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Elmira Prison

Dubbed the Nickname "Hellmira" by its inmates, this Civil War Prison in centrel New York housed about 12,000 inmates during its 1 year of existance. The prison was originally meant to house 5,000 prisons, but the prisoners kept coming in a steady flow. By the end of its 1st month, Elmira had around 4,400 inmates.

About mid August, Colonel Hoffman (the commander of Union forces guarding the prison) ordered the rations for the prisoners cut to just bread and water. This increased the death toll. By the end of the year, 1,264 prisoners had died. By the end of the war, 2,963 prisoners had died, a drastic end for many Confederate soldiers.

******Photo's of Elmira coming soon!