#WirzTrial: Andersonville Twitter followers issue verdicts on anniversary of trial finding

Henry Wirz

Capt. Henry Wirz, put on trial for actions he took – or did not take -- as stockade commandant at the infamous prison Camp Sumter (Andersonville), learned his fate on this day in 1865.

Since Aug. 23, Twitter followers (#WirzTrial) of Andersonville National Historic Site in Georgia have been following the case like courtroom observers. The “live” tweeting of the proceedings against the Confederate officer – including vivid testimony by POW survivors -- did not divulge the findings of the military commission. Today, social media followers will learn the verdict.

The park gave people the opportunity to be part of the jury.

Charge 1: Conspiracy to murder U.S. soldiers: Not guilty or guilty.

Charge 2: Murder in the violation of the laws of war: Not guilty or guilty.

Eleven people took part in the unscientific poll, with 64 percent finding Wirz not guilty of conspiracy and 62% percent finding him guilty of murder. "We've had a steady group of followers for the trial, and I think our followers got a good idea of how not so cut and dry the trial was," park guide Jennifer Hopkins told the Picket.

The park posted the 1865 trial findings at 5 p.m. today: “Henry Wirz was found guilty of conspiracy to murder U.S. soldiers and ultimately found guilty of murder in violation of the laws of war. While he was not found guilty for all of the individual murders he was charged with, it wasn’t enough to declare him innocent of the charge.”

Wirz was considered a cruel, indifferent commander by some and a scapegoat by others. Nearly 13,000 soldiers and civilian captives died at Camp Sumter over 14 months -- an average of more than 30 a day in that span. 

Thousands of Union prisoners are buried at Andersonville (Picket photo)

The officer’s controversial trial was a national sensation, covered by newspapers just a couple months after the trial of accused conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Officials who decided to try the officer in a military -- rather than a civilian -- court said the country was in some ways still in a state of war. The defense considered itself at a disadvantage on the rules of evidence.

Hopkins told the Picket that she a few other staffers spent few months poring through testimony of about 140 witnesses, which included prisoners, guards, civilians and Confederate and Federal officials.