The Atlanta Journal Constitution Presents
The Atlanta Century
Atlanta, GA
Vol. 5, No. 21 (235)
FRONT PAGE

ANDERSONVILLE
Death Rate is Rising Among 33,000 Men in the Prison.

ANDERSONVILLE, Ga. -- Conditions of the federal prisoners here are becoming increasingly desperate.  

More than 33,000 men are incarcerated in the stockade (near Americus), giving each man less than four square yards of living space.  Exposure, poor food, bad sanitary facilities, jungle-like life and a wide range of diseases -- ranging from scurvy to body-wracking diarrhea--have taken their toll.

The death rate is up.  In June, 1,203 federal prisoners died; in July, 1742 passed away, and the August figure is expected to be higher.  (Illustrations of the crowded conditions are above and below.)

A CONFEDERATE officer, sent to Andersonville recently to report on the camp's conditions, noted the congestion, the polluted stream and filthy swamp, the lack of shelter, the grossly inadequate medical care, defective rations, insufficient cooking utensils and fuel, scarcity of soap and clothing, and the absence of police and sanitary regulations.

The officer's inspection of the camp earlier this month found 15 doctors attending to 1305 patients in the prison hospital.  As an example of the mortality rate, half the patients admitted to the smallpox hospital, run by surgeon E. SHEPPARD, have died.

On the day there were 1,305 patients in the hospital, 5010 prisoners were on "sick call" within the stockade itself. Said another inspector sent by Richmond, VA., authority:  "The condition of the prison at Andersonville is a reproach to us as a nation."

Within the camp, inmates have committed outrages against each other - including murder.  When a prisoner dies, others go through his effects "like a dose of salts," said one, to steal any belongings   There have been attempted escapes and occasional suicides.

What solace there is for the prisoners stems from three sources:  (1) The hope the war will end quickly; (2) a burgeoning of religious revivals, and (3) the hope that elements of Gen. W. T. Sherman's army, now around Atlanta, will be able to seize the camp.  

Administrators of the camp concede the difficulty in getting necessary supplies for the prisoners and the discipline of the reserve units, guarding the stockade, is subject to criticism.  Guard duty at Andersonville is not a choice assignment.  

Attempts to increase the size of the guard at Andersonville have not been successful:  Gen. J. b. Hood's army at Atlanta is outnumbered and none can be spared.  

Transcribed (C) 2003