Andersonville Raiders - Defense Against The Raiders

Defense Against The Raiders

The first organized resistance efforts within Andersonville involved small groups of prisoners - usually members of the same platoon or squadron – forming together in defense against the Raiders. The groups would agree that if one of their members were attacked, he would scream out an agreed-upon code word; the other members of the group would then come to the victim's defense and would scare away the attackers. For example, members of the Plymouth Squad would yell "Plymouth!" when being attacked, and all of the other members of the squad would come to their rescue. McElroy also describes a similar situation in which a victim would scream "Raiders!" and the prisoners around him would attack the robbers. However, in order to defeat the Raiders, the prisoners would have to become more organized, and would also need some sort of backing from the Confederate authorities.

On June 29, 1864, a prisoner named Dowd was beaten severely by two Raiders, and had some of his valuables (including a watch and money) stolen. After his attack, Dowd went immediately to the front gate of the prison in order to confront the Confederate guards and demand justice. His complaints caught the interest of Andersonville's head official, Captain Henry Wirz. After hearing Dowd's story, Wirz announced the he would cut off all rations until the Raiders were turned in.

As a result of Wirz's actions, an internal police force, commonly known as "the Regulators", was quickly organized within the camp. The Regulators were not new to the camp, but they became significantly more powerful after Dowd's case was brought to Captain Wirz. According to McElroy, a small band of soldiers calling themselves the Regulators had previously existed within the camp; prior to Wirz's involvement, their actions were limited to beating Raiders who attacked other prisoners. However, after Wirz became involved, permission to organize a police force was given the inmates, and the Regulators began to make arrests and hold the individuals they arrested until they were given a fair trial.

The Regulators were also given additional powers beyond the ability to arrest and hold suspects. According to the diary of a prisoner named John Ransom, Captain Wirz gave the internal police force permission to set up a court and put offenders on trial. Wirz also gave the Regulators full permission to administer any punishments they deemed necessary, from more minor penalties such as lashings or public humiliation, to death by hanging.