Elmira Civil War Prison Camp

The Elmira Civil War Prison Camp had a huge historical significance, highlighting the area’s critical role during the Civil War. With Elmira’s key location, convenient to rail- and waterways, four local barracks hosted thousands of Union troops in what today would be considered a “basic training” camp, beginning in 1861. As the need for new volunteers decreased, two barracks were closed, leaving only Camp Rathbun in operations, where it continued to train union soldiers until early 1864.

In spring of 1864, the prison exchange system was discontinued and a need for Prison of War (POW) prisons emerged. On May 19th, 1864, Camp Rathbun’s commander was given 10 days to prepare for an onslaught of POWs. Despite the Camp’s capacity to hold 4,000 soldiers, triple the number of Confederate troops were transported to Elmira within months of prison camp operations. While conditions were deplorable due to overcrowding, food shortages, and unsanitary conditions, deceased prisoners were given a proper and respectful burial, with their names and any other details prisoners were willing to share placed inside a jar in a coffin. Elmira’s Camp Rathbun’s marks the only place in both the Union and Confederacy where deceased POWs were placed in a coffin rather than a mass grave site or trench. Graves were marked with names, while valuables were cataloged along with identifying records and specific burial places. Whenever possible, next of kin were notified and sent news of their loved one’s death, along with their grave site number and all other personal possessions. Overseeing the burial and catalog of the POWs was John W. Jones, a former slave and active conductor of the Underground Railroad. Jones’ commitment to detailed record-keeping was so extensive, only 7 soldiers were not identified. So respectful were the burial overseen by Jones, only three of families of the 2,973 chose to relocate the bodies from Woodlawn Cemetery after the War.

At the end of the war, soldiers were given a train ticket in exchange for an oath of loyalty. The last POW left Elmira on September 27, 1865.

When a building used at the Prison Camp site was discovered in 1986 by local historian Carl Morrell, local citizens purchased the structure and returned it to part of the land originally used for the camp. Construction was completed by early fall of 2016 and the repurposed structure was moved to its current location in 2017. The historic site also saw the addition of a reproduction of a barracks building in 2016.

In October of 2023, the authentic replication of a section of the stockade fence was the latest effort to fulfill the Friends’ effort to become a premier research and historical Civil War site. Currently, a capitol campaign to build a state-of-the-art welcome center is planned for 2025.

Who We Are

To protect and preserve the history of the Civil War in Elmira, Chemung County and surrounding areas and to educate the public about that history.

It is the mission of the Friends of the Elmira Civil War Prison Camp to protect and preserve the history of the Civil War in Elmira, Chemung County and surrounding areas and to educate the public about that history.