Elmira Civil War Prison Camp

This post is courtesy of Ron Coddington at Military Images.

Our building got a bit of a facelift this year. It still needs a 2d coat on several of the sides, but it is ready to face the winter weather. Many thanks to the volunteers who helped scrape and paint. Especially those of you who spent hours on the ladders up in the peaks. Volunteers are what makes this project run and the Friends truly appreciate your contributions. Walt Sweeney... Dave Mosher Tom Mosher John Purdy John Trice Ken Miller Marty Chalk Doug Oakes The remainder of the building is in the comments section.

Factoid Friday Military inspired poetry set to music was a common occurrence during the Civil War. Two well known examples are The Battle Hymn of the Republic and The Bonnie Blue Flag. Others written for regiments are more likely to be lost to the dust bin of time. We found one for the 23rd NY Volunteer Infantry (Southern Tier Rifles), the first full locally recruited regiment to leave Elmira in 1861. Written by local business men, the full score and words can be found on line in the Library of Congress - https://www.loc.gov/resource/ihas.200000790.0/?sp=1 You can read more about the 23rd NY & its war record at the New York State Military Museum, in Saratoga, NY - https://dmna.ny.gov//civil/infantry/23rdInf/23rdInfMain.htm

Factoid Friday On March 17, 1865, Barracks 3 was flooded during a freshet. Below is a report submitted by Col Benjamin F. Tracy concerning the condition of the site and actions taken. The 2d picture is of the eastern portion of the camp believed to have been taken in March shortly after the flood. You can see missing portions of the stockade fence that have not been documented as missing at any time other than as result of the flood. Due to the topography of the camp, the bar...racks in this area received little or no flooding compared to the southwestern section. The small pox hospital was located to the right and out of the picture. The Chemung River can be seen in the background, along with its steep southern bank. Note the flat land on the far side of the river bank. That is the area over which the river spread to a width that discouraged escapes. In addition, the current of the river, even today, is extremely fast during high water and becomes deadly to enter. See more