It was common to see Civil War prisoners eating salt pork, bean soup, bread, cornmeal, or rotten/bug infested beef. Many prisoners ate rats, dogs, and cats out of starvation. Most prisons were so overcrowded that they couldn't provide adequate food for their prisoners. The Confederate Prisons, in particular, couldn’t provide food when their economy began failing.
Most prisoners had their bones completely showing. This photo was famous for showing the cruelty of the Andersonville Prison. Would you believe that this man was still alive when the photo was taken?