Created in May 1864 as a transfer depot and was known in the South as "Hell-mira". We have a map of Elmira prison. There were 35 barracks which held only half the 10,000 prisoners the rest lived in tents of slept in the open,even in the winter.  Food donated by local churches was sold to the prisoners by union guards.  Many prisoners were transferred there form Point Lookout.  Broiled rat was regarded as a delicacyand any dog that wandered with in reach was quickly slautered and eaten (which was a punishable offense).  One-acre lagoon of stagnant river water within the compound served as a latrine and dump,  and led to large epidemics.  Most gaurd detachments were recriuted ex-slaves.  More than 10% had no blankets, food was scarce and usually spioled.  Scurvy was common.  The  Commandant refused to "waste" medicines on prisoners and also barred Sanitary Commision inspectors from entering the stockade.  One doctor boasted:  "I have killed more Rebs than any soldier at the front."  There were few escape attemps because few prisoners were healthy enough to try.  Discipline was strict and brutal,  even by contemporary military standards;  hanging by the thumbs was a popular punishment for infractions of rules.  Erie Railroad train jammed with prisoners collided with a freight 15 July 1864;  more than 100 injured prisoners were dumped into the compound untreated and most died within a few days.  Death rate was about 5% per month and the  rate of illness was extremely high; Elmira's conservativly estimated  overall death rate of 24% was the highest of any Civil War prison. 

 

Here are some links to other sites

Union Civil War Prison at Elmira, NY
 

If you are looking for a journal that a prisoner wrote while in prison click here
 
 
 

Project by Matt Eakin & Philip Olson