CAMP SUMTER : TIMELINE OF EVENTSJuly 18, 1862: Major General and Union Agent of Exchange John A. Dix, and Major General and Confederate Agent of Exchange Daniel H. Hill sign the Dix-Hill Cartel, authorizing the ready exchange of Northern and Southern military prisoners, a practice which has actually existed since the beginning battles of the war. October 27, 1863 Charging the Confederate authorities have violated the Dix-Hill Cartel, as well as having mistreated captured Negro Union soldiers and their white officers, United States Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton halts the exchange of prisoners of war, causing inmate populations on both sides to sharply increase. October 28, 1863 General and Commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia Robert E. Lee writes Confederate Secretary of War James A. Seddon, recommending that Union military prisoners held near Richmond, Virginia, be transferred to a facility in a state further south where food and supplies are more abundant. November 24, 1863 Confederate Secretary of War James A. Seddon orders Captain W. Sidney Winder to meet with Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown at the state capitol in Millegeville to choose a place in the Americus or Ft. Valley area for the establishment of a new Confederate prisoner of war camp. December 21, 1863 Citing good natural resources and a close proximity to the railroad, Captain W. Sidney Winder orders construction of Camp Sumter Confederate Military Prison at the village of Andersonville in Sumter County, having purchased the land from local businessmen Benjamin B. Dykes and Wesley W. Turner. February 3, 1864 Captain and Camp Sumter Quartermaster Richard B. Winder writes Major and Columbus, Georgia, Commissary Harrold, is able to supply only half of the needs of the post. February 7, 1864 Brigadier General John H. Winder, father of Captain and Post Commander W. Sidney Winder, and uncle of Captain and Post Quartermaster Richard B. Winder, notifies Camp Sumter that the first prisoners will arrive by way of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Columbia, South Carolina, accompanied by 61 guards. February 17, 1864Captain and Quartermaster Richard B. Winder is startled by information received from the Confederate War Department that Union prisoners of war can no longer be fed in Richmond and are now on route to Camp Sumter, as the post is far from completed and supplies are unavailable in large amounts. February 18, 1864 Captain and Quartermaster Richard B. Winder is approached by several civilian employees on post complaining that they have not been paid in almost six weeks, Winder having earlier written Brigadier General and Commander of Military Prisons John H. Winder that 100 members of the guard force are without rifles. February 19, 1864 Captain Richard B. Winder writes Albany, Georgia, Captain and Quartermaster C. H. Berry, and Captain and Commissary W. H. Brotherton, directing them to transfer corn arriving at Camp Sumter to Drew's Mill for processing into meal, and to take care that none of the supplies are lost on route to Andersonville. February 20, 1864 Captain and Quartermaster Richard B. Winder urgently requests Brigadier General and Commander of Confederate Military Prisons John H. Winder in Richmond, and Major and Florida Commissary P. W. White, to send beef and other rations in preparation for the arrival of the first prisoners. Februrary 23, 1864 Desperately contacting Major and Florida Commissary P. W. White and suppliers in Georgia to send rations, Captain and Camp Sumter Quartermaster Richard B. Winder tries to procure offal from Captain and Albany, Georgia, Commissary W. H. Brotherton, but finds even slaughterhouse scraps difficult to obtain. Feburary 25, 1864 The first 500 Union prisoners arrive at Andersonville by rail from Richmond and are marched by Confederate guards one-third mile east of town to the barren and partially completed stockade, containing no shelter or sanitary facilities, only a three foot wide stream of water running through the prison. February 27, 1864 Chief Surgeon Isaiah H. White establishes a hospital two miles south of Andersonville to treat the scourge of smallpox, a contagious and deadly disease which arrived with the first prisoners on post, utilizing many early experimental medical techniques to treat the illness, such as inoculations. February 28, 1864 Castle Reed, a small rectangular stockade at Camp Sumter located between the town of Andersonville and the main stockade, begins operations as a Union officers' prison, and continues until May 7, 1864, when