Captain Henry Wirz
The only man tried, convicted
and executed for war crimes
during the Civil War, Wirz was
considered a scapegoat by
many.
The only man tried, convicted
and executed for war crimes
during the Civil War, Wirz was
considered a scapegoat by
many.
Captain Henry Wirz Monument - Andersonville, Georgia
ExploreSouthernHistory.com - Captain Henry Wirz Monument, Georgia
| Henry Wirz Monument The Wirz Monument in downtown Andersonville memorializes the Camp Sumter commander who became the only Confederate officer executed by the U.S. Govenment at the end of the Civil War. |
Monument to "Judicial Murder"
On Church Street in downtown Andersonville,
Georgia, stands America's only monument to
the only man tried, convicted and executed for
war crimes in the Civil War.
Born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1823, Henry
Wirz was a doctor educated in some of
Europe's finest medical schools. He moved
to the United States in 1849 following the
great European revolts of 1848. By the time of
the Civil War, he had built a successful
medical practice in Louisville, Kentucky.
When war followed the secession of the
Southern states, however, Wirz left his home
and family and traveled down the Mississippi
River to join the Confederate cause. Although
there are modern claims that no evidence
exists of his service in the ranks, a check of
service records at the National Archives
actually reveals that Henry Wirz did enlist in
Company A, 4th Louisiana Infantry Battalion.
His last name is spelled "Wirtz" in the unit's
records.
After being wounded at Seven Pines, Virginia,
he was assigned to the prison service and
served at Southern prisons in Alabama and
Virginia. When Camp Sumter (Andersonville)
was opened in February 1864, Wirz was
promoted to captain and assigned to the
command of the new stockade.
The captain and his guards were quickly
overwhelmed as a prison designed to house
10,000 prisoners of war grew to hold more
than three times that number. By the time the
war ended, 13,000 of them had died from
malnutrition, disease and exposure.
Arrested in 1865, Captain Henry Wirz was
tried before a military tribunal in Washington,
D.C. With the North then angrily demanding
justice in the wake of the assassination of
President Abraham Lincoln, Wirz was
convicted of murdering Union prisoners and,
despite evidence that he had pleaded for
food and supplies for prisoners, he was sent
to the gallows.
Captain Henry Wirz, C.S.A., was the only
person ever tried, convicted and executed for
war crimes during the Civil War. In an odd
coincidence, his execution took place on the
present site of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Many Southerners feel to this day that Wirz
was improperly executed. The United
Daughters of the Confederacy took up his
case in 1905, pointing out that many men
died at Andersonville because Union
General Ulysses S. Grant ended prisoner
exchanges as a means of depleting the
manpower of the South. The move left Union
soldiers to suffer and die places like Camp
Sumter while Confederate prisoners were
left to die in Northern prisons like Elmira.
Georgia, stands America's only monument to
the only man tried, convicted and executed for
war crimes in the Civil War.
Born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1823, Henry
Wirz was a doctor educated in some of
Europe's finest medical schools. He moved
to the United States in 1849 following the
great European revolts of 1848. By the time of
the Civil War, he had built a successful
medical practice in Louisville, Kentucky.
When war followed the secession of the
Southern states, however, Wirz left his home
and family and traveled down the Mississippi
River to join the Confederate cause. Although
there are modern claims that no evidence
exists of his service in the ranks, a check of
service records at the National Archives
actually reveals that Henry Wirz did enlist in
Company A, 4th Louisiana Infantry Battalion.
His last name is spelled "Wirtz" in the unit's
records.
After being wounded at Seven Pines, Virginia,
he was assigned to the prison service and
served at Southern prisons in Alabama and
Virginia. When Camp Sumter (Andersonville)
was opened in February 1864, Wirz was
promoted to captain and assigned to the
command of the new stockade.
The captain and his guards were quickly
overwhelmed as a prison designed to house
10,000 prisoners of war grew to hold more
than three times that number. By the time the
war ended, 13,000 of them had died from
malnutrition, disease and exposure.
Arrested in 1865, Captain Henry Wirz was
tried before a military tribunal in Washington,
D.C. With the North then angrily demanding
justice in the wake of the assassination of
President Abraham Lincoln, Wirz was
convicted of murdering Union prisoners and,
despite evidence that he had pleaded for
food and supplies for prisoners, he was sent
to the gallows.
Captain Henry Wirz, C.S.A., was the only
person ever tried, convicted and executed for
war crimes during the Civil War. In an odd
coincidence, his execution took place on the
present site of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Many Southerners feel to this day that Wirz
was improperly executed. The United
Daughters of the Confederacy took up his
case in 1905, pointing out that many men
died at Andersonville because Union
General Ulysses S. Grant ended prisoner
exchanges as a means of depleting the
manpower of the South. The move left Union
soldiers to suffer and die places like Camp
Sumter while Confederate prisoners were
left to die in Northern prisons like Elmira.
 | |  | |  | |  |
In 1908, following a proclamation that Wirz
had been the victim of "judicial murder," the
U.D.C. unveiled its monument to him in
Andersonville.
The shaft as stood in the Georgia community
for more than 100 years, a memorial to a
captain who shouldered the outrage of the
North at the end of the War Between the
States.
The fate of Captain Wirz was also returned to
the notice of the American public in 1959
when playwright Saul Levitt unveiled his
drama, The Andersonville Trial, on Broadway.
The Levitt play was directed for television in
1971 by George C. Scott in a production that
claimed three Emmy Awards. It remains
available on video (see upper right).
had been the victim of "judicial murder," the
U.D.C. unveiled its monument to him in
Andersonville.
The shaft as stood in the Georgia community
for more than 100 years, a memorial to a
captain who shouldered the outrage of the
North at the end of the War Between the
States.
The fate of Captain Wirz was also returned to
the notice of the American public in 1959
when playwright Saul Levitt unveiled his
drama, The Andersonville Trial, on Broadway.
The Levitt play was directed for television in
1971 by George C. Scott in a production that
claimed three Emmy Awards. It remains
available on video (see upper right).
| Copyright 2009 by Dale Cox All rights reserved. |
Execution of Henry Wirz
The dome of the U.S. Capitol
rises over the gallows as
Captain Henry Wirz is hanged
in 1865 on the site of today's
U.S. Supreme Court building.
The dome of the U.S. Capitol
rises over the gallows as
Captain Henry Wirz is hanged
in 1865 on the site of today's
U.S. Supreme Court building.
lor.
Wirz Monument
"Discharging his duty with
such humanity as the harsh
circumstances of the times,
and the policy of the foe
permitted, Captain Wirz
became at last the victim of a
misdirected popular clamor."
"Discharging his duty with
such humanity as the harsh
circumstances of the times,
and the policy of the foe
permitted, Captain Wirz
became at last the victim of a
misdirected popular clamor."
Andersonville National Historic Site
Andersonville National Cemetery
Historic Sites in Georgia
Explore other Southern Historic Sites
Andersonville National Cemetery
Historic Sites in Georgia
Explore other Southern Historic Sites
| Modern Photos by Lauren Pitone |