Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 1.djvu/524

486 prison ships were the inevitable results of the cessation of the exchanges of prisoners usual in wars. It became plain to the Confederate government in January, 1864, that it would be compelled to guard and support for an indefinitely prolonged time the increasing numbers of prisoners taken by its armies in battle, and in view of its diminishing resources, as well as its inability to certainly hold any positions securely, except such as were within the most central part of the South, at a distance from the Federal fleets and armies, the situation was embarrassing. After careful consideration the principal site selected for the construction of a prison was in the upper central part of south Georgia, in precisely the region chosen more than thirty years after as a suitable location for a large colony of pensioned Union soldiers and their families and friends emigrating chiefly from the West. The new city of Fitzgerald, said to contain in 1897 several thousand Northern colonists, was built in the section where the Andersonville prison was constructed. This location was chosen as a prison site on account of its salubrity, mild winter climate, the nearness to saw mills and grist mills, the large area [of food-producing country in southwest Georgia, and certainly also because it was little exposed to raiding forces such as threatened the Libby prison at Richmond. In constructing this prison an enclosure of thirty acres in shape of a parallelogram surrounded two hills, and a box canal was built through which a bold stream of clear, pure water was made to flow with conveniences for bathing, the lowest outlet being arranged for proper police purposes. Several bold springs of pure water emerged from the north bank of the stream and numerous wells of pure water were made inside the prison. The camp was laid off by streets, and sheds were constructed for protection against rain and cold. It does not appear that there was any neglect of precautions against disease, or any failure of effort to render the unavoidable horrors of prison life bearable.