the 65 inmates are transferred to Camp Oglethorpe in Macon, Georgia. February 29, 1864 Lieutenant Colonel A.exander W. Persons, a native of nearby Ft. Valley and commander of the Confederate 55th Georgia Infantry Regiment stationed as guards at Andersonville, takes charge of Camp Sumter, relieving Captain W. Sidney Winder who remains as an officer in various positions on post. March 1, 1864 Captain and Quartermaster Richard B. Winder reports to Brigadier General and Commander of Military Prisons John H. Winder in Richmond that Camp Sumter is nearly completed and everything is working well, but locks, door fixtures, maintenance supplies, cooking implements, and a cook are still needed. March 2, 1864 Brigadier General John H. Winder complains to Confederate Secretary of War James A. Seddon that Post Commander Alexander W. Persons does not keep him informed of events at Camp Sumter, Seddon later replying that if Winder does not like Persons, he should choose another commander. March 3, 1864 The stockade still unfinished and the post unable to buy heavy equipment, Captain and Quartermaster Richard B. Winder authorizes Sheriff W. B. Paul of Lee County to impress four mule driven wagons for use at Camp Sumter, preferably from a plantation which can afford the loss. March 4, 1864 The refusal of many local plantations owners to donate slave labor to Camp Sumter has prompted Lieutenant Colonel and Post Commander Alexander W. Persons to order that prisoners be recruited to finsih building the post, and directs officers to provide enough men to bury the dead each day. March 15, 1864 Major and Columbus, Georgia, Commissary A.M. Allen writes Captain and Quartermaster Richard B. Winder that an officer has been assigned to serve as commissary at Camp Sumter, but first must have a storehouse to perform his duty, Winder later replying that Allen may either send lumber to build it or use a local church. Marhc 16, 1864 Lieutenant Colonel and Post Commander Alexander W. Persons orders troops and personnel at Camp Sumter to ovoid speaking with the prisoners unless official business is transacted, and not to congregate on the loading platform at the Andersonville depot when trains are arriving or departing. March 20, 1864 Under the direction of mechanic Samuel Heys, the 16 1/2 acure, 15 foot high rectangular log stockade is completed, with guardposts called pigeon roosts at intervals along the top, and a low railing 15 feet inside running parallel to the walls called the deadline, which no prisoner may cross under penalty of being shot by a guard. March 27, 1864 Captain Heinrich Hartmann (Henry) Wirz, native of Zurich, Switzerland, and combat veteran of the Confederate Fourth Battalion, Lousiana Volunteer Infantry, severely wounded in the right shoulder at the Battle of Seven Pines, Virginia, takes charge as interior prison commandant, the officer directly in charge of the inmates. March 30, 1864 At Macon, General Howell Cobb takes command of the Reserve Corps of Georgia, the main guary force at Camp Su7mter, consisting larely of boys under 17 years of age and men over 50; some so young, according to the prisoner of war Sergeant Eugene Forbes, that they can barely see over the walls from the pigeon roosts. March 31, 1864 Captain James W. Armstrong, Jr., takes charge as post commissary officer, relieving Captain and Quartermaster Richard, B. Winder of the nearly impossible task of feeding 8,000 inmates and military personnel at Camp Sumter, a figure growing by the day, with ever decreasing rations. April 1, 1864 Union military prisoners from several nations are now confined at Camp Sumter, along with residents of every state north and south, including Negroes and Native Americans; Americus newspaper SUMTER REPUBLICAN reporting that many inside of the filthy stockade speak little or no English. April 6, 1864 Needy and ragged Camp Sumter inmates strip a dead prisoner of sueful clotheing before burial to discover that this unknown compatriot was a woman who had posed as a Union soldier, one of many in the war who, disguised as men, donned the blue or gray to fight for their country. April 11, 1864 Captain and Quartermaster Richard B. Winder writes Major and Macon, Georgia, Quartermaster J.G. Michaeloffsky, asking why a load of lumber expected by rail from Macon 12 days ago has not arrived, threatening to report the matter to Richmond if the needed lumber is not sent to Andersonville immediately. April 14, 1864 Quartermaster Richard B. Winder compains for a second time to Major and Macon, Georgia, Quartermaster J.G.Michaeloffsky that lumber must be sent as soon as possible, explaining