood. It contains an earthwork as well as a couple cannons.
Camp Sumter
From this point, it’s also possible to get a good look at the entire prison camp site. Posts clearly mark the boundaries of the inner and outer stockades. The nearer section was the original 16 ½ acre prison built in January 1864 while the section further away was the 10 acre extension built in August 1864.
The Sinks
Continuing around the loop, an interpretive panel points out “the sinks”, which served as the camp’s latrine. The Confederates originally planned for the prisoners to get drinking water upstream and use the latrines downstream for the flow of water to naturally flush out the sewage. Construction of the stockades inadvertently slowed the current creating a swamp rather than a flowing stream. Because of this, sewage wasn’t properly washed out and deadly bacteria were easily spread to prisoners through the water supply.
Northeast Corner
The final stop on the loop is the reconstructed Northeast Corner. Unlike the North Gate which was carefully constructed, the logs of the Northeast Corner are spaced further apart showing how hastily the Confederates expanded the camp. Sentry boxes, also called pigeon roosts, lined the stockades every 100 feet. Guards would keep an eye on prisoners from there, and even local townspeople would come out to get a look.
You can easily imagine the terrible conditions of the prison by looking at the shabby tents inside the stockades. The prisoners, who had to provide their own shelter, called them “shebangs”. A fence between the shelters and stockades marks the deadline, and prison guards had orders to shoot any prisoner crossing into it.
