Who was the Andersonville Prison camp named for? | HistoryNet MENU

Who was the Andersonville Prison camp named for?

4/16/2013 • Ask Mr. History

Who was the Anderson that the infamous civil pow camp was named after?

R. Anderson

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Dear Mr. Anderson,

John Anderson was director of the South Western Railroad in 1853, when the town of Anderson Station was established in Sumter County, Georgia. With the opening of a post office in November 1855, the fully incorporated town was renamed Andersonville to prevent confusion with the town of Anderson, South Carolina. The notorious prison was officially known as Camp Sumter, but Union prisoners tended to remember it more for the nearby town, which served as the depot through which they arrived and were marched to captivity.




Jon Guttman
Research Director
World History Group
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