Dennis, that is an interesting commentary. All of the history I have read up to now leads me to believe there were a lack of resources and the guards at Andersonville were not any better than Confederate soldiers in the field. My perspective on Camp Douglas and Chicago was in 1862 and Confederate soldiers were not making war on civilians, at least not on any scale compared to the Union in 1864. I do believe I was wrong in my assumption that Confederate civilians would give food to Yankee prisoners in 1864. BTW, how old was this "woman", 13? She believes that she saw regiments of Confederate soldiers at the prison. They must have taken a day off from fighting Sherman's army because there were barely enough guards to fill one regiment.
The guards numbered 1,178, many of whom were ill from whooping cough and the measles. Most of the guards were raw recruits. The authorities were always afraid that the prisoners would escape through the tunnels and ravage the surrounding countryside. A letter from General Winder dated June 24, 1864, echoed the need for more guards: "Twenty five thousand men, by the mere force of numbers, can accomplish a great deal...."