Existing comment:
From the sign:
The Raiders' Graves
These six graves were deliberately set apart; these six prisoners were buried with dishonor.
Only enlisted soldiers were imprisoned at Andersonville. With no Union officers to maintain order, life in the pen became anarchy. A gang known as the Raiders roamed the prison yard, bullying, robbing, and even murdering other prisoners. Eventually, with the blessing of Commandant Wirz, the prisoners formed a police squad called the Regulators, arrested the Raiders, and tried and hanged the six ringleaders. ...
Before their execution, the six Raider leaders were court-martialed by their peers. Confederates provided lumber for the gallows, which was erected near the prison's South Gate. The remaining Raiders were forced to run a gauntlet formed by their fellow prisoners. ...
The names on these headstones may not be accurate. Several of the Raiders were deserters who re-enlisted under aliases. |