Andersonville (Fort Sumpter)

ANDERSONVILLE

Fort Sumpter, better known as Andersonville Prison, is located in southwestern Georgia and is a national historic site. (See also: http://www.nps.gov/ande/index.htm). The prison was in use from 1864 until the end of the Civil War in 1865. Of the 45,000 Union prisoners held at the prison, approximately 13,000 (29%) perished from disease, malnutrition, and starvation. Those who perished were buried at a nearby cemetary. The names of the prisoners were recorded by Confederate officials and, secretly, by Union prisoners. Following the war, some Union troops returned to the prison accompanied by Sara Barton (founder of the Red Cross) to formalize identification of the bodies. Wooden stakes were replaced by marble head stones in the late 19th century. The cemetary is a moving reminder of the Civil War and man's inhumanity to man.

HEINRICK WIRZ, CSA

Captain Heinrick Wirz was the camp commander at Fort Sumpter (Andersonville). Following the war, Wirz was arrested, tried and executed by the United States for "war crimes." He was one of two Confederate soldiers to be executed after the war. Wirz was a Swiss-born citizen of the United States and then the Confederate States of America. His trial and execution are seen by many as controversial. Here is a monument to Wirz that stands less than a mile from the national historical site in the village of Andersonville. The monument was erected by the Georgia Division of the Daughters of the Confederacy. The inscription at the base reads: "To rescue his name from the stigma attached to it by embittered prejudice." Immediately behind the monument (not pictured) stands Wirz's house ... it's run down and for sale.

All pictures by C G Eiel. Taken with a Canon EOS Rebel T2i.