MILITARY PERSONNEL

Henry Wirz

1823 - 1865

Photo of Henry Wirz

Icon of person Henry Wirz

Henry Wirz (born Hartmann Heinrich Wirz; November 25, 1823 – November 10, 1865) was a Swiss-American convicted war criminal who served as a Confederate Army officer during the American Civil War. 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 a result of inhumane conditions. After the war, Wirz was tried and executed for conspiracy and murder relating to his command of the camp; this made the captain the highest-ranking soldier and only officer of the Confederate Army to be sentenced to death for crimes during their service. 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. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in 16 different languages on Wikipedia. Henry Wirz is the 1,967th most popular military personnel (down from 1,898th in 2024), the 669th most popular biography from Switzerland (down from 597th in 2019) and the 6th most popular Swiss Military Personnel.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Henry Wirz by language

Loading...

Among MILITARY PERSONNELS

Among military personnels, Henry Wirz ranks 1,964 out of 2,058. Before him are John Sedgwick, John C. Pemberton, and Gail Halvorsen. After him are Comandanta Ramona, Abbas Nilforoushan, Lewis Armistead, Leonid Khabarov, Stepan Poltorak, David Dixon Porter, Stephen Decatur, John Schofield, and Salman Raduyev.

Most Popular Military Personnels in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1823, Henry Wirz ranks 78. Before him are William M. Tweed, Guillermo Tell Villegas, Manolache Costache Epureanu, Charlotte Mary Yonge, Sanford Robinson Gifford, and George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll. After him are Francis Parkman, George Henry Williams, Edward Augustus Freeman, Coventry Patmore, William Hart, and Thomas Francis Meagher. Among people deceased in 1865, Henry Wirz ranks 77. Before him are William Henry Smyth, José María Pérez de Urdininea, Alphonse Henri d'Hautpoul, A. P. Hill, Andrei Stackenschneider, and Miklós Jósika. After him are William J. Duane, and Thomas Corwin.

Others Born in 1823

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1865

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In Switzerland

Among people born in Switzerland, Henry Wirz ranks 669 out of 1,015. Before him are Eren Derdiyok (1988), Urs Zimmermann (1959), Kurt Schmid (1932), Barış Arduç (1987), Franco Forini (1958), and Manuel Akanji (1995). After him are Roger Staub (1936), C. Douglas Dillon (1909), Burkhard Gantenbein (1912), Georges Bregy (1958), Patty Schnyder (1978), and Johnny Leoni (1984).

Others born in Switzerland

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among MILITARY PERSONNELS In Switzerland

Among military personnels born in Switzerland, Henry Wirz ranks 6. Before him are Henri Guisan (1874), Jean Reynier (1771), François Le Fort (1656), Lionel Dunsterville (1865), and Franz von Werra (1914).

Swiss born Military Personnels

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous