Prison Conditions
Conditions at Andersonville were among the worst of all Civil War prison camps; the camp was extremely overcrowded and starvation was a common cause of death. The overcrowding, coupled with unsanitary conditions, caused illnesses to flourish within the camp. When food was available, prisoners would often suffer from diseases caused by contaminated food and water. Dysentery, scurvy, and gangrene became prolific as a result of the harsh conditions and poor quality of food.
In addition to the severe health issues, records indicate that guards often behaved sadistically, sometimes killing prisoners regardless of whether they were breaking camp rules or crossing over the "dead line". Contributing to the fearsome conditions were the Andersonville Raiders, who used theft, murder, and terror to obtain goods and power within the prison.
Read more about this topic: Andersonville Raiders
Famous quotes containing the words prison and/or conditions:
“People have passed through a very dark tunnel at the end of which there was a light of freedom. Unexpectedly they passed through the prison gates and found themselves in a square. They are now free and they don’t know where to go.”
—Václav Havel (b. 1936)
“Purity is not imposed upon us as though it were a kind of punishment, it is one of those mysterious but obvious conditions of that supernatural knowledge of ourselves in the Divine, which we speak of as faith. Impurity does not destroy this knowledge, it slays our need for it.”
—Georges Bernanos (1888–1948)