Andersonville National Historial Site

The Andersonville prison, officially known as Camp Sumter, served as a Confederate Prisoner-of-war camp during the American Civil War. The site of the prison is now Andersonville National Historic Site in Andersonville, Georgia. Most of the site actually lies in extreme southwestern Macon County, adjacent to the east side of Andersonville. It includes the site of the Civil War prison, the Andersonville National Cemetery and the National Prisoner of War Museum. 12,913 of the approximately 45,000 Union prisoners died there because of starvation, malnutrition, diarrhea, disease, alleged abuse and blunt weapon executions from guards.

The National Prisoner of War Museum opened in 1998 as a memorial to all American prisoners of war. Exhibits use art, photographs, displays and video presentations to focus on the capture, living conditions, hardships and experiences of American prisoners of war in all periods.The cemetery is the final resting place for the Union prisoners who died while being held at Camp Sumter/Andersonville as POWs.