Andersonville

A detailed Summary of Andersonville

Torture, screams, no food: These are the conditions of prisons during the Civil War. The lack of attention to prisoners led to many gruesome things such as eating live animals. The two most infamous prisons were Andersonville in the South and Elmira in the North. Both had terrible conditions that were largely caused by the psychology of the War: If the other side doesn't have men they can't fight and likewise with weak men. Both prisons were alike in that men died, but each is infamous in their own way of how the men died.

Since the Confederacy was collapsing, the South had little food and medical supplies. It was suffering greatly and to stop this an exchange system for prisoners of equal rank went on for one and a half years. Also, men were paroled and released after signing a paper stating that would not bear arms until officially exchanged. Later the exchange system was stopped because the North realized that it was benefiting the Confederacy. After all, the North could afford to lose men as prisoners but the South couldn't afford to replace troops. The Union then could stop the South's ability to carry on the War. As a result of this, the number and size of prisons increased. Crowding, inadequat

1)"Andersonville remembers America's POWs" Civil War Times, April 1996, p. 18, 20-21, 73-75

Elmira started out in May, 1861 as a Drilling ground and army barracks for Union troops because of the call for men to suppress the Southern Rebellion. For three years it was used this way until 1864, when it then had no use. The Union found their chance to use the barracks as a prison camp. On May 14, 1864 E.D. Townsend, the assistant adjutant general, sent a memo to Colonel William Hoffman, the Commission General of prisoners. In the letter it is stated that Elmira had a number of barracks which could be used as a prison camp for recent Confederate prisoners. A great mistake which would later cause much suffering was made by Hoffman. He wrote to the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, stating that Elmira could hold 10,000 prisoners transferred from other camps. Lt. Colonel Frederick Eastman was put in charge of Elmira prison. Also, another mistake by Hoffman, a letter from Hoffman to Eastman stated that only Barracks number three should be used as a prison camp. It also stated the specifics for the fence. Furthermore it said that 8,000 or 10,000 men could arrive shortly. The barracks were 100 ft. long and 16 ft. wide supposedly in excellent condition. There were 35 barracks to hold 4,000 men which were originally made to hold 3,000 men. The tents and hospital tents could hold 1,000 more men and the bakery could hold another 5,000 men.

In 1864, Andersonville was the fifth largest city in the Confederacy because of it's 32,000 men as prisoners. When prisoners were put in Andersonville their first concern was a living space, which they made from whatever they could scrounge. They were each allotted a space of 4 feet by 6 feet. The Confederacy was struggling to provide food, clothing, and medical supplies for its own men let alone prisoners of the Union. As a result, men were often neglected unless they had money in which case they could buy staples, coffee, fruits, and vegetables from the camp's sutler. However, most men came in with little or no money so only occasionally got fed. They were given the typical ration which was a double handful of unbolted cornmeal with the cob still on. The lack of nutrition and food caused an epidemic of scurvy except in the rare case that the prison quartermaster issued rice, molasses, and beans along with foul-smelling meat. Most rations were uncooked, so this created another problem. Prisoners had to scrounge for fire wood and skillets which is why the prisoners began to steal and join the Raiders.

Punishment was also a concern at Elmira. The punishment was made by the guard or officer who witnessed the crime. The most common punishment was the barrel shirt with the crime written on it. Another punishment was the sweatbox, which was very small and hot. Prisoners got no food, water, or ventilation when inside it. Bucking and gagging was another punishment. There was no deadline like Andersonville, and no deaths could be attributed to discipline. Many deaths could be attributed to Hoffman because of his feelings of the war's psychology and retaliation for the South's treatment of the Northern prisoners.

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Approximate Word count = 2360
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History