On the 6th I was part of a PME (Professional Military Education - a formalized system of continuing training and education in the military) trip that went to Andersonville, GA. Most of you should recall the name as the infamous prison for Union soldiers during the American Civil War. Located in southern Georgia, it was away from the fighting and had ample resources to create and (theoretically) sustain the camp. Unfortunately for POW and all sides of the conflict, all resources for the Union and Confederacy were funneled directly to winning the war, and not to feeding or caring for 10's of thousands of POWs. When the Union opted out of the exchange of prisoners of war on April 17, 1864, the Union prisoner population only began to grow. With a Peak population of about 33,000, the 26.5 acres were packed elbow to elbow. Overall, there were about 45,000 prisoners that were sent to Camp Sumter and the overall death toll was 12,913. The dead were buried in mass graves with a meager identification marker for each man. Through the efforts of a Union soldier who worked in the camp hospital and recorded the names of the dead named Dorence Atwater and Clara Barton the men were given proper burials after the war. Through their herculean efforts, there are only 921 Unknown soldiers buried out of the nearly 13,000 that died there. Pretty impressive considering the death rate and the fact that Atwater had to hide the list (even from the US congress after the war - but that is another story.)
Here are some pictures:
Earthworks still remain.
A recreation of one corner of the stockade and living area. The man with the hat was our guide.
The prisoner cemetery
Note how close they are buried together.
From the New York Monument in the cemetery
A drawing of the camp in operation
An actual photo from August 17, 1864.
The rest of my photos are here.