Prisoners of War
Prisoners of War
This is an example of the extremely harsh conditions of the prisoner of war camps during the Civil war. There was rarely enough food and when food was available, it generally consisted of corn meal. The lack of fruit and vegetables led many to contract scurvy.
During the first two years of the Civil War, prisoners of war were generally exchanged. Starting in 1863, however, few exchanges took place. One of the reasons was that the South did not view black soldiers as equal and would not guarantee the fair treatment of them. Southern policy was to enslave the African American troops or execute them. In addition, the South had less manpower and had more to lose, so General Grant ordered them to stop.
Just as both sides underestimated the length of the war, they had not prepared for the thousands of prisoners of war that they would be responsible for housing. Therefore, prisons took up residence in old warehouses, makeshift facilities, and stockades where the only shelter consisted of tents or blankets. The death rate of these facilities was atrocious. The food supply was not sufficient, and was definitely vitamin deficient. Many of the prisoners contracted scurvy from the lack of fruit and vegetables, while others became infected with dysentery from the deplorable sanitation. Rebel soldiers suffered in Northern prisoners during the harsh winters while "Billy Yank" suffered through Southern summers. It is estimated that nearly 50,000 soldiers died in these prison camps.
Continue working on the 11.08 Civil War Crossword. You will turn it in at the end of the lesson.
Andersonville Prison in Georgia was practically a death sentence. Thirty percent of the prisoners there died before the end of the war. At one point, Andersonville was the fifth largest city in the Confederacy. To learn more about Andersonville, visit its National Park Service website.
