U.S. Civil War - Prisoner of War Camps

The U.S. Civil War was an economical and ethical dispute between the North and South of the United States. The Confederates (Southern states) relied heavily on slave labor for their agricultural industry, whereas the Union (Northern states) maintained an industrial economy. Industrially, the North was surpassing the South. The demand for the United States to be economically and technologically united pulled the two sides apart and then began ethical arguments as to why the South needed to abandon the use of slave labor as well as adopt Northern industrialization. The two sides split and from it we have the history of emancipation and the U.S. civil war. This project's focus will hone in on the conditions and stories of U.S. prisoners of war during the Civil War. 

Andersonville Prisoner of War Camp is a notorious Confederate POW Camp in which thousands of Union soldiers died. The camp lacked the infrastructure, resources, and ethics to maintain the amount of prisoners. The lack of order caused mass death in the camp. Thousands of Union soldiers perished from starvation, dehydration, infection, and illness. The prisoners were buried in mass graves to keep up with the amount of deaths. Nearly all POW camps during the U.S. Civil War struggled with poor infrastructure, creating issues maintaining prisoners' conditions and lives. Andersonville's death toll earned itself a place in U.S. history.

Map depicts division of the U.S. in the Civil War.  Included to provide further context for overarching project.

Red - Confederate States

Blue - Union States

*Click on image for a better view