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SUMTER, Georgia in the 1860s: 1 through 4 of 4

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  1. Union Private Describes Raiders at Andersonville Prison
    date April 8, 1864 to April 20, 1864map SUMTER, Georgiatags Crime/Violence, Civil War, Health/Death

    In 1864, Robert Knox Sneden, a Union private and mapmaker, lived as a prisoner in the notorious Andersonville Prison. During his stay, Sneden kept a diary of the conditions and daily monotony of the captives. Occasionally he gave up trying to write a daily account and would lump his entries together by the week as he did from April 8 to 20, in 1864. This particular week, Sneden talked about a group...

  2. The Legacy of Andersonville Prison; Who is to Blame?
    date February 27, 1864 to April 9, 1865map SUMTER, Georgiatags prison, Health/Death, Military, Civil War

    The concept of enemy prisoner of war camps was a new idea at the time of the American Civil War. Previously soldiers that surrendered on the battlefield were often paroled. These soldiers were expected to return home and lay down their arms. However, often these men would return home then reenlist and fight the enemy again. Armies recognizing this problem placed punishments on soldiers who were captured...

  3. Conditions at Andersonville Reach All-Time Low
    date April 1, 1864 to April 1, 1865map SUMTER, Georgiatags Crime/Violence, Health/Death, War

    When Robert Kellogg was finally released from the Confederate prison camp at Andersonville in 1865, he had only the shirt on his back and his life to his name. He was fortunate to be a part of a soldier exchange that allowed him to return to the North, and when he boarded the steamboat to make the journey home, he was met with a new uniform, a new pair of boots, a bath, and a hot meal. However, these...

  4. An assistant surgeon reports on gangrene
    date January 1, 1865 to December 31, 1865map SUMTER, Georgiatags Civil War, prison, Health/Death

    Andersonville's prison had a hospital crowded with patients, due to the bad living conditions in the cells. The prison was overcrowded with prisoners crammed in rooms, inactive and secluded from society, lacking food, exercise and fresh air. The atmosphere was so polluted that people could hardly breathe. The promiscuity made sickness spread in a heartbeat, and in the winter of 1865, the prison witnessed...