Between 1861 and 1865, American Civil War prison camps were operated by the Union and the Confederacy to detain over 400,000 captured soldiers. From the start of the Civil War through to 1863 a parole
A Union Army soldier barely alive in Georgia on his release in 1865. Both Confederate and Union prisoners of war suffered great hardships during their captivity.
Returned prisoners of war exchanging their rags for new clothing, drawn by William Waud
Camp Chase Memorial in 1909
Fort Slocum Shacks
Elmira Prison
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Elmira Prison was originally a barracks for "Camp Rathbun" or "Camp Chemung", a key muster and training point for the Union Army during the American Civil War, between 1861 and 1864. The 30-acre site
American Civil War prison camps
…45,000 Union soldiers confined there died. At Camp Douglas in Chicago, Illinois, 10% of its Confederate prisoners died during one cold winter month; and Elmira Prison in New York state, with a death rate of 25%, very nearly equaled that of Andersonville. Prisoner-of-war camp, worldwide history…
U.S. prisoner of war camp for detaining civilians and military personnel of the Confederate States
Photograph of Elmira entitled "Rebel pen" (Liljenquist collection)
Confederate monument at Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira