“Section of National Cemetery at Andersonville, Ga.” On February 27, 1864, the first Union prisoners began arriving at Andersonville Prison in Georgia. Originally constructed to hold 10,000 men, the prison contained nearly three times that capacity within the first six months. Scarce rations, poor sanitation, and swamp-like conditions fostered severe illness throughout the overcrowded camp. By the end of the Civil War, nearly 13,000 Union prisoners had died at Andersonville, most succumbing to diseases like scurvy and dysentery. Following the war, the commander of the prison, Captain Henry Wirz, was tried and executed for war crimes. Robert H. Kellogg, a prisoner at Andersonville, recounted his experience upon arrival: “As we entered the place, a spectacle met our eyes that almost froze our blood with horror, and made our hearts fail within us. Before us were forms that had once been active and erect; stalwart men, now nothing but mere walking skeletons, covered with filth and vermin.”⠀
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Watson Collins, my 4th Great-Grandfather, was one of the unfortunate soldiers imprisoned at Andersonville. Surviving records indicate he died of scurvy on July 4, 1864.⠀
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Stereoview Published by Engle & Furlong, c.1870.⠀
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*Swipe for #anaglyph version and original #stereoview.⠀
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[Library of Congress]⠀
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