JENKINS COUNTY, GA - HISTORY Camp Lawton Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Marvin Thorpe" Georgia Table of Contents: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm Camp Lawton. Located about 5 miles north of Millen at what is today Magnolia Springs State Park. Camp Lawton was a POW camp for Union prisoners. The stockade was designed to hold 40,000 prisoners but only 10,299 were transferred from Andersonville by November 1864. The camp was only in use a very short time - construction being completed in October 1864 and evacuated in late November 1864 when the prisoners were moved by train to Savannah - Sherman's advance was threatening to overrun the compound. Union forces burned the railroad station at Millen on December 3, 1864. Directions: Take US25 (Waynesboro Highway) north from Millen. Entrance to the Park will be on your right. There is a Georgia State historical marker on the west side of US25 directly across from the entrance to Magnolia Springs. There also is an information sign located about 100 yards from the park entrance on the right. Fort Lawton was located on the ridge to your right as you enter the Park. The stockade or prisoner compound was located downslope from the Fort and was approximately 1500 ft by 2000 ft with the long axis aligned roughly north- south. The spring creek formed by runoff from Magnolia Springs bisected the stockade. US25 was not built until the early 1900's (1920-1930, I think) - the main north- south road during the Civil War ran beside the railroad tracks which are located about 1/4 mile east of Magnolia Springs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REFERENCES: (1) National Park Service website Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System. (2) University of Georgia Civil War website Civil War in Georgia (3) Eye of the Storm (book), by Private Robert Knox Sneden, 40th NY Volunteers [US] (4) Images from the Storm (book), by Private Robert Knox Sneden, 40th NY Volunteers [US]