Elmira, once home to an infamous Civil War prison camp, will host symposium on the war
The fighting never spilled into New York state, but Elmira still has a strong connection to the American Civil War, and next month, residents will have a chance to learn more about that history.
Elmira College is teaming with the Friends of the Elmira Civil War Prison Camp to present an inaugural Civil War symposium Aug. 4-6 at the college and other locations, officials announced Wednesday.
Elmira was home to an infamous prison camp from July 6, 1864, until July 11, 1865, and while it was built to house 5,000, the camp incarcerated a total of 12,121 Confederate soldiers.
Nearly 3,000 of the soldiers housed at the camp died there and were buried at Woodlawn Cemetery. The camp's conditions earned it the nickname "Hellmira."
In addition, Elmira was an important stop along the legendary Underground Railroad, and escaped slave John W. Jones, who settled in Elmira, was also sexton of Woodlawn Cemetery. He not only buried the Confederate soldiers, but kept such meticulous records the federal government later declared the burial site a national cemetery.
The symposium will touch on those topics and others.
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“We hope to see local community members and Civil War history enthusiasts from all over the country as we investigate the unique position Elmira held in one of the most important time periods for our country,” said Martin Chalk, Chemung County legislator and president and cofounder of the Friends of the Elmira Civil War prison camp.
After the war, most of the prison camp buildings were torn down, but one building was preserved, its lumber painstakingly disassembled and numbered.
After the lumber was stored for years in various locations, the friends group was able to purchase a plot of land next to an Elmira Water Board building on Winsor Avenue and reassembled it, with the work completed in 2016.
In 2017, the group built a replica of one of the original barracks buildings on the east side of the preserved structure.
Participants in the symposium will be able to tour that site, along with the Chemung Valley History Museum and John W. Jones Museum.
There will also be a book signing Aug. 6 at the Winsor Avenue site by author Mary Frailey Calland, who wrote a book, "Our Lesser Angels: A Novel of the Elmira Civil War Prison Camp."
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The keynote address during the symposium will be delivered Aug. 5 at Hilltop Inn in Elmira by Michael P. Gray, professor of history at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. Gray teaches courses on the Civil War and also wrote a book specifically about the Elmira prison camp.
Elmira College is excited to host the symposium, said college President Charles Lindsay.
"Founded in 1855, Elmira College’s early years were in the shadow of the Civil War," Lindsay said. "Known at the time as the Elmira Female College, students gazed out of windows in Cowles Hall as soldiers marched past on their way to different training sites.”
Additional details on the symposium, along with registration information, is available at elmiraprisoncamp.com, or facebook.com/ElmiraCivilWar.
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Elmira Civil War connection is the subject of August symposium
