Andersonville National Historic Site

Andersonville National Historic Site comprises three main features that pay tribute to Civil War prisoners and all Prisoners of War: the National Prisoner of War Museum, the former Camp Sumter military prison site, and Andersonville National Cemetery. The Park grounds are open daily from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., allowing access to the historic prison site and the Andersonville National Cemetery while the National Prisoner of War Museum is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.

The National Prisoner of War Museum commemorates the sacrifices of all American prisoners of war. Museum exhibits tell the story of prisoners of war using artifacts, visuals, text, and oral history interviews with former prisoners of war. The museum has two 30-minute introductory films alternate throughout the day: Voices from Andersonville and Echoes of Captivity.

The National Prisoner of War Museum is one of ten unique sites on the new Georgia World War II Heritage Trail. Visitors to each site across the state can discover Georgia’s critical role during World War II. More than 300,000 Georgians served in the military from 1941 to 1945 and thousands of civilians worked in rapidly expanding defense industries.

A self-guided driving audio tour, given out at the museum, gives visitors the opportunity to drive the road that encircles the prison site. Andersonville National Cemetery contains the graves of nearly 13,000 Union prisoners of war who died at the prison site. The National Cemetery is still active and contains over 21,000 interments.

Most visitors spend at least two hours in the park. Those with an interest in the Civil War or military history could easily spend most of the day. Park rangers offer prison site walking tours at 2 pm on weekends, staff and weather dependent. If you are interested in scheduling a formal education program or park tour, please email: ande_information@nps.gov