How many Confederate prisoners died at Elmiras Civil War prison camp between July 1864 and July 1865?
In July 1864, Camp Rathbun (a 30-acre site between West Water Street and the Chemung River) became the site of a camp for Confederate prisoners. Initially equipped for only 5,000 prisoners, by August 1864 the prison population reached 9,500, while prisoners died at a rate of eight per day. The prison camp officially closed in July 1865, having housed more than 12,000 prisoners overall. During the year the camp was open, 2,963 men died, making Elmira’s death rate double the average of all other Union prison camps.
