Several years ago, Allan and I watched a movie on the History Channel called “Andersonville”. It told of the horrendous story of life in the Confederate POW camp named Andersonville, during the Civil War. We were curious as to whether such a horrible story could be based on fact, and after visiting this historic site in Georgia, we realize that the film portrayed the POW conditions quite truthfully. Although short-lived (barely over a year), the 26 ½ acre area contained within the palisade housed 32,000 prisoners at one time. The death toll rose to 13,000 due to disease, starvation, filthy sanitary conditions, overcrowding, and exposure to the elements. 
Prisoners constructed shelters out of anything available. An open, unoccupied space between the palisade and a short fence was known as the dead-man zone; anyone entering that zone was shot dead. Some Union soldiers imprisoned at this camp even tried to tunnel their way to freedom to escape the atrocious conditions.
Andersonville now houses a museum dedicated to POWs of all wars. It was an education for all of us, and we recommend it to anyone traveling through Georgia. If you are planning a trip to that area, you may want to watch the film that Allan and I first viewed several years ago (we bought a copy of it on DVD and are willing to loan it out to anyone who is interested).
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