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THE ANDERSONVILLE HORROR
Besides the unhealthful, debilitating prison conditions, the Union soldiers jailed at Andersonville, Georgia, during the Civil War had to
contend with depredations by their own comrades who frequently stole food, clothing, and other valuables and who used violence to gain their ends. The Andersonville Raiders, a large, organized group of thieves and
murderers, were the most notorious and dangerous predators. For nearly four months, the Raiders held sway inside the prison, and robberies and murders were daily occurrences.
Finally, with the help of prison officials, the six ringleaders were captured. On July 11, 1864, after a quick trial by fellow inmates, they
were hanged. Because the prison was situated far from Union lines and because the dogs, used by the Confederates to track runaways, were efficient, escape from Andersonville was very difficult. Still, during the
prison's existence, 329 prisoners escaped. Most of these slipped away while on work details outside the stockade.
When the emaciated survivors
of Andersonville returned to their homes at the end of the war, there was widespread demand in the North for the punishment of those responsible for what many claimed were deliberately planned atrocities. Next to
the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the Andersonville story was the most potent weapon in the arsenal of those who wished to impose a harsh reconstruction policy on the former Confederate States of
America. Despite numerous claims to the contrary, there was no conspiracy on the part of Confederate officials to deliberately exterminate the Federal soldiers confined at Andersonville.
The horrors of Andersonville resulted principally from the breakdown of the Southern economy. Throughout the Civil War, the Confederacy suffered
from three fundamental weaknesses that crippled its military operations and made the functioning of an efficient prisoner-of-war system virtually impossible. Because industrial output was inadequate for support of
the armed forces, military prisons were extremely primitive in their construction, equipment, and maintenance. Second, the Quartermaster and Commissary Corps, for various reasons, were never able to properly clothe
and feed the Confederate Army, let alone prisoners of war.
Finally, after the first two years of war, rail and water transportation were so
crippled that the movement of supplies to peripheral points in the Confederacy was frequently cut off. Andersonville was one of those peripheral points. It is important to recall that almost as many Confederates
died in Northern prison camps as the 30,218 Federals who expired in the Southern camps.
RECORD YOUR TIME
PROCEED TO QUESTIONS
TEST QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS FOR ADULT TEST #4
1. How many prisoners does the article say escaped from Andersonville?
?????????
2. The Anderson Raiders were from which side?
?????????
3. How long did the Andersonville Raiders remain active?
?????????
4. The ringleaders were punished by being
?????????
5. Who conducted the trial of the ringleaders?
?????????
6. The horrors of Andersonville resulted primarily from the breakdown of the Southern
?????????
7. After the first two years of the war, what kind of transportation was crippled? Name one.
?????????
8. How many fundamental weaknesses did the Confederacy military suffer from?
?????????
9. Those who wished a harsh reconstruction policy on the South, also claimed there was a conspiracy to kill which leader?
?????????
10. Andersonville Prison was located in what state?
?????????
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THE ANDERSONVILLE HORROR
Besides the unhealthful, debilitating prison conditions, the Union soldiers jailed at Andersonville, Georgia, during the Civil War had to
contend with depredations by their own comrades who frequently stole food, clothing, and other valuables and who used violence to gain their ends. The Andersonville Raiders, a large, organized group of thieves and
murderers, were the most notorious and dangerous predators. For nearly four months, the Raiders held sway inside the prison, and robberies and murders were daily occurrences.
Finally, with the help of prison officials, the six ringleaders were captured. On July 11, 1864, after a quick trial by fellow inmates, they
were hanged. Because the prison was situated far from Union lines and because the dogs, used by the Confederates to track runaways, were efficient, escape from Andersonville was very difficult. Still, during the
prison's existence, 329 prisoners escaped. Most of these slipped away while on work details outside the stockade.
When the emaciated survivors
of Andersonville returned to their homes at the end of the war, there was widespread demand in the North for the punishment of those responsible for what many claimed were deliberately planned atrocities. Next to
the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the Andersonville story was the most potent weapon in the arsenal of those who wished to impose a harsh reconstruction policy on the former Confederate States of
America. Despite numerous claims to the contrary, there was no conspiracy on the part of Confederate officials to deliberately exterminate the Federal soldiers confined at Andersonville.
The horrors of Andersonville resulted principally from the breakdown of the Southern economy. Throughout the Civil War, the Confederacy suffered
from three fundamental weaknesses that crippled its military operations and made the functioning of an efficient prisoner-of-war system virtually impossible. Because industrial output was inadequate for support of
the armed forces, military prisons were extremely primitive in their construction, equipment, and maintenance. Second, the Quartermaster and Commissary Corps, for various reasons, were never able to properly clothe
and feed the Confederate Army, let alone prisoners of war.
Finally, after the first two years of war, rail and water transportation were so
crippled that the movement of supplies to peripheral points in the Confederacy was frequently cut off. Andersonville was one of those peripheral points. It is important to recall that almost as many Confederates
died in Northern prison camps as the 30,218 Federals who expired in the Southern camps.
RECORD YOUR TIME
PROCEED TO QUESTIONS
TEST QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS FOR ADULT TEST #4
1. How many prisoners does the article say escaped from Andersonville?
?????????
2. The Anderson Raiders were from which side?
?????????
3. How long did the Andersonville Raiders remain active?
?????????
4. The ringleaders were punished by being
?????????
5. Who conducted the trial of the ringleaders?
?????????
6. The horrors of Andersonville resulted primarily from the breakdown of the Southern
?????????
7. After the first two years of the war, what kind of transportation was crippled? Name one.
?????????
8. How many fundamental weaknesses did the Confederacy military suffer from?
?????????
9. Those who wished a harsh reconstruction policy on the South, also claimed there was a conspiracy to kill which leader?
?????????
10. Andersonville Prison was located in what state?
?????????
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Mark a "+" for correct, a "-" for incorrect or blank
TEST FOUR
1. 329
2. the Union, or the North
3. four months
4. hanged
5. fellow inmates
6. economy
7. rail or water
8. three
9. Abraham Lincoln
10. Georgia
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