What happened to southern prisoners located at Elmira New York during the Civil War?

How many prisoners were kept at elmira?

While in use a total of 12,123 Confederate soldiers were kept there.

What was the name of the union military prison where confederate soldiers were held captive and where was it located?

There was more than one Union camp for captured Confederates. All of them were located in the most barren, unhealthy places which could be found. There was one on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River below Philadelphia, which was all mud, called Fort Delaware. There was one on the tip of a peninsula jutting out into Chesapeake Bay, at Point Lookout, Maryland. There was a bad one at Elmira, New York. There was one on another peninsula sticking out into Lake Erie at Sandusky, Ohio. There was one in Chicago, Camp Douglas, by Lake Michigan. There is a city park there now, on top of the unmarked graves of Confederates. Many captured southern officers were held in Fort Warren, on an island in Boston Harbor. Its a little known fact today that more Confederate POWs died in Yankee camps than Yankees died in southern ones. The percentage of southerners who died as prisoners is higher than the percentage of Yankees as well. All one hears about today is Andersonville - the most notorious southern camp. But the south could not even feed its own armies. The north vindictively located their camps in the most awful places they could find, and then deliberately withheld food and medical care, so the Rebels starved in the midst of plenty.

Where was the prisoner of war camp in the Civil War?

Assuming you mean the American Civil War: Andersonville - the most famous. A Confederate prisoner of War Camp for Federal troops. It's head warden Henry Wirz a brigadier general, was the man executed after the War by the Federals, though questions of whether or not the Union was right to execute him continue to this day. Libby Prison - a Confederate prisoner of War Camp for Federal troops that gained a reputation as being one of the most harsh prisoner of war camps in the South. Elmira Prison - a Federal prisoner of War Camp for Confederate troops gained a reputation for neglecting its prisoners. Of 12,123 Confederate Prisoners 2,963 died of malnutrition, prolonged exposure to winter conditions and disease cause by poor sanitary conditions and the lack of medical facilities. Nobody was held accountable for the neglect. Camp Douglas - a Federal prisoner of War Camp for Confederate troops that, similarly to Elmira, gained a reputation for neglecting its prisoners. More than 6,000 Confederate prisoners died for disease, starvation and prolonged exposure to winter conditions. Nobody was held accountable for the neglect of the Confederate troops at Camp Douglas and it's commander was the only Union officer to get a General's rank without seeing active service in the field. Point Lookout - a Federal prisoner of War Camp for Confederate troops that was vastly overcrowded and overwhelmed. Here Confederate troops suffered mainly because the amount of prisoners held there were too much for the Camp to handle. 50,000 Confederate were held here when it was only designed to hold 10,000 prisoners however only 4,000 prisoners died while at the camp, which is a relatively good percentage compared to other prisoner of War Camps both North and South.

Who was executed for excessive cruelty at andersonville prison and was that action justified?

