Winter to Summer 1865 | chemungcocivilwar

Elmira Prison Camp: Winter to Summer 1865

By New Year’s Day all prisoners were in barracks but the harsh winter, poor sanitation, shortages of food and supplies, and a smallpox outbreak pushed prisoner deaths to a peak of 491 in March. Temperatures dropped to 18 degrees below zero twice over the winter and nearly two feet of snow fell during a single February storm.The spring thaw came with record flooding. On March 15, prisoners retreated to the barracks’ top bunks as waters rose, washing away 2,700 feet of the stockade wall. With the word of General Lee’s surrender in April, the prison camp began to shut down. The last 256 prisoners left on July 11, 1865. Of the 12,147 prisoners held at the camp, 2,961 never returned home.

Prisoners were called out for daily inspection despite the freezing temperatures and their lack of proper clothing.	Coat worn by a Confederate prisoner at the Elmira prison camp
The “Saint Patrick’s Day Flood” of 1865 caused the worst recorded flooding in Elmira to that time.	Col. Banjamin F. Tracy Col. Benjamin F. Tracy oversaw the closing of the prison camp.
Upon release from the prison, some former Confederate prisoners, including Marcus Toney (center in white jacket and hat), visited Elmira’s shops and restaurants before heading south.	Granite cornerstone that was set in 1900 by Baldwin Post No. 6 of the GAR to mark the location of the Elmira prison camp
In 1985 a monument to the prisoner-of-war camp was erected on the former site. The land is now owned by the Elmira Water Board.

Back

Confederate Prison Camp

Elmira Prison Camp: Winter to Summer 1865

Prisoners were called out for daily inspection despite the freezing temperatures and their lack of proper clothing.

Coat worn by a Confederate prisoner at the Elmira prison camp

The “Saint Patrick’s Day Flood” of 1865 caused the worst recorded flooding in Elmira to that time.

Col. Banjamin F. Tracy

Col. Benjamin F. Tracy oversaw the closing of the prison camp.

Upon release from the prison, some former Confederate prisoners, including Marcus Toney (center in white jacket and hat), visited Elmira’s shops and restaurants before heading south.

Granite cornerstone that was set in 1900 by Baldwin Post No. 6 of the GAR to mark the location of the Elmira prison camp

In 1985 a monument to the prisoner-of-war camp was erected on the former site. The land is now owned by the Elmira Water Board.