that the lumber shortage is so great on post that buildings cannot be constructed, and the dead are being buried without coffins. April 24, 1864 Confederate ispector Major Thomas P. Turner is quoted in the Georgia newspaper COLUMBUS DAILY ENQUIRER that an additional stockade should be built at Camp Sumter to relieve the prison overcrowding, and that the inmate hospital, now operating inside of the stockade, should be relocated elsewhere on post. April 26, 1864 Chief Surgeon Isaiah H. White notifies Confederate Surgeon General Samuel P. Moore that 718 of the 2,697 patients in the prison hospital have died due to poor natural resources, a lack of supplies, the arrival of the first inmates before the prison was completed, and the location of the hospital within the stockade. May 1, 1864 The bakehouse, located outside of the west wall near the prison creek, begins service, never preparing cooked rations for more than a fraction of the ever growing inmate population, while grease from the facility is discarded into the creek branch upstream of the stockade, polluting the only source of water for the prisoners. May 4, 1864 Major General and Georgia Reserves Commander Howell Cobb inspects Camp Sumter and recommends that the stockade be enlarged and fortified, writing Confederate Adjutant General Samuel Cooper that no more prisoners should be sent to the already dangerously overcrowded prison. May 5, 1864 Major General and Georgias Reserves Commander Howell Cobb comments in a letter to Confederate Adjutant General Samuel Cooper that the stockade at Camp Sumter is packed to capacity with Union prisoners, adding that he hates to think what the death rate will be during the summer months if the present conditions remain. May 6, 1864 Camp Sumter Chief Surgion Isaiah H. White recommends to Confderate inspector Captain Walter Bowie that the prison hospital be moved from the interior of the stockade, as it is situated near the unsanitary and polluted creek bed, where inmates attack sick prisoners and steal hospital equipment. May 7, 1864 The local newspaper SUMTER REPUBLICAN reports that Lieutenant Colonel and Post Commander Alexander W. Persons is performing his duties well, the deaths at Camp Sumter are due to regular camp diseases, and rations are adequate, but the bakehouse is inadequate to serve the present number of inmates. May 8, 1864 Captain and Camp Sumter Interior Prison Commandant Henry Wirz reports to Confederate authorities that the cramped and filthy stockade now holds 12,213 inmates and should be enlarged, adding that 728 prisoners have died, due in part to the location of the prison hospital inside the stockade. May 10, 1864 Confederate Sergeant Edward C. Turner takes charge of the bloodhounds, one of the most controversial duties on post, due to accusations by some of the prisoners that the dogs not only track down but attack and maim escapees, under orders of Captain and Interior Prison Commandant Henry Wirz. May 13, 1864 At a time that 18,000 inmates are guarded by 1,200 troops, Secretary of War james A. Seddon transfers several Confederate regiments from Camp Sumter to combat duty in Atlanta, aiding the Southern resistance against Union Major General William T. Sherman, but weakening the security of Andersonville. May 14, 1864 As a band from Macon plays, "The Girl I Left Behind Me," a farewell picnic is given by the prison staff and local citizens of Andersonville to honor the 26th Alabama Infantry Regiment, preparing to depart Camp Sumter for battle in North Georgia as ordered by the Confederate War Department. May 20, 1864 The newspaper SUMTER REPUBLICAN calls for Confederate reinforcements to secure the prison, as many local citizens fear that the 20,000 prisoners will escape; the article also teasing Lieutenant Colonel and Post Coimmander Alexander W. Persons for his apparent relationship with an Americus woman. May 22, 1864 The inmate hospital, previously located inside of the disease ridden, filthy, and dangerous stockade, is relocated southeast of the prison in a shady oak grove, providing a healthier environment for the 1,250 patients, but doing little to lessen the high death rate caused by a lack of food and medicine. May 23, 1864 Major General and Georgia Reserves Commander Howell Cobb complains to Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown that his policy of executive exemption from the military draft for all public officials in Georgia has caused a shortage of manpower in the Confederacy, especially at Camp Sumter. May 25, 1864 Captain and Interior Prison Commandant Henry Wirz posts a sign inside of the stockade