Mission Statement

Mission Statement
To provide an understanding of the overall prisoner of war story of the Civil War and to interpret the role of prisoner of war camps in history, and to preserve in perpetuity, for inspiration, and commemoration, the historic landscape, structures, monuments and artifacts that illustrate the American Prisoner of War experience and the role of Civil War prison camps.

 

Purpose Statement
The purpose of Andersonville National Historic Site is to interpret the role of Prisoner of War camps throughout history and to protect the cultural resources associated with Andersonville Prison and its memorialization period. The site operates an active National Cemetery that contains the remains of 12,920 Union Prisoners of War and will continue to inter veterans and their dependents until maximum capacity is reached.

 

Significance Statements
Andersonville National Historic Site has national significance for the following reasons:

• The Camp Sumter prison site preserves the grounds, earthworks, and archaeological artifacts from the site's occupation by some 45,000 Union prisoners of war for 14 months between early 1864 and 1865.
• The National Prisoner of War Museum is the only public and cultural institution in the National Park System dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and serving as a memorial to all American prisoners of war. In addition, Andersonville National Historic Site is the national repository of artifacts and archives of all U.S. prisoners of war.
• The Andersonville National Cemetery, one of only two active National Cemeteries managed by the National Park Service, contains the gravesites of thousands of Civil War soldiers as well as thousands of later U.S. veterans and their dependents. The cemetery is the only active National Cemetery operated and maintained by the NPS in Georgia, with an average of 150 burials each year.
• The Andersonville National Cemetery also contains numerous historic monuments and markers created and installed during the post-Civil War memorialization period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.