There was tons of sickness and disease in prison camps, and they caused the majority of the deaths. Some of the most common sicknesses were dysentery, diarrhea, scurvy, gangrene, typhoid, malaria, smallpox, and cholera. These were caused by the prisoners’ weak immune systems from little shelter, open wounds, no sanitation or sewers, little medicine or doctors, overcrowding, malnutrition, and rotten or infested food. Other causes of death were suicide, getting shot by guards, and starvation.
Sickness and Disease
There were several reasons why prisoners got sick in their camps. Open wounds resulted in Gangrene - the destruction of body tissue. There was little sanitation and sewers in most prisoners, and the Andersonville prisoners had a small stream that they bathed in and drank water from. This stream became large swamp that was polluted and contaminated. Other causes were overcrowding, which spread disease. Andersonville was designed for 10,000 men, but it was known to hold more than 32,000 people at one time. Overcrowding also limited medical care, which was hard enough to get.
There were several reasons why prisoners got sick in their camps. Open wounds resulted in Gangrene - the destruction of body tissue. There was little sanitation and sewers in most prisoners, and the Andersonville prisoners had a small stream that they bathed in and drank water from. This stream became large swamp that was polluted and contaminated. Other causes were overcrowding, which spread disease. Andersonville was designed for 10,000 men, but it was known to hold more than 32,000 people at one time. Overcrowding also limited medical care, which was hard enough to get.