Existing comment:
The structures above are called pigeon-roosts. From the sign:
Pigeon-Roosts
Sentry boxes or "pigeon-roosts" were mounted every 100 feet along the top of the stockade. The guards there had orders to shoot any prisoner who crossed the deadline. Otherwise, they had little control over conditions inside.
Perched above the camp, the guards themselves became prisoners of tedium and anxiety -- always fearful of prisoner uprising or Union cavalry attack. After a while, the noise, the stench, and the view across acres of ragged men and shelters must have numbed the senses.
The guards also suffered from many of the same health problems as the prisoners, resulting in a high death rate in that group as well.
The guards -- mostly old men and young boys from the Georgia Reserve Corps -- were reluctant witnesses to the misery of Andersonville. More seasoned troops were sent to stop Sherman's drive toward Atlanta. |