Andersonville Prison was the deadliest prisoner of war camp during the Civil War with a total of nearly 13,000 deaths. Over 40% of all Union prisoners of war who died during the Civil War perished at Andersonville.
Andersonville National Historic Site is unique in the National Park Service as the only park to serve as a memorial to all Americans ever held as prisoners of war. The 475 acre park, consisting of the national cemetery and prison site, exemplifies the grim life suffered by prisoners of war, North and South, during the Civil War. The historic site was established in 1970.
Very little remains of the original Andersonville prison. On the grounds, only the earthworks remain. Housed in the National Prison of War Museum are the original lock, key, and hinge from the South Gate along with a piece of the deadline and a post from the stockade. Relics from prisoners include a mirror and sewing kit as well as handmade items such as a pipe and rings made of bone.
When rations were issued, the wagon would enter through the North Gate in the morning. In the evening, the wagon would then take the deceased prisoners from the South Gate and Hospital to the Dead House and eventually to the cemetery
The Sultana was a steamboat on the Mississippi River that sunk on April 27, 1865, after its steam boiler exploded. Of the 2,400 passengers on board, an estimated 1,600 were killed. A majority of the passengers, a little over 2,000, were Union soldiers many of whom had survived Andersonville prison and were returning home. Most of these men had survived the horrors of Andersonville only to be lost in what became the greatest maritime disaster in the history of the United States.
The earliest commemorative service in the National Cemetery was held on Emancipation Day, January 1, 1869. Teachers and students of the Freedman's school, along with the Rev. Dr. Hamilton Pierson held memorial services and superintended the decoration of the the National Cemetery.