A Living Hell

Andersonville wasn’t just a prison—it was a death sentence. In the final years of the Civil War, when prisoner exchanges ceased, thousands of Union soldiers found themselves trapped in Camp Sumter, better known as Andersonville. Designed for 10,000 men, it would eventually hold more than 32,000, crammed into a filthy, disease-ridden stockade where starvation, sickness, and cruelty ran rampant. Nearly 13,000 would perish in its walls, victims of neglect, malnutrition, and outright brutality. The name Andersonville became synonymous with suffering, and in the aftermath of the war, its infamous commandant, Henry Wirz, was one of the only Confederate officers tried and executed for war crimes. This episode of Dave Does History delves into the horrors of Andersonville—its origins, its grim conditions, the men who endured it, and the legacy that still lingers today. A story of suffering, survival, and the darkest depths of humanity, this is history you won’t soon forget.