18
Southern Tier Life / July 2021 / ISSUE 005
Exploring Our Civil War History If you wanted to learn, first hand, about the history of the Civil War look no further. Though the war was mostly fought in the south Chemung County and in particular Elmira played a pivotal role.
The Friends of the Elmira Civil War Prison Camp is a group of volunteers who want 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. The group has already reconstructed an original camp building which is located on the grounds of the original Barracks #3, that served as both a Union training and later prisoner of war camp. Tours are given on weekends and by special appointment.
To Learn More or Get a Tour: Elmira’s Prison Camps were originally training sites for soldiers at the beginning of the war. The barracks used for training were turned into a prison camp later in the war where it could hold up to 5,000 soldiers. There are estimates it held from 700012,000 prisoners.
www.elmiraprisoncamp.com
