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Andersonville Prison as seen by John L. Ransom - Image from Wikipedia.org

Andersonville Prison, also known as Camp Sumter, is the most well-known and notorious of all the Civil War prisons, north and south. It was in operation from February 1864 until May 1865, and during that time over 42,000 men were interned there confined in only 23 acres of space. The peak population in 1864 was nearly 33,000 men. More than 12,000 prisoners died at Andersonville and are buried in the National Cemetery on the grounds. It is still an active military cemetery. The site of the prison is now the Andersonville National Historic Site which is part of the U S. National Park Service. The Park's museum serves as a memorial to all American prisoners of war.

Selected Sources:

• Adjutant General Reports for following states: Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee (Union), Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin. [See complete list at Author's Note page]
• National Archives: Selected Records of the War Department Commissary General of Prisoners Relating to Federal Prisoners of War Confined at Andersonville, GA, 1864-65; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1303, 6 rolls); Records of the Commissary General of Prisoners, Record Group 249; National Archives, Washington, D. C.
• John McElroy, "This was Andersonville," Roy Meredith, ed., New York, Bonanza Books, 1957
• Ovid L. Futch, "History of Andersonville Prison," Gainesville, Univ. of Florida Press, 1968 [Excellent bibliography]
• Atwater Report: " List of Prisoners Who Died in 1864-65 at Andersonville Prison", compiled by Dorance Atwater, Second New York Cavalry, who was an Andersonville prisoner. First published in 1865.

Links:

• National Park Service - Andersonville National Historic Site
• Civil War Trust - Andersonville Prison
• Andersonville Civil War Prison - Kevin Frye
• Wikipedia.org - Andersonville National Historic Site
• CensusDiggins.com - Andersonville Civil War Prison
• Friends of Andersonville National Historic Site

Further Reading:

• Robert S. Davis, "Ghosts and Shadows of Andersonville" Macon, Mercer Univ. Press, 2006 [Excellent bibliography and research guide]
• Robert S. Davis, "Andersonville, Civil War Prison" Charleston, The History Press, 2010
• Stephen B. Oates, "A Woman of Valor, Clara Barton and the Civil War" New York, The Free Press, 1994
• Thomas P. Lowry, "Andersonville to Tahiti, the Story of Dorence Atwater" 2008 (self-published)
• Debby Burnett Safranski, "Angel of Andersonville, Prince of Tahiti" Holland, Alling-Porterfield Publishing, 2008
• MacKinlay Kantor, "Andersonville" New York, Harper Collins, 1955, reprinted by Penguin Group and others, 1993