Camp Lawton (Georgia)
Camp Lawton, also known as the Millen Prison, functioned as a stockade detaining Union soldiers captured during the American Civil War. Situated adjacent to the Augusta and Savannah Railroad, approximately five miles north of Millen Junction (present-day Millen) in what was then Burke County (currently Jenkins County), its design was based on that of Camp Sumter. The facility began operations in October 1864 but was vacated within six weeks due to the progression of Sherman's March to the Sea. Spanning and accommodating more than 10,000 prisoners out of an intended capacity of 40,000, it ranked among the largest incarceration sites of its era.
The prison grounds are now incorporated into Magnolia Springs State Park, where some earthworks from the original fortifications remain visible. Two substantial timbers recovered from the site might originate either from the prison itself or from subsequent Civilian Conservation Corps projects conducted between 1938 and 1942. Artifacts unearthed by Georgia Southern University’s Sociology/Anthropology Department are exhibited in the park’s History Center; this department has led continuous archaeological investigations aimed at elucidating Camp Lawton’s past.
History
Constructed in autumn 1864 by the Confederate States Army, Camp Lawton housed Union captives within a stockade built from pine timber sourced locally and erected through the labor of enslaved individuals and prisoners. The palisade reached a height of . By early October, it had received at least 10,299 inmates but was deserted by late November as General Sherman’s forces approached Savannah.
Upon arriving in December 1864, Colonel Adin B. Underwood reported discovering nearly 900 graves within the vicinity. Chaplain Thomas M. Stevenson publicly denounced the deplorable conditions as a severe injustice.
In December 2009, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys conducted by the Lamar Institute of Technology identified what is believed to be the southwestern corner of the stockade. The following year, Georgia Southern University corroborated these results through archaeological excavations that recovered roughly 200 Civil War-era artifacts. Students utilized prisoner-produced watercolors as guides to pinpoint excavation locations. To protect the site, a fence was erected near the park’s aquarium area.
See also
References
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External links
- American Civil War prison camps
- Buildings and structures completed in 1864
- Defunct prisons in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Buildings and structures in Jenkins County, Georgia
- National Register of Historic Places in Jenkins County, Georgia
- Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)
- American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places
- 1864 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
- 1864 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)