Henry Wirz was commandant of Andersonville Prison and was executed. This was done out of spitefulness and vindictiveness, just after the war, and if it was justifiable, there were quite a few others who also deserved that fate. Wirz was a foreign born person, from Switzerland, still had an accent, and was not a likeable person. He was not a very good officer, and lost control of the situation at Andersonville. He should have been relieved of his command. Conditions in the prison were harsh. It should be borne in mind, however, that at that stage of the war the Confederacy was not even able to feed its own armies in the field, and the prisoners fared about as well as the average Confederate soldier as far as food goes. For the first several years of the war, prisoners were exchanged - so many privates for an equal number the other side was holding, so many sergeants, so many captains, and so on. Sometimes, when large numbers of prisoners were taken, they were paroled. Their names were taken and recorded on a list, and they were given a piece of paper which was their "parole", and they were let go, to go where they pleased, so long as they did not return to their army and fight again until "properly exchanged". A "cartel for the exchange of prisoners", being officers from each side, would meet, compare lists of paroled prisoners, and declare an equal number "exchanged". Those exchanged would be called back to the army and could resume fighting again. When Grant was made the Union General In Chief, one of the first things he did was to stop the exchange of prisoners. This was a cold blooded decision, based on Grant's understanding that exchanging prisoners did not make the most of the Union's huge advantage in manpower. Grant calculated that retaining Rebels in northern prisons, instead of exchanging them to fight again, would hasten the end of the war. Grant made this decision in full knowledge that northern troops in southern prisons, who henceforth would not get to be exchanged, would suffer greatly, but he was willing for that to happen. He weighed the situation and made that choice. So it was Grant's decision in this matter that resulted in the large numbers of unexchanged POWs in southern hands late in the war to start with. Moreover, while the south was largely unable to help the conditions of the northern POWs in their hands, the north COULD help what happened to Rebels in their hands, and the north made the deliberate decision to locate its POW camps in the most barren, inhospitable, unhealthy places they could find, and once the prisoners were in these places to withhold food, clothing, adequate shelter, and medical care. IT IS A LITTLE REMARKED UPON FACT, CLEARLY STATED IN THE "OFFICIAL RECORDS" OF THE WAR COMPILED BY THE US GOVERNMENT, THAT MORE SOUTHERN PRISONERS DIED IN NORTHERN POW CAMPS THAN NORTHERN PRISONERS IN SOUTHERN POW CAMPS. This was both a larger percentage of prisoners dead, and a larger number in absolute terms. But all one hears of today is Andersonville. Of course no one in the north was reproached in the slightest for establishing such hellholes as Point Lookout, Fort Delaware, Camp Douglas, Elmira, or Sandusky, each of which was as bad or worse than Andersonville. And again, the cruelty routinely inflicted in all those placed was deliberate, to starve men in the midst of plenty, while that at Andersonville was without remedy. No one in the north felt the slightest bit guilty over any of this. Quite the contrary. Those who thought up and instituted this policy were heroes, and the brutal, murderous prison guards who carried it out were given pensions, paid in part by taxes on the southern states. Wirz did not deserve to die for his failures, and those who did deserve to die for the vicious treatment they accorded to helpless prisoners in their care, being all Yankees, were never even spoken to harshly about it.

What were the worst prison camps in the north and in the south in the civil war?

There are many different selections to chose from. First, the War Between the States prisons were over crowded due to the fact that no one expected the massive casualties that would take place. A casualty was anyone killed, wounded, or captured in a battle or as results of the war. Prisons were often forced to hold double their capacity. Second, most history is distorted by claiming that Andersonville, Ga (a Southern prison) was the worst thing on earth. This seems to be the only prison of the Confederacy that history books can name while the list can go on about the North. As far as death rates, Camp Douglas=10% a month which was higher than Andersonville, and Elmira dubbed Hellmira, NY was just below Andersonville. The prison surgeon at Elmira used to brag that he was killing more Confederates per week than any Union regiment. As far as worst Northern prisons, Thomas R. Flagel in History Buffs Guide to the Civil War says....... 1. Camp Douglas could take the cake as worst Union prison though. It was supposed to hold 6,000 but often held 12,000 with 4,454 deaths. After Shiloh the prison swelled and was built on a low lying area. Light rain would cause flooding that created stagnant water and filth to gather. The U.S. Sanitary Commission was disgusted by an 1862 visit but camp commanders dismissed their reports. Subzero temperatures and no shelter caused many to become sick and die. It was in operation until 1865. 2. Point Lookout, Maryland was meant to hold 10,000 but at capacity held 22,000. There were roughly 3, 500 deaths. According to Thomas R. Flagel's History Buff's Guide to the Civil War..."In response to the horrid conditions of Confederate prisons, secretary of war Edwin M. Scranton forbade a construction of barracks [ for the abundance or prisoners] at Point Lookout and elsewhere (p. 268)". Flagel also continues that prisoners could access the seafront to feed on dead birds, fish, wharf rats, etc.... 3. Elmira, NY was meant to hold 5,000 but held almost 10,000 with around 3,000 deaths. As mentioned, it was nicknamed 'Hellmira' and the prison surgeon took pleasure in killing Confederates. Thousands arrived from Point Lookout with diseases or starved. Flagel says that the prisoners had to use dead rats as currency. Prisoners were often starved as payback for Confederate prison conditions. The rest of Flagels top 10 worst prison include Fort Deleware, Camp Chase, Rock Island, and Camp Morton. Out of Flagels 10 worst prisons, only two Confederate prisons made the cut.

What happened to southern prisoners located at Elmira New York during the Civil War?

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How many prisoners were kept at elmira?

What was the name of the union military prison where confederate soldiers were held captive and where was it located?

Where was the prisoner of war camp in the Civil War?

Who was executed for excessive cruelty at andersonville prison and was that action justified?

What were the worst prison camps in the north and in the south in the civil war?

What was the treatment of prisoners at The Elmira Prison?

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