Andersonville in Macon County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Stockade Branch

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., July 4, 2008

1. Stockade Branch Marker

Inscription. This stream, a branch of Sweetwater Creek, was the prison's water supply. Today's neatly dredged channel is misleading. When the prison was built, the stockade posts slowed the current, turning the stream banks into acres of stagnant swamp.

The prisoners' latrines stood downstream. Overcrowding soon fouled the water, and the sluggish current failed to wash sewage out of the prison. The stream's bacteria quickly became lethal.

"This little creek was our only water supply, and when we would go after water we would often sink to our hips in the mire, and men would often have to be dragged out by their comrades."
Charles C. Fosdick, 5th Iowa Infantry, February 26, 1864.

To Confederate officials, this source of fresh water made Andersonville an ideal site for a prison. Just upstream, however, the bakehouse and guards' camp polluted the creek before it even entered the stockade.

Erected by National Park Service.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is February 26, 1847.

Location. 32° 11.664′ N, 84° 7.853′ W. Marker is in Andersonville, Georgia, in Macon County. Marker is on Prison Site Road, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Andersonville GA 31711, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least

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8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The North Gate (within shouting distance of this marker); Providence Spring (within shouting distance of this marker); A Tight Stockade (within shouting distance of this marker); World of Lost Spirits (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); National Woman's Relief Corps Tribute (about 600 feet away); Tennessee (about 700 feet away); Ohio (about 700 feet away); The Commandant's Perspective (about 800 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Andersonville.

More about this marker. The background of the marker shows a painting from the opposite side of the camp looking upstream toward the sources of Stockade Branch. In the upper right is a map of the prison.

Also see . . . Andersonville National Historic Site. National Park Service site. (Submitted on October 6, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)

Stockade Branch image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., July 4, 2008

2. Stockade Branch

Stockade Branch runs across former prison stockade site along low ground where vegetation is green and plush.

Photographed By Brandon Fletcher, November 8, 2008

3. Stockade Branch Marker

View from the markers location toward the North Gate and the Providence Spring.

Photographed By Brandon Fletcher, November 8, 2008

4. Stockade Branch

Photographed By Brandon Fletcher, November 8, 2008

5. Stockade Branch

Stockade Branch Warning image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brandon Fletcher, November 8, 2008

6. Stockade Branch Warning

Credits. This page was last revised on May 17, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 6, 2008, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 1,132 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 6, 2008, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on October 1, 2015, by Brandon Fletcher of Chattanooga, Tennessee. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.