Map of Elmira Prisoner of War Camp Made by a Confederate Imprisoned There

I live just over an hour away from Elmira, and just as a few people have stated on this forum, except for the rare Civil War buff I have never heard of anyone mentioning it. The nearest mall to us is just down the road from where the prison camp was located, and I have never noticed a sign or marker indicating that it was there.

As Pat Young posted a google map of the area, you all can see that except for a monument and cemetery (which almost seem hidden) there are almost no traces of it.
 
Thank you for this great map. Two of my 3G grandfathers- James McKay Suggs and Enoch Bordeaux- died there, along with 516 other members of the Fort Fisher garrison. They're both buried there in the cemetery.

Welcome aboard @Cape Fear Scot from the Mid-19th Century Life forum and a fellow North Carolinian. Mid-19th Century Life covers everything Victorian, from how our 19th century friends celebrated holidays to how they lived their daily lives. Hope you'll stop by for a visit!

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https://civilwartalk.com/forums/mid-19th-century-life.201/

 
I live just over an hour away from Elmira, and just as a few people have stated on this forum, except for the rare Civil War buff I have never heard of anyone mentioning it. The nearest mall to us is just down the road from where the prison camp was located, and I have never noticed a sign or marker indicating that it was there.

As Pat Young posted a google map of the area, you all can see that except for a monument and cemetery (which almost seem hidden) there are almost no traces of it.

It isn't surprising that everyone there wanted to forget it and pretend it didn't happen. It was a horrible mess, the "Andersonville of the North".
 
Reminds me of Sneden's work, never ' saw ' inside Elmira before, thank you.

Mom grew up ( kinda, split time ) not far from there, her mother went to Elmira College- she said the odd thing was, no one ever, ever mentioned that prison.
I recall driving there with my dad in the late 1960s and asking around about it in Elmira and folks not knowing about it.
 
Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira, where nearly 3,000 Confederate dead sleep. Nearly all of them died of disease contracted in the prison, and 518 of them were POWs from Fort Fisher. Most of those were from the 36th NC regiment (2nd NC Artillery), made up of boys from Southeastern NC. They were captured on January 15, 1865 and were dead by May.

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That's a very interesting map. So are the accompanying photos. What's pretty amazing to me is that the photos don't tell the tale at first viewing. Yes, we see many tents, but we see barracks buildings, orderly walks, all structures seemingly well built, etc. Looks like it could have been a model prison for its day. Then we get to the statistics and see how many died in such a short time. We see the closely spaced headstones in the cemetery. Digging deeper tells a different story. It must have been very over crowded and under supplied. Thanks for posting this.
 
That's a very interesting map. So are the accompanying photos. What's pretty amazing to me is that the photos don't tell the tale at first viewing. Yes, we see many tents, but we see barracks buildings, orderly walks, all structures seemingly well built, etc. Looks like it could have been a model prison for its day. Then we get to the statistics and see how many died in such a short time. We see the closely spaced headstones in the cemetery. Digging deeper tells a different story. It must have been very over crowded and under supplied. Thanks for posting this.
Pathogens and hunger can't be seen in these photos. The reports from inspections confirm the dangerous conditions at the camp.
 
Berry Benson's book, Confederate Scout-Sharpshooter gives an account and Lawrence Laboda's From Selma to Appomattox: The History of the Jeff Davis Artillery provides more insights into the story. Members of this artillery unit were the other members including the long fingernail man were part of the escape group. See pages 266-274.

I used to give a talk at CWRTs on great prison escapes. Benson's story was part of it.
 
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