Andersonville National Historic Site | |
 Reconstruction of a section of the stockade wall | |
   | |
| Location | Macon / Sumter counties, Georgia, United States |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Andersonville, Georgia, Americus, Georgia |
| Coordinates | 32°11′41″N 84°07′44″W / 32.19472°N 84.12889°W |
| Area | 514 acres (208 ha)[3] |
| Visitation | 1,436,759 (2011)[4] |
| Website | Andersonville National Historic Site |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000070[1][2] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 16, 1970 |
| Designated NHS | October 16, 1970 |
The Andersonville National Historic Site, located near Andersonville, Georgia, preserves the former Andersonville Prison (also known as Camp Sumter), a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp during the final fourteen months of the American Civil War. Most of the site lies in southwestern Macon County, adjacent to the east side of the town of Andersonville. The site also contains the Andersonville National Cemetery and the National Prisoner of War Museum. The prison was created in February 1864 and served until April 1865.
The site was commanded by Captain Henry Wirz, who was tried and executed after the war for war crimes. The prison was overcrowded to four times its capacity, and had an inadequate water supply, inadequate food, and unsanitary conditions. Of the approximately 45,000 Union prisoners held at Camp Sumter during the war, nearly 13,000 (28%) died. The chief causes of death were scurvy, diarrhea, and dysentery.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ Horrors of Andersonvile James K. Polk
- ^ "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2011" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved March 30, 2012. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
- ^ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved March 30, 2012.