Their Graves Are Left Undecorated

The Andersonville Raiders, a band of Union soldiers held at the prisoner of war camp known as Andersonville were hung July 11^th 1864 for crimes against their brother prisoners.

The Confederate prison of war camp; Camp Sumter opened February 1864 near the town of Andersonville, Georgia.  It was built on 16 acres, but would expand to 26 acres.  The land surrounded by a wooden stockade fence with a dead line located 15 feet inside of this fence.  The prisoners lived in self-made shelters and numbered over 30,000.

Among these men were some who preyed on their fellow inmates and become known as The Raiders.  These men would find new prisoners, promise them help finding sleeping room and other help, but instead would beat the men and rob them.  They also used a team of spies to locate any prisoner who had anything of value, they would then raid that prisoner’s tent and threaten them with death should they resist.  The Raiders were well organized and numbered anywhere from 50 to around 100 men, but the six leaders were William Collins, Charles Curtis, Patrick Delaney, A Munn, W R Riekson, and  John Sarsfield.  These men enjoyed a much better living condition, with weapons, nice tents, and good food because of their thievery.  Do to the lack of basic supplies available in the camp, the thefts of The Raiders could mean death for their victims.  For the most part there was so much disease, exposure and starvation in the camp that the men The Raiders attacked couldn’t fight back or even protect themselves.  By June of 1864 the prisoners decided enough was enough, and brought complaint about The Raiders to Confederate authorities.  They also formed and policing unit called The Regulators to defend themselves and capture The Raiders.

A prisoner named Dowd was beaten and robbed on June 29^th 1864.  He complained of the attack to the Confederate guards and got the attention of Confederate Captain Henry Wirz the commander of Andersonville.  Wirz announced that all rations would be stopped until The Raiders were turned in.  The Regulators rounded up men, and with Wirz’s permission held Courts-martial trials and handed down punishments.  Between June 29^th and July 10^th 1864 around 100 men who were part of The Raiders were rounded up and placed on trial.  Most of the men who were convicted received punishments like running a gauntlet, setting in stock, whippings, etc.  But the six men who were the leaders of The Raider were sentenced to death by hanging.

Collins, Curtis, Delaney, Munn, Riekson and Sullivan were led to the gallows on July 11^th 1864.  Curtis slipped his ropes and tried to run, but was quickly returned.  Each man was aloud a few last words. Collins, Munn, and Sarsfield asked for mercy and claimed to be innocent.  Curtis, Delaney and Riekson showed no remorse; Delaney said he would “rather be hanged than live here”.  The six men were buried in an area of camp away from all others who died there.  When the graves of Andersonville are decorated on Memorial Day with flags, the graves belonging to The Raiders are left undecorated.

If you are interested in reading more about this, check out Bernard McKnight - Andersonville Prison

Hell Opened

Union prisoners of war began arriving at Camp Sumter, better known as Andersonville on February 27^th 1864.

Andersonville began excepting Union POW’s on February 27^th 1864.  The prison started out with 16.5 acres of land, it had a 15 foot high stockade.  The camp would be expanded in June 1864 to 26.5 acres, and the stockade finished off at 1,620 feet by 779 feet.  The stockade had two entrances, both located on the west side and known as the North entrance and the South entrance.  There was an interior fence, built about 19 feet inside the stockade, known as the dead line.  Any prisoners crossing or touching this line were shot by the sentries located in what the prisoners called the pigeon roosts.

The Union prisoners and the Confederate staff of Andersonville were undersupplied and what foods they received were of poor quality.  Men died from disease, exposure and malnutrition.  During a seven month period a third of the men held there died from dysentery and scurvy. In July 1864 five Union prisoners were sent north by Captain Heinrich H Wirz with a petition asking that the Union reinstate prisoner exchanges, hoping to relive conditions.  When their petition was denied all five of the men returned to their comrades at Andersonville.

From the time Andersonville opened until it closed it held some 45,000 soldiers, of these 13,000 lost their lives.

A Slow Death

Heinrich Hartmann Wirz the commander of the Confederate Prisoner of War Camp known as Andersonville was executed November 10^th 1865.

Heinrich Hartmann Wirz was born in Zurich, Switzerland November 25^th 1823.  He attended the University of Zurich and practiced medicine before immigrating to the United States in 1849.  Wirz married in Kentucky a widow who had two daughters.  They moved to Louisiana where Wirz started another medical practice and added another daughter to his family.

When the Civil War started Wirz joined the 4^th Louisiana Volunteers as a private.  While serving during the Battle of Seven Pines he was wounded and lost the use of his right arm.  Do to the loss of his arm Wirz was assigned to the staff of Confederate General John Henry Winder, who was in charge of Confederate prisoner of war camps.  In March 1864 Wirz was placed in command of Camp Sumter located near the railroad depot of Anderson, Georgia, which would come to be batter known as Andersonville.  The prison was designed to be used as a temporary holding place for Union prisoners waiting to be exchanged.  With the end of prisoners exchanges, Andersonville would end up holding about 32,000 Union prisoners.

