The 16 acre Andersonville prison was designed to hold 10,000 prisoners. Over 45,000 Union prisoners were held there from February 1864 to the end of the Civil War. 12,920 of the prisoners died in captivity.
The prisoners were not provided with shelter, only what they had with them when they arrived. They were basically starved due to the lack of food. Their drinking water was downstream of the camp latrine so dysentery was rampant.
There was a boundary line inside the 15 foot fence that prisoners could not cross. It was called the deadline, anyone crossing it was shot.
The difference between the modern day version above and the reality of the actual prison below is stark.
Delaney was a member of the raiders, a group of men that attacked weaker prisoners to steal their goods and rations. Another group of prisoners formed the regulators. The Regulators planned to attack and arrest the Raiders. The regulators informed the camp commandant Captain Heinrich Hartman Wirz. of their plan. From June 29 to July 1, 1864, the Regulators attacked the Raiders, capturing and arresting at least 75 of them. The arrested Raiders were held awaiting trial. A jury was formed using new prison arrivals. and a trail was held. Punishment varied based on the severity of the crime. Six prisoners were hung.
Captain Wirz was convicted of conspiracy and murder regarding the inhumane treatment and deaths of thousands of Union soldiers. He was hanged on November 10, 1865, in Washington, D.C..
REMEMBER THE PAST, STEVE