stating that a group of inmates have planned a mass escape, threatening that if attempted, he will order the artillery, consisting partly of several Howitzer cannons loaded with canister shot, to open fire into the prison. May 26, 1864 Confederate inspector Major Thomas P. Turner reports to Richmond that Captain and Interior Prison Commandant Henry Wirz is an efficient officer, but the polluted stockade creek at Camp Sumter is unfit for drinking and bathing, and the water current is of insufficient force to remove wastes from the feces laden creek bed. June 6, 1864 Captain and Interior Prison Commandant Henry Wirz complains to Captain and Acting Post Adjutant R.D. Chapman that the cornmeal issued to the 24,000 prisoners and staff is unbolted; that is, ground with the husks and unfit for consumption, a factor partially responsible for the death rate of 100 per day later in the summer. June 15, 1864 Camp Sumter Chief Surgeon Isaiah H. White appoints Union prisoner of war Private Dorance Atwater, Second New York Cavalry, to keep a register of the name, regiment, burial place, and date and cause of death of each inmate who dies at Camp Sumter, a document later known as the Atwater Death List. June 17, 1864 Brigadier General and Confederate Commander of Military Prisons John H. Winder takes command of Camp Sumter, relieving Lieutenant Colonel Alexander W. Persons, who resumes command of the 55th Georgia Infantry Regiment stationed at Andersonville. June 18, 1864 Brigadier General and Camp Sumter Post Commander John H. Winder writes Confederate General Braxton Bragg that sicknesses and furloughs have reduced the available guard force form 2,867 to 1,462, and recommends that reinforcements be sent to double that number. June 22, 1864 Brigadier General and Post Commander John H. Winder orders Lieutenant S. Boyer Davis to hand deliver an urgent message to Major General and Georgia Reserves Commander Howell Cobb stating that the guard force at Camp Sumter must be reinforced and that no further prisoners should be sent to the overcrowded stockade. June 23, 1864 Georgia Reserves Private James E. Anderson writes President Jefferson Davis that young guards in the pigeon roost are shooting prisoners in the stockade who have not crossed the deadline, a point made earlier by Charles H. Thiot, another guard, in a letter to his wife. June 24, 1864 Brigadier General and Post Commander John H. Winder notifies Adjutant General Samuel Cooper that the prison is taxed to the utmost extent, the mortality rate is considerable, and more guards, surgeons, and engineers are needed; adding that any tents left at Belle Isle Prison in Richmond should be sent at once. June 25, 1864 Chief Surgeon Isaiah H. White establishes Camp Sumter Confederate Hospital to treat the sick troops on post, many of whom are dying from the same diseases as the prisoners, such as gangrene, scurvy, smallpox, and the biggest killer due in part to coarsley ground cornmeal, dysentery. June 26, 1864 One of 200 small businesses operating on Market Street inside of the stockade, including barbershops run by the prisoners, a sutler stand is erected by post employee James Selman to trade or sell such items as soap, tobacco, candy, and fresh vegetables to the inmates. June 29, 1864 The six ring leaders of the Raiders, a notorious band of renegade prisoners inside of the stockade who robbed and killed fellow inmates, are captured by a police force of prisoners called the Regulators, turned over to the Confederate authorities on post, and confined to the stocks until a trial can be arranged. Junely 1, 1864 The inmate population having well exceeded the 12,000 man capacity for which the prison was designed, the stockade is enlarged from 16 1/2 acres to 26 1/2 acres extending north of the prison creek, Captain and Interior Prison Commandant Henry Wirz ordering half of the 26,000 inmates to immediately occupy the new section. July 2, 1864 Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown forwards a complaint from Andersonville townspeople to the Confederate War Department that 300 prisoners recently paroled by Brigadier General and Post Commander John H. Winder are now roaming the town, trading with guards, and generally causing mischief. July 7, 1864 Union prisoner Rivate Albert H. Shatzel stikes water from one of the 200 wells dug by inmates inside of the stockade during the prison's existence, producing sometimes fresh and sometimes brackish water, but supplementing the only other water source, the polluted prison creek. July 8, 1864 The 30,000 prisoners and staff receiving only one pound of cornmeal and bacon