Civil War Reprint of Union Soldiers - Civil War Photograph

Reprint from the original glass negative. Union soldiers receiving rations at Andersonville Prison, Georgia. Photo measures 8" x 10".

Andersonville Prison, officially known as Camp Sumter, was the largest and deadliest Confederate military prison during the American Civil War. Situated in southwest Georgia, the facility was designed to accommodate 10,000 Union prisoners but reached a peak of over 32,000 in August 1864. Over its 14-month operation, approximately 45,000 Union soldiers were confined within its 26-acre stockade, and nearly 13,000 succumbed to diseases, starvation, and exposure. The site gained notoriety for its “deadline,” a 19-foot perimeter within the walls where any prisoner who crossed was executed by guards.

Today, the site is preserved as the Andersonville National Historic Site and stands as the sole unit within the National Park System dedicated to commemorating all American prisoners of war. Spanning 515 acres, the park encompasses the original prison site, the Andersonville National Cemetery, and the National Prisoner of War Museum. Visitors can embark on self-guided driving tours to explore reconstructed sections of the stockade and memorials dedicated by various states to honor the fallen. Following the war, Captain Henry Wirz, the prison’s commandant, was tried and executed for war crimes, making it one of the few individuals held legally accountable for the atrocities committed during the conflict.