The Briefing Room
General Category => Science, Technology and Knowledge => History => Topic started by: rangerrebew on January 15, 2017, 09:48:23 pm
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American Civil War, Andersonville Prison, Georgia
From February 1864 until the end of the American Civil War (1861-65) in April 1865, Andersonville, Georgia, served as the site of a notorious Confederate military prison. The prison at Andersonville, officially called Camp Sumter, was the South’s largest prison for captured Union soldiers and known for its unhealthy conditions and high death rate. In all, approximately 13,000 Union prisoners perished at Andersonville, and following the war its commander, Captain Henry Wirz (1823-65), was tried, convicted and executed for war crimes.
http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/andersonville
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The place was notorious, I won't even post some pictures I found of it. Emaciated prisoners look like some of those freed in WWII. I remember seeing people in high school reading the book "Andersonville", since then, 1 or 2 movies have been made of it.
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It's now a National Cemetery.
I was there back in October saying my last goodbyes to my Dad.
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One of my distant relatives died there.
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I'm sorry to hear that Puss-N-Boots. Maybe he rest in peace and God Bless.
Reading on that Johnson Island I know so many men in the Civil War died of disease, probably more than from fighting.
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Reading on that Johnson Island I know so many men in the Civil War died of disease, probably more than from fighting.
620,000 soldiers died during the Civil War.
Two thirds died of disease, not wounds.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/pdfs/civil-was-curriculum-medicine.pdf
Note that this number includes wounded that may not have died without the wounds.
Infection was a huge problem. And, to make matters
worse, doctors thought pus was a good sign (they called
it laudable pus), and they transferred it from patients
who had it to those who didn’t. So, they infected another
patient.
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One of my distant relatives died there.
I also had one die there, of dysentery as so many did. I visited his grave about 5 years ago.
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s.
Infection was a huge problem. And, to make matters
worse, doctors thought pus was a good sign (they called
it laudable pus), and they transferred it from patients
who had it to those who didn’t. So, they infected another
patient.
Quackery pure and simple.
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I'm sorry to hear that Puss-N-Boots. Maybe he rest in peace and God Bless.
Reading on that Johnson Island I know so many men in the Civil War died of disease, probably more than from fighting.
Thank you! One of these days I'll find his grave. I love history when it involves my relatives.
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Thank you! One of these days I'll find his grave. I love history when it involves my relatives.
Have you found his regimental records? As a genealogist, I might have some tools to help. Let me know via briefer mail.
You might be surprised how much detail is out there. Mine that died at Shiloh even had the details of where on the battlefield, and how far he was from General Johnston when he fell.
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Younger brother of my great, great grandfather did not die in prison camp. Rather he was blinded in battle, taken prisoner held in camp, but released in a prisoner exchange.
He was Samuel P. Starrett, who lived out his life blind, married his sweetheart and served as Postmaster in Anoka Minn.