Constructing the World's Largest Prison: Understanding Identity by Examining Labor
ABSTRACT A Civil War prison camp operated by the Confederacy known as Camp Lawton was once considered the largest prison in the world. This label was attributed to the fact that Lawton’s stockade enclosed 42 acres. The historical record does not have a clear picture of who built it. Newspaper interviews claim the construction was carried out by 500 impressed slave laborers and 300 Union POWs, but these lack the credibility of official orders. Unfortunately, many Confederate documents were lost when Sherman’s army came through Millen, GA. This study archaeologically examines construction techniques utilized for building stockades in an effort to locate labor patterns and provide identity for the builders of Lawton’s stockade.
ETD, Civil War, Camp Lawton, Slaves, POWs, Identity, Labor, African American Studies, Archaeological Anthropology, Labor History, Military History, United States History
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