What happend after the battle...

I noticed that there was not a good place to discuss the Prisons during the War Between the States, so here it is.

The first is the imfamous Camp Sumter, or, as it is more commanly known, Andersonville.
It was built early in 1864 after Confederate officials decided to move the large number of Federal prisoners kept in and around Richmond, Virginia, to a place of greater security and a more abundant food supply. During the 14 months that the prison existed, more than 45,000 Union Prisoners were confined there. Almost 13,000 of them never made it back home.

Salisbury Prison, though not very well known, was at the time a very, very bad prison. It was said to have been a mini Andersonville. Near the end of the war, the tiny prison ment to hold 1,500 people, held more than 10,000. about 4,000 of those people died.

Well those are just the two of the Southern Prisons. Among the North there was Elmira and Camp douglas to name two of the worst. I'll let other people tell you about them.

I feel sorry for Wizz, who commanded Andersonville. He got hung for war crimes. He wasn't even american!

Yeah I have a a very good feeling he didn't do most of the stuff they sadi he did.

that sucks.

Good post Civ. Oppie, this is where you should have started talking about prisons, smart guy, not the causes topic.

Hey Civ you have a typo in your first post...

I edited it, Civ, you were just short a zero on a couple of numbers. Still a good post though. I'll try to post something on Elmira or Douglas sometime soon.

Ever heard of Robertsonville Prison?

I heard that a lot of Union POWs were gathered in that place and it really wasn't a nice place.

Nope, I don't remember hearing about it. I'll look it up though...

I heard about it. I can't remember anything about it though....

Thanks Stuart.

Never heard of Robertsonville.

Treatment of POWs is always difficult. What I find amazing from a modern point of view is the 'parole' system where both sides would exchange prisoners! Wirz takes the hit for Andersonville because the prisoners looked like scarecrows and that always pisses people off. Essentially Wirtz is guilt of being charged to command a prison camp without being given adequate resources to actually administer it. Nevertheless, there are definitely transgressions where its clear Wirz probably could have done a better job.

What happened to Wirtz is in my opinion one of the saddest episodes of the war. I was recently reading a backissue of America's Civil War Magazine, their second issue to be exact, and Wirtz actually had one of the best ability to have prisoners. But, when they filled to capacity, he asked wood companies to supply wood for building shelters and to help expand the prison. Almost none would comply.

Incompetance was so rampant that Wirtz hardly got any food for the men, although he did his best. He was truely, in the words of Lincoln, "in a place worse then hell."

After the War ended, the Federals wanted the South to suffer for what happened in their prisons. So, they sent a general to arrest Wirtz. Wirtz was at home sleeping when the general arrived. The general told him they were going to talk to some people about what happened and Wirtz left. The general didn't want to alarm Wirtz family. Once they had gone a mile, the general arrested him, and dragged him to prison.

While in prison, Wirtz began to go mad. When they did his farce of a 'trial', they got three lawyers to take Wirtz side. However, two decided to give up when it was clear that Wirtz was already condemned. Wirtz tried to commit suicide, and his wife went twice. Once she wouldn't even talk to him, and stared with black hatred at her husband. Then, on the last one, she kissed him. The warden, thinking she had passed something through thier mouths, made him spit it out. It had been poision wrapped in a small oily black cloth.

Finally, the government condemned him to death, and they hung him.

Yeah, I'm with IBG on this one.

First you have to feed the Southern Army. Then you have to feed the Southern Civilians. At the bottom of the food chain (no pun intended) , you've got the Union prisoners.

Yes, I believe that Wirtz probably did a few War crimes. But no, I don't think he intentionaly starved the troops. See, Wirtz didn't come in till AFTER the first prison warden (I can't think of his name right off the top of my head) was there and had commited mant war crimes.

Wirtz did shoot a prisoner, killing him immediatly. But, that was only after pleading with him to not pass the death line.