per man per day, inmates add to their meager diet with foods traded from guards or sutlers, and donations from local farms, such as fresh meat, rice, black beans, molasses, and chili peppers for the prevention of scurvy. July 9, 1864 Brigadier General John H. Winder sends a message to Confederate Adjutant General Samuel Cooper in Richmond desperately demanding reinforcements, claiming that the guard force at Camp Sumter is undisciplined, riddled with spies, threatening mutiny, and on the verge of desertion. July 10, 1864 Under approval of Camp Sumter commander John H. Winder, the six ring leaders of the Raiders prison gang are tried within the stockade by a court of 24 Union sergeants, found guilty, and sentenced to hand, the minor gang members to be flogged by a gauntlet of inmates. July 11, 1864 Catholic chaplain Father Peter Whelan having administered last rights, the six Raider kingpins are hanged by fellow inmates inside of the stockade on gallows supplied by Captain and Interior Prison Commandant Henry Wirz, and by request of the other prisoners, buried dishonorably in a separate plot in the prison cemetery. July 12, 1864 Major General and Georgia Reserves Commander Howell Cobb wirtes his wife that many of the enlisted men are threatening desertion to coerce Brigadier General and Post commander John H. Winder into issuing furloughts, a clear indication of the poor relationship which exists between Winder and unruly Georgia Reserves. July 14, 1864 Camp Sumter surgeon W.J. Kerr reports to the SUMTER REPUBLICAN that a baby has been born within the stockade to Mrs. H. Hunt, the wife of a prisoner, who, dressed as a man, remained with her husband through confinement and childbirth; Kerr adding that Mrs. Hunt and the child are now boarding with a local family. July 18, 1864 Captain and Quartermaster Richard B. Winder literally begs Confederate authorities for money to buy supplies for the inmates and pay the back salaries for the officers and enlisted men, stating in a letter to Major W.L. Bailey that the situation is desperate, as the post is completely without funds. July 20, 1864 Brigadier General and Post Commander John H. Winder reports that there are 2,421 Confederate officers and enlisted men on post; of these 517 are sick, 227 are on maintenance duty, and 126 are artillerymen, leaving only 1,551 troops available to guard 29,000 Union prisoners. July 25, 1864 Brigadier General and Post Commander John H. Winder writes Adjutant General Samuel Cooper in Richmond that 20,000 prisoners should be moved immediately to other locations, and that there are 29,000 inmates, 2,650 troops, 500 white and Negro laborers, and not a ration on post. July 26, 1864 A gorup of prisoners at Camp Sumter sends a petition to governor John Brough of Ohio to ask tthat he intervene to break the stalemate between the South and North regarding prisoner exchanges, one of many such inmate petitions, some sent to President Lincoln, critizing efforts taken by the United States to gain their release. July 27, 1864 Having learned of a planned attack on Camp Sumter by Union cavalry forces attached to Major General William T. Sherman, Commander John H. Winder orders Captain and Chief Engineer Theodore Moreno to consturct Star Fort southwest of the stockade, as well as other earthwork fortifications at various points around the prison. July 28, 1864 Acting on recommendations from Confederate Generals Braxton Bragg, Howell Cobb, and John H. Winder, Secretary of War James A. Seddon orders that no more prisoners be sent to Camp Sumter, but prisoners captured at the Battle of Atlanta continue to fill the stockade, as there is no other military prison in the area. July 29, 1864 Convinced that a Union raid on Andersonville is imminent, Brigadier General and Post Commander John H. Winder orders the artillery to open a cannonade of canister shot into the stockade if Federal troops attack the compound, and warns local counties that equipment and slaves will be taken to build fortifications if not donated. July 30, 1864 Major General George T. Stoneman, Untied States Cavalry, attempts a raid on Andersonville, but his force is seized near Macon by a local militia commanded by Major General Howell Cobb, and the captured enlisted men are sent to Camp Sumter, Stoneman becoming the highest ranking Union officer taken prisoner during the war. July 31, 1864 Under direction of Chief Surgeon Isaiah H. White, the inmate hospital is enlarged to accommodate 1,400 patients, improving conditions little, as 700 tents are still needed and 6,315 of the 30,000 prisoners are sick with scruvy, gangrene, and