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At the beginning of the Civil War, neither the North nor South set out to harm or mistreat any of the men captured and placed in prison camps. The goal was to take men off the battlefields to give the respective sides an upper hand in winning the war. From 1861-1862, and accomplished with some success. However, no one expected the war to last long, nor did either side expect to have such a large number of prisoners captured.

Fort Delaware, located on Pea Patch Island, given the name The Fort Delaware Death Pen, after the Battle of Gettysburg, the prison population expanded to over 13,000, the horrible conditions captured soldiers said to be some of the worst at that time. Illnesses such as scurvy, smallpox, and severe malnutrition ran ramped throughout the prison. The shortage of clean water and poor food were major contributors. Approximately 2400 prisoners died within months of their capture.

The Rock Island Arsenal, located on the Mississippi River in Illinois, is where the first prisoners of war were sent. Opening in December 1863, the camp would only be open for 20 months and cause close to 20,000 deaths. As harsh as that was it was nothing in comparison to Andersonville.Andersonville, officially known as Fort Sumter, built in haste in 1864, and opening in 1865, it was the most savage prison camp ever used in the United States. Located near Richmond Virginia, in early 1865, prisoners were transferred to the prison camp, which was not ready or equipped to house prisoners. Within a few months over 32,000 prisoners occupied Fort Sumter that could only accommodate 10,000 prisoners comfortably.

In the heat of the Georgia sun, prisoners suffered from dysentery, scurvy, malaria, and exposure. Poor medical care led to horrible living conditions, and death. At least 100 prisoners died daily. Andersonville held more prisoners than any Confederate camp, approximately 30% of prisoners sent to Andersonville died while in prison due to the treatment they had received while imprisoned. Captain Henry Wirz ran the camp, he was court marshaled and sentenced to death for his handling Andersonville, and the enormous death he caused in the camp.

These are only a few of the prison camps that had horrible conditions and caused suffering and death during the Civil War. Laws for camps such as these were not present since no one could have anticipated the length of the war, how disease, and the mistreatment of the prisoners would affect how these prison camps were run.

Learn more about this author, Mary Tyrer.
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