The 30-acre (120,000 m2) site was selected partially due to its proximity to the Erie Railroad and the Northern Central Railway, which crisscrossed in the midst of the city.

[1] A different source says that Camp Rathbun had a capacity of 6,000 recruits, but that it was converted into a prison for 10,000 and the Union Commissary General was given just 10 days to complete the transition.

[7]: 3 The number of troops stationed in the city fluctuated for the first few months, and by June 1862, only fifty men occupied Camp Rathbun.

Confederate mistreatment and enslavement of Black Union soldiers in 1863 disrupted this system; by April 1864 it had been completely suspended, and prisons quickly became overcrowded.

The journey was extremely uncomfortable for the POWs in the overcrowded and filthy holds of the ships, even to the point that some men slept standing up.

[5]: 33  8,000 men would eventually be transferred from Point Lookout to Elmira not only due to overcrowding but also because of its vulnerability to attack from land and sea.

News quickly spread of the accident, and by the time the train pulled into the station in Elmira later that night, a large crowd had gathered.

Though the understaffed and under supplied medical personnel worked tirelessly to treat the wounded, some men still lay unattended days later.

Some built trinkets out of different items they found throughout the camp such as beef bone or horse hair; guards would then sell them throughout town.

Those who were skilled in carpentry were hired by Union personnel to help build various facilities throughout the camp for a small wage and extra rations.

Two observatories, as well as food and beverage stands, were erected on the opposite side of Water Street during the summer months, and for 10–15¢, curious onlookers could view inside the camp.

The other tower remained open though business declined due to the encroaching cold weather, and onlookers were beginning to realize the harsh reality of what they were paying to see.

While the camp now had a hospital, in the form of a tent, it did not have an assigned surgeon and instead relied on the services of William C. Wey, a local civilian.

After hearing reports of the horrible conditions Union soldiers faced in Confederate prison camps, he ordered reduced rations in retaliation.

A lack of lumber delayed the construction of new barracks until October when the cold New York nights started to pervade the camp.

In November, it was also reported the existing barracks were experiencing trouble as well, with roofs falling into disrepair, unfit to withstand the elements.

Even in late November and early December, there were reports of over 2,000 Confederates sleeping in tents, and a Christmas inspection said 900 still had no proper housing.

Some say he was vindictive and intentionally reduced rations for the prisoners, while others show that he cared for his captives but was unable to do anything about their conditions due to government bureaucracy.

[13] In December, Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Moore was placed as commandant of the camp after Major Colt had returned to action.

[11] A Spring thaw led to the flooding of the camp, and many of the prisoners were forced to huddle on top of the bunks in the barracks until rescue could arrive, and 2,700 feet of the stockade wall was washed away.

Though there were many attempts to tunnel out of the camp, Washington B. Traweek led the only major successful escape from the prison along with a few other soldiers, all of them members of the Jefferson Davis Artillery Company.

When Traweek refused to tell, Colt ordered him into a sweatbox and presided over his questioning, willing to go to extreme measures to find and persecute the tunnelers.

After the war, several men were exhumed and transferred home, but most families chose not to have their loved ones moved due to the honorable way in which they were buried.

In 1911, remains of both Union and Confederate victims of the Shohola train wreck were exhumed from the site of the accident and interred at Woodlawn[3] In 1937, the United Daughters of the Confederacy had a monument erected in the section.

To the Herald, all rations at Elmira were sufficient and though it admitted the unusually high incidence of illness in the camp, the newspaper said that the sickness was "beyond the control of the authorities... there is no lack of medical attendance or supplies."

The propaganda was so powerful that the belief that the Elmira prison camp was a humane alternative to Andersonville still prevailed in some circles of thought years later.

In a meeting in 1892, John T. Davidson, a captain of the guard detail at the prison, blamed the high mortality rate on the changing weather, water, and manner of living.

"[5]: 125–126 However, by the end of the war, it could not be disputed that Elmira had taken a considerable toll on the prisoners who came through its doors, with its mortality rate (24.5%) being nearly that of Andersonville (28.7%).

Donated by Paul and Norma Searles Dedicated under Auspices Chemung Valley Living History Center Inc. Mayor James Hare, City of Elmira, N.Y. On September 11, 2015, work began on reconstructing the only remaining building of the camp.