Andersonville Prison

Camp Sumter, GA

Both the North and South had many prisons. They were dirty and unhealthy places where many men died from diseases such as dysentery, scurvy, and malnutrition, or from abuse. Andersonville, in Georgia, was the largest and most miserable of the Confederate Prisons. The caption on this illustration reads "as it appeared August 1, 1864 when it contained 35,000 prisoners of war." Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia held many Union officers. New York had its own prison - Fort Lafayette. It became known as the Bastille of the North because of its harsh conditions and its many Confederate prisoners.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported on prison life in this article: "Our Prisoners in Rebel Hands: Life in the Libby Prison" (November 6, 1863).

For more about prisons, see Documents 57, 62, and 63.

Citation - Document 74
Photographs: Civil War: Renderings: General
August 1, 1864
Brooklyn Public Library – Brooklyn Collection
www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/civilwar