Union prisoners endure brutal captivity, internal violence, and political betrayal while maintaining solidarity and dignity.
Story Structure — 4 Plot Phases
Arrival and Hardships
Union soldiers are captured and transported to Camp Sumter, where they face immediate threats from rogue Raiders and harsh camp conditions under Captain Wirz's command.
Key Events
Capture at Cold Harbor — Soldiers from 19th Massachusetts are captured during battle.
Location: Cold Harbor, Virginia
Train Transport to Georgia — Prisoners endure harsh conditions during rail transport.
Location: Train to Georgia
Arrival at Camp Sumter — New internees arrive at the military prison.
Location: Camp Sumter, Georgia
Wirz's Escape Warning — Wirz warns that escape is impossible due to hounds.
Location: Camp Perimeter
Potter's Warning — Former comrade Dick Potter warns about Raiders.
Location: Camp Entrance
Raiders' Brutality — Raiders attack new internees to hoard resources.
Location: Camp Interior
Resistance and Escape
Tensions escalate as Raiders kill Dick Potter and betray the tunnel diggers. Prisoners attempt a daring escape through the underground passage.
Key Events
Raiders' Brutality — Raiders attack new internees to hoard resources.
Location: Camp Interior
Tunnel Planning — Group allies to dig a secret tunnel under the wall.
Location: Underground
Potter's Death — Raiders kill Potter during an attack on the camp.
Location: Camp Perimeter
Tunnel Betrayal — A prisoner informs guards and gets TT carved on his forehead.
Location: Tunnel Entrance
Justice and Unity
Prisoners unite to overthrow the Raiders, hold a trial, and execute the chieftains. They also collectively refuse a Confederate offer to fight for freedom.
Key Events
Tunnel Betrayal — A prisoner informs guards and gets TT carved on his forehead.
Location: Tunnel Entrance
Escape Attempt — Prisoners flee through the completed tunnel.
Location: Stockade Wall
Prison Riot — Prisoners unite disparate groups to defeat the Raiders.
Location: Camp Center
Raider Trial — Jury sentences six chieftains to hang and others to gauntlet.
Location: Camp Courtyard
Grant's Refusal — Grant halts exchanges due to Confederate treatment of black soldiers.
Location: Washington D.C.
Confederate Offer — Officer offers freedom if prisoners fight for the Confederacy.
Location: Camp Grounds
Aftermath and Legacy
Starvation and disease claim thousands of lives. Survivors are eventually exchanged but taken to other prisons, while historical text reveals the grim reality of the camp.
Key Events
Confederate Offer — Officer offers freedom if prisoners fight for the Confederacy.
Location: Camp Grounds
Unified Refusal — Soldiers turn their backs on the officer in defiance.
Location: Camp Grounds
Starvation & Disease — Thousands perish as conditions worsen over time.
Location: Camp Barracks
Exchange Announcement — Wirz announces all prisoners are to be exchanged.
Location: Camp Gates
Departure from Camp — Survivors file past dead comrades toward trains.
Location: Camp Exit
Historical Coda — Text reveals 12,912 deaths and Wirz's eventual execution.
Location: Andersonville Cemetery
Story Breakdown
Camp Arrival and Conditions — Prisoners arrive at Camp Sumter and face immediate harsh realities under Wirz's command.
Wirz's Command — Commandant enforces strict rules and warns against escape attempts.
Colonel's Audit — Superior officer inspects camp and criticizes management failures.
Raider Threat and Violence — Rogue prisoners form a violent faction that preys on vulnerable new arrivals.
Potter's Warning — Former comrade alerts newcomers to the dangers of the Raiders.
Raiders Attacks — Rogue group systematically steals supplies and kills internees.
Tunnel Escape Plot — Prisoners collaborate to dig a secret underground passage to breach the stockade.
Secret Digging — Allied groups work together to construct the tunnel under walls.
Betrayal and Punishment — A prisoner informs guards and receives a permanent scar as punishment.
Prison Riot and Justice — Internees unite to overthrow the Raiders and establish internal judicial order.
United Uprising — Disparate prisoner groups combine forces to defeat the rogue faction.
Trial and Execution — A jury sentences Raider leaders to hang and followers to a gauntlet.
Political Betrayal and Refusal — External political decisions and enemy recruitment attempts test prisoner loyalty.
Grant's Decision — Union leadership halts exchanges due to Confederate treatment of black soldiers.
Confederate Offer — Enemy officer proposes freedom in exchange for fighting for the South.
Starvation and Departure — Camp conditions deteriorate fatally until an exchange finally frees the survivors.
Worsening Plight — Disease and starvation claim thousands of lives over time.
Exchange Announcement — Wirz declares the exchange, allowing survivors to leave the camp.
Historical Aftermath — The film concludes with factual text detailing the camp's tragic legacy.
Prisoner Fate — Survivors are moved to other prisons and remain until the war ends.
Wirz's Trial — Captain Wirz is later executed as the only soldier tried for Civil War crimes.
This lengthy docudrama records the harrowing conditions at the Confederacy's most notorious prisoner-of-war camp. The drama unfolds through the eyes of a company of Union soldiers captured at the Battle of Cold Harbor, VA, in June 1864, and shipped to the camp in southern Georgia. A private, Josiah Day, and his sergeant try to hold their company together in the face of squalid living conditions, inhumane punishments, and a gang of predatory fellow prisoners called the Raiders.
