THE STOCKADE
The Civil War started on April 12, 1861. A bloody brutal fight that consisted of killing our own brothers. This war consisted of over 10,000 battles between 23 union states and the 11 states of the new confederacy. During the war there was a number of prison camps built by both the Union and the Confederacy. One of the most famous being Camp Sumter also known as Andersonville Prison. Andersonville was constructed by union prisoners and opened on Feburaury 1864 and closed on April 1865. During the time the prison was opened prisoners went through painful suffering. More than 45,000 prisoners were confined here and almost 13,000 died from disease malnutrition,poor sanitation, and overcrowding.
The prisoners were under servere conditions and it was a tough job to survive. Rations were given ocasionally and not every day. The prison originally covered 16 1/2 acres of land but soon expaned its walls to 26 1/2 acres. Sentry towers stood along the walls as Confederate soldiers watched the prisoners to make sure they didnt cross the "deadline". The deadline was about 30 feet away from the prison walls. If any prisoners were to cross this line, they would be shot. Also consisted in the prison was a stream that ran through the middle of the camp. This stream was the water supply for most of the prisoners. Many prisoners used this stream as a restroom, a shower and a water supply. Disease was spread and many died. Prisoners stayed in tents or dug bunks to sleep in. The enviroment was overcrowded, the ground was wet, mushy mud. The only way to clean your clothes disease-free was to wash in the rain.
The prison that was built to hold only about 10,000 prisoners soon held over 32,000. The conditions were horrible in every way possible. People were dying everyday and thousands were starving and infested with disease. Unlike prisons today that have beds, showers, and healthy inmates. These were filled with death and people so badly ill they looked like zombies. It was hell.
