Episode 40 –Henry Wirz, Swiss War Criminal of the Civil War

Nov. 10, 1865: Heinrich “Henry” Wirz is executed as only one of three men tried, convicted, and executed for war crimes during the Civil War – a Swiss who had fought for the Confederacy. As Captain, he had been in charge of Andersonville Prison, a prisoner-of-war camp in Georgia, and he would be held responsible for the dire conditions under which Union soldiers were held there: “45,000 Union soldiers were imprisoned there, and nearly 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure”. How did Wirz, born in Zurich, end up commanding Andersonville? And was he a mere scapegoat or the monster he was made out to be? Historian Dr. Ben Cloyd will help us shed light on Wirz’s story.Dr. Cloyd wrote one of the few books that give us insight into Heinrich “Henry” Wirz’s time at Andersonville Prison: Haunted by Atrocity: Civil War Prisons in American Memory focuses on the role of military prison camps in post-Civil War memory and myths. Dr. Cloyd graduated from Louisiana State University with a Master’s degree and a PhD; earlier, obtained a Bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Notre Dame. Nowadays, he is part of the leadership of Mississippi Delta Community College where he serves as Vice President of Enrollment Management.Recommended reading: The Destructive War: William Tecumseh Sherman, Stonewall Jackson, and the Americans