Thomasville in Thomas County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Civil War Prison Camp
Photographed by David Seibert, January 10, 2005
1. Civil War Prison Camp Marker
Confederate authorities, fearing a raid on Andersonville by Shermans marching army, chose Thomasville as a safe, temporary prison camp. Five thousand Federal prisoners were brought here on the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad Line via Blackshear in the second week of December 1864. Colonel Henry Forno commanded the 2nd and 4th Georgia Reserves and the prison camp. The camp was a five acre square bounded by a ditch six to eight feet deep, ten to twelve feet wide. Several hundred prisoners died of smallpox, typhoid fever, diarrhea, and a few from trees felled for firewood and shelter. Some sick prisoners were cared for at the Methodist Church and at Fletcher Institute. The dead were buried in the Methodist Cemetery. Local citizens helped the sick and provided prisoners with food. With Sherman settled at Savannah the emergency camp at Thomasville closed. The prisoners were marched sixty miles to Albany and entrained for Andersonville where they arrived on December 24, 1864.
Erected by Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the City of Thomasville. (Marker Number 136-5.)
Topics and series. This historical marker
this page online
Location. 30° 50.239′ N, 83° 59.833′ W. Marker is in Thomasville, Georgia, in Thomas County. It is on Wolf Street 0 miles east of Cook Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Thomasville GA 31792, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Coastal Plain. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Wiregrass. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Dewey City Historic District (approx. 0.3 miles away); First Black Graduate of West Point (approx. Ύ mile away);
Photographed by David Seibert, January 10, 2005
2. Civil War Prison Camp Marker
Also see . . . Civil War Prisons. New Georgia Encyclopedia website entry:
Offers some additional information about the prison in Thomasville, and covers many other prisons in Georgia. (Submitted on December 28, 2008, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia.)
Credits. This page was last revised on October 25, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 28, 2008, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 4,823 times since then and 46 times this year. Last updated on May 3, 2015, by Mike Camero of Edwardsville, Illinois. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 28, 2008, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
