Georgia, Andersonville Prison Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Georgia

What is in the Collection?
Camp Sumter of Andersonville was built beginning in 1864 and was in operation just over a year. During that time 45,000 Union solders were imprisoned with 13,000 deaths.

This collection contains images of records of Federal (Union) prisoners of war confined at Andersonville prison 1862-1865. The collection consists of prison hospital admissions, death and burial records, registers of prison departures, prisoner claims for reimbursements, and consolidated monthly reports. This collection is NARA microfilm publication M1303 and is from Record Group 249 Records of the Commissary General of Prisoners.

Record collections from Record Group 249 in National Archives Microfilm Publication M1303
 * Registers of Federal Prisoners of War
 * Registers of Federal Prisoners of War Admitted to the Hospital
 * Statements of Money Claimed by Federal Prisoners of War
 * List of Funds Claimed by Federal Prisoners of War
 * Consolidated Monthly Reports of Federal Prisoners of War
 * Register of Federal Prisoners of War Admitted to the Hospital
 * Registers of Deaths and Burials of Federal Prisoners of War
 * Registers of Deceased Federal Prisoners of War
 * Lists of Deceased Federal Prisoners of War
 * Partial Name Index to Records of Federal Prisoners of War Interred
 * Morning Reports of Federal Prisoners of War

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The records generally include the following:


 * Name of prisoner
 * Date of entry in the report, list, or ledger
 * Reason for entry in the repost, list, or ledger

Depending on the list, the following information may also be included:


 * Birth date and place
 * Death date and place
 * Burial date and place
 * Cause of death
 * Age
 * Physical description
 * Names of relatives or friends
 * Enlistment date and place
 * Last residence prior to enlistment
 * Monies exchanged
 * Release or transfer date

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search you will need to know:


 * The full name of the soldier
 * Identifying information such as age, birth, or death date.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "Document Type" ⇒Select the "Volume, description, date, and range" which takes you to the images.

What Do I Do Next?
Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. This information will often lead you to other records. For example:


 * Use the age to calculate an approximate birth date.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the prior residence, enlistment place, or place of birth to locate census, church, and land records.
 * Death dates may lead to death certificates, mortuary, or burial records.
 * Place of enlistment or previous residence may lead to other military or pension records. Be aware that Confederate pensions were awarded by the individual states.
 * Prisoners who enlisted in the United States military may have service records or pensions from the United States.
 * Compile a list of other prisoners with the same surname. If the surname is uncommon, they may be relatives.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.

Related Digital Books

 * Iowa Monuments Rolls of Iowa Soldiers Buried at Andersonville
 * FamilySearch Digital Books Pennsylvania at Andersonville
 * FamilySearch Digital Books Report of the Michigan Andersonville Monument Commission

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation:

Image Citation