dysentery, along with 517 of the 2,700 Confederates on post. August 1, 1864 According to Interior Prison Commandant Henry Wirz, 83 escape tunnels have been found and filled to date, some more than 20 feet deep and 140 feet across; however, only one prisoner ever escaped using this method, most who attempted escape having done so by bribing or overpowering guards while on work detail. August 2, 1864 Chief Surgeon Isaiah H. White complains to Brigadier General and Camp Sumter Commander John H. Winder that 21% of the 30,000 prisoners are sick, including 5,010 in the stockade and 1,305 in the hospital, scurvy is rampant due to scarce and unhealthy food, the commissary is without funds, and many inmates have no shelter. August 4, 1864 Confederate Surgeon General Samuel P. Moore writes Chief Surgeon Isaiah H. White that no further surgeons or supplies can be sent from the Captain in Richmond to Camp Sumter, and blames White for not having anticipated the shortages at Andersonville and planned accordingly. August 10, 1864 Confederate Agent of Exchange Judge Robert Ould notifies Union authorities that the South will unilaterally release a number of prisoners of war from Camp Sumter if transportation is provided to take them home; however, two months will pass before the United States government acts on this proposal. August 11, 1864 Panic stikes as part of the west wall near the prison creek washes away during a storm, Brigadier General and Post Commander John H. Winder ordering guards to man the gap to prevent the 33,000 inmates from escaping, and telegraphs Adjutant General Samuel Cooper in Richmond to send no more prisoners of war. August 13, 1864 A new source of fresh water for the prisoners gushes from the ground inside the stockade near the recently washed away 100 foot portion of the west wall, saving hundreds of lives and believed by many to be an act of Divine Providence; thus the name given by the inmates, Providence Spring. August 18, 1864 Desptie pleas from inmates at Camp Sumter to reestablish prisoner of war exchanges with the South, Union General in Chief Ulysses S. Grant refuses, claiming that released Confederates would join the resistance against the efforts of U.S. Major General William T. Sherman in Georgia. August 19, 1864 Conlonels D.T. Chandler and R.H. Chilton of the Confederate Inspector General's office report that 15,000 prisoners should be transferred, and that the incompetence of Commissary J.W. Armstrong combined with a lack of supplies have destituted the post, Chilton adding that this is a reproach to the Confederacy. August 20, 1864 Post Commander John H. Winder responds to complaints from Georgia Governor Jospeh E. Brown that paroled prisoners of war are roaming Andersonville disturbing the peace, writing Adjutant General Samuel Cooper that these inmates perform valuable duties, and the paroles relieve the overcrowding with the stockade. August 21, 1864 Union Brigadier General T. Seymour, appointed by the United States War Department to investigate military prison conditions in the South, reports to Federal headquarters that the wisest course of action is to allow Union prisoners of war to remain confined at Andersonville, and not to initiate a prisoner exchange. August 24, 1864 Union Major General and Agent of Exchange Benjamin F. Butler informs Confederate Agent of Exchange Judge Robert Ould that the United States refuses to exchange Southern prisoners of war because of allegations that the Confederacy mistreats captured Negro soldiers, and refuses to include them in prisoner exchanges. August 31, 1864 Prisoner of war George W. Gray and guard Nazareth Allen observe that an inmate has died while confined in the stocks, a common means of military punishment at the time, but one, along with the chain gang, which will prompt murder charges against Camp Sumter Interior Prison Commandant Henry Wirz after the war. September 1, 1864 R. Randolph Stevenson, surgeon at Camp Sumter, writes Surgeon General Samuel P. Moore that there are no buildings of any character to house the sick and recommends that a special quartermaster be appointed with special authorization from Richmond to procure food, medicine, and supplies for Andersonville. September 5, 1864 Under orders of Adjutant General Samuel Cooper, the long awaited mass transfer of Union prisoners begins from Camp Sumter to Charleston and Florence, South Carolina, and Savannah and Millen, Georgia, reducing the inmate population at Andersonville from 33,000 to 5,000 by October. September 6, 1864 Surgeon J. Crews Pelot reports to Surgeon E.D. Eland that conditions at Camp Sumter are generally