Andersonville

During the war the South needed a place to keep all the Union soldiers that the captured and chose to put their prison in Andersonville, Georgia. Andersonville was ideal because it was inland, it had had a large freshwater pond, and it was a safe distance away from all the fighting. Prisoners lived a very hard life in the camp and had many struggles concerning health issues. Water was very unsanitary so the prisoners got very little of it. Also, the rations were small and sometimes given to them raw.

Prisoners lived in shelters made of various materials commonly known as shebangs. Sometimes, to show compassion, prisoners shared their shebangs with each other. The chances of escape for a typical prisoner was little to no chance at all. The only chance they really had was if they were taken outside but even then they were weak and couldn't run very fast so were easily shot down. Today, Andersonville is a large cemetery and averages over 150 burials a year.