What’s a Wirz?
Henry Wirz (born Hartmann Heinrich Wirz; November 25, 1823 – November 10, 1865) was an American convicted war criminal who served as a Confederate Army officer during the American Civil War.[1] He was the commandant of Andersonville Prison, a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp near Andersonville, Georgia, where nearly 13,000 Union Army prisoners of war died as result of inhumane conditions. After the war, Wirz was tried and executed for conspiracy and murder relating to his command of the camp. Since his execution, Wirz has become a controversial figure due to debate about his guilt and reputation, including criticism over his personal responsibility for Andersonville Prison's conditions and the quality of his post-war trial.