deplorable, asking that the matter be given immediate attention, as the beds for the sick prisoners are without straw, the rations are inedible, and the hospitals on post are without medicine. September 12, 1864 Confederate Surgeon General Samuel P. Moore directs Camp Sumter Chief Surgeon Isaiah H. White to assign members of the Andersonville medical staff to accompany the sick inmates as they are moved by train to the newly established prisoner of war camps in East Georgia and South Carolina. September 13, 1864 Over 20 Union prisoners and Confederate guards are killed or wounded when a train tranferring prisoners from Camp Sumter to Camp Lawton in Millen derails near the Andersonville depot, those inmates not wounded being returned to the stockade and relocated at a later date. September 15, 1864 Improvements have recently been made to the compound, including a second stockade enclosing the first for security, barracks inside of the stockade on the north side, a better frame privy for the inmates on the fetid creek bed near the east wall, and the removal of the deadline until the middle of October. September 20, 1864 Just prior to their departure for Camp Lawton Confederate Military Prison in Millen, a delegation of Union prisoners present a gold watch to Lieutenant S.F. Mayes, 2nd Georgia Reserves, C.S.A., in appreciation for the kindness that he has shown them during their confinement at Camp Sumter. September 24, 1864 Captain Henry Wirz writes Brigadier General and Post Commander John H. Winder, rebutting a derogatory report of prison conditions made to Richmond by Confederate Assistant Inspector General D.T. Chandler, and disclaiming charges that prison rations are not cooked and firewood is not provided for the inmates. October 8, 1864 Brigadier General and Camp Sumter Commander John H. Winder, Captain and Quartermaster Richard B. Winder, and Chief Surgeon Isaiah H. White are transferred to Camp Lawton Confederate Military Prison in Millen, replaced by Colonel George C. Gibbs, Captain J.H. Wright, and Dr. R. Randolph Stevenson. Ocotber 9, 1864 Captain and Camp Sumter Quartermaster J.H. Wright directs the establishment of a facotry for the manufacture of shoes for the inmates, as well as a brewery for the production of a medical drink called corn beer which combats scurvy, a major disease on post, caused by a diet lacking in fresh foods. October 18, 1864 Major S.B. French of the Confederate Bureau of Substance notifies Colonel and Commissary General of Substance L.B. Northrop in Richmond that rations and supplies for the South, both for soldiers in the field, and inmates and staff of military prisons, are virtually depleted. October 19, 1864 Dr. Joseph Jones, a Confederate pathologist assigned to Camp Sumter, reports to Surgeon General Samuel P. Moore that the 23% death rate at Andersonville is due to dysentery, scurvy, and gangrene, caused in large part by poor rations, little medicine, and the accumulation of feces within the stockade. October 29, 1864 Brigadier General John H. Winder having complained to Richmond that several officers of the First Georgia Reserves are committing acts of disorderly conduct at Camp Sumter, Major General and Georgia Reserves Commandant Howell Cobb responds that if these allegations are true, Winder should have come to him first. November 12, 1864 Captain and Interior Post Commandant Henry Wirz notifies Captain and Assistant Quartermaster T.W. Neely that a shipment of goods for the inmates has arrived on post, consisting of 399 blankets, 60 pairs of shoes, 240 pairs of pants, 396 pairs of draws, and 324 shirts. November 22, 1864 The rpsoner of war population standing at 1,500 with escapes and desertions occurring regularly, Major and Assistant Adjutant General W. Carver Hall comments in a letter to his office in Richmond that while recently visiting Andersonville, he saw the inmates scavenging and digging for roots inside the stockade. December 24, 1864 3,500 Union prisoners of war previously transferred from Camp Sumter to Camp Lawton, then to another military prison in Thomasville, are returned to Andersonville by order of Confederate General Pierre G.T. Beauregard, because Millen and Thomasville are no longer secure from Union cavalry raids. December 27, 1864 Scandal rocks Camp Sumter when Dr. H. H. Clayton, who recently replaced Chief Surgeon R. Randolph Stevenson discovers that $100,000.00 is missing from the medical supply fund and calls in Confederate investigators, but the war will end before Stevenson can be brought to trial on embezzlement charges.
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