Civil War Prison Camps

The number of men that perished in civil war prisons is a causality rate greater then any battle in the war. An estimated 56,000 men died in the prison camps. This high rate of mortality was created by the combination of a couple different things. The mental tole the camps had on the prisoners, the horrible conditions and the ignorance of how to deal with the number of men contained...all of these were contributing factors.

One of the most dangerous diseases for the camps prisoners was depression. Many suffered from this because of the mental toll that being contained in the camps had on them. Starvation and poor sanitation  inflamed outbreaks of diseases such as smallpox, malaria and cholera. If sores were left untreated they would have to be amputated...clearly causing more mental anxiety. The horrible conditions of the camps are thought to be worse then those on the battlefield.

Overcrowding was common and there was a major lack of sewer and sanitation. These factors caused disease-ridden camps that spread filth. The meager provisions that the prisoners were given, lacked vegetables and fruit and often lead to outbreaks of scurvy and other diseases. Sometimes, they got so hungry, inmates were forced to hunt rats to find something to eat. The hundreds of thousands of men imprisoned were too much for the camps to handle and lead to oppressive conditons.

Sources:
1) http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/07/0701_030701_civilwarprisons.html
2) http://www.spingola.com/CivilWarCamps.html
3)http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/warfare-and-logistics/warfare/andersonville.html