Wirz was arrested in May 1865 and taken to Washington, DC where he was placed on trial for causing the deaths of Union prisoners of war.  A military tribunal was convened July 1865 and presided over by Union Major General Lew Wallace.  The court took testimony from Union prisoners of war, residents who lived near Andersonville and Confederates who had served with Wirz.  The commission found Wirz guilty of conspiracy and eleven counts of murder.  He was sentenced to death.  He wrote a letter to President Andrew Johnson asking for clemency, but never received a reply.  He was hung to death November 10^th 1865 on First Street in Washington, DC where the Supreme Court building is located.  Wirz’s neck didn’t break when the gallows dropped and so he slowly strangled to death.  Wirz is buried in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, DC.

A Letter Writer

A Corporal in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, James Henry Gooding died July 19th 1864 in Andersonville.


James Henry Gooding was born 1837 in Troy, New York. He moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts where he signed onto a Pacific whaling voyage for four years as a cook. Returning from that voyage in 1860 Gooding signed onto the Montevideo for a one year merchant voyage in the Atlantic.

The 54th Massachusetts Infantry opened a recruiting office in New Bedford in February 1863. Gooding enlisted and became a member of Company C. Shortly after enlisting Gooding began writing letters on a bi-weekly bases for the New Bedford Mercury. He received a promotion in December 1863 to corporal. Gooding was with the 54th Massachusetts during the fight for Fort Wagner on July 18th 1863. He was wounded and captured during the Battle of Oustlee in Florida on February 20th 1864. Gooding died July 19th 1864 in the Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, Georgia.

Another web site related to the subject and worth a look is Letter from Corporal James Henry Gooding

His Heart Gave Out

Career United States Army officer and Confederate General John Henry Winder died February 21st 1865.


John Henry Winder was born February 7th 1800 at his families plantation “Rewston” in Somerset County, Maryland, the son of Brigadier General William H and Gertrude [Polk] Winder. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point graduating 11th in a class of 30 in 1820. After 4 years of military service Winder resigned to run the family plantation. Do to some family deaths and economic hardships Winder was forced to rejoin the army. He was promoted to First Lieutenant November 30th 1833 and given the job of teaching tactic at West Point, where one of his students was Jefferson Davis. Winder saw service during the Mexican - American war including the Battles of Contreras, Churubusco and Mexico City. Following the war Winder held the rank of Major in the United Army, receiving this promotion on November 22nd 1860.

Winder resigned his United State commission on April 27th 1860 and became a Colonel in the Confederate Army. He was made the Assistant Inspector General of Camps on June 21st 1861 with the rank of Brigadier General. Winder’s duties included prisons, handling deserters, setting prices for commodities and command of Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. It was Winder who appointed Captain Henry Wirz in April 1864 to command the Confederate Prison camp in Georgia known as Andersonville Prison. On November 21st 1864 Winder was placed in charge of the Confederate Bureau of Prison Camps a post he held until his death.

Winder was on duty in Florence, South Carolina when he had a heart attack and died February 7th 1865. He is buried in the Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland.

Woman POW

Florena Budwin, who disguised herself as a man during the Civil War, died January 25th 1865 in a Confederate Prison.

Florena Budwin was born about 1845, [this was most likely not her real name].  She disguised herself as a man and followed her husband a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania soldier to war. Both were captured and sent to Andersonville. Budwin’s husband died in that notorious Confederate prison camp. When Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s troops got close to Andersonville, Budwin and many other prisoners were moved to the Florence Stockade in Florence, South Carolina. There were about 16,000 Union prisoners held in the Florence Stockade between September 15th 1864 and February 1865. Her gender was discovered after a routine exam by a doctor, a few months before her death. She was moved to a private room and put to work in the prison hospital. Budwin became ill with one of the many epidemics raging through the camp and died January 25th 1865. She is buried in the Florence National Cemetery grave D-2480. It is thought that she is the first woman to be buried in a National Cemetery.

Ben Hur

Union General, lawyer, governor, and author Lewis Wallace was born April 10th 1827.


Lewis Wallace was born April 10th 1827 in Brookville Indiana the son of David and Esther French [Test] Wallace. He worked as a clerk and studied law. During the Mexican American War Wallace served with the First Indiana as 2nd Lieutenant, seeing only minor action. Following the war in 1849 he became a lawyer, and finally became an Indiana State Senator.

At the beginning of the Civil War Wallace served as the Indiana Adjutant General helping to raise troops, but then moved on to Colonel of the 11th Indiana. He continued to move up in rank to Brigadier General and saw action at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Monocacy and others. At the close of the war Wallace sat on the court-martials trail that sent Andersonville commander Henry Wirz and the Lincoln conspirators to the gallows. Wallace resigned from US service November 30th 1865. He would latter serve the government as a doplomat to Turkey, and as Governor of the New Mexico Territory during the “Lincoln County War“. After all this what Wallace is best remembered for is writing, he was the author of “Ben Hurl”.

Wallace died in Crawfordsville Indiana February 15th 1905 most likely from cancer. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.