The National tribune., 1901-01-03
ELMIRA PRISON.
Where Rebel Prisoners Were
WeII-Fed, Comfortably Clothed,
and Supplied With Good Quar-
tiers.
By FRANK H. TAYLOR.

Around this vast unwilling city of the
captured" circles the vague memory of my
boyhood soldering. 1t was here. at Ell
mira, near the border of Pennsylvania,
easy and direct of access by rail from the
front, and yet safely distant from the OPP
erations of the armies, that the Federal
Government established. in May, 1864,
this great depot of rebel prisoners. 1t was
built upon the remains of old Barracks
No. 5, where thousands of new recruits
had gained in the preceding three years
their first insight into the pleasure and
trials of the camp.
The Elmira Prison Camp occupied about
80 acres of ground upon the western mar
gin of the city. 1t was located between
Water street and the river. The space is
now largely covered with streets and mod
ern homes. The Chemung River flowed
past the southern side of the 'bull-pen,"
and upon the opposite shore were lofty
bluffs where now and then somebody would
build a fire at night and promptly start
rumor that the long-expected outbreak
was upon us. Nervous Colonies, upon
such occasions aroused tired Adjutants,
who in turn stirred up the line from which
the still alarm reached the Non-COms., and
lastly the privates came stumbling sleeplly
out upon the parade, following whispered
orders and shaking with n vague strug-
gle between panic and brave resolutions.
Nothing or nobody could keep the artl-
lery quiet and when. after a deal of pre-
limnary confusion, the guns swept down
the road to a position in front of the main
gates, they always made as much noise as
a freight train, and we of the infantry
were glad of it, for the Tebs We're bound
20 hrrS ha iD,1naaI n lpfpr
their dreaded outpouring upon the sur
rounding camps of the brigade of guards.
But the rebs, bless you, when they heard
all the absurd hub-bub outside from their
snug hunks, wondered sleepily what it was
all about, and rolled over for another maps
There We're rebs in that prison camp that
wept with sorrow when time came to
leave If, and there were soldiers outside
who stood ready to pay premium to get
upon the inside detail. This meant a
chance to get meal or so at the JOhnnie's
cook house. Not every Confederate was
happy, by any means, but when compared
with such hells of inhuman cruelty and
wholesale murder as Belle Isle, Salisbury
and Andersonville, this Elmira camp was
q pleasure resort with all modern
conveniences.
The "bulI-pen" extended about 1000
feet along Water street and some 800 feet
back to the river. The prisoners were
camped partly in tents and partly in bar
rack buildings. These buildings were
much increased in number before the fol-
lowing Winter by the labor of workmen
from among the prisoners, who were paid
for their labor in extra rations and cloth
ing.
a fence Of 12-foot planking surrounded
the prison, having a walkway at a hight
of about nine feet upon the outside, pro-
vided with guard-boxes at intervals. This
fence was illuminated at night. An in
side guard was kept marching around the
camp along a well-beaten path, whose
duty it was to exchange challenges with
every sentry of the long line upon the top
of the fence, an operation OF no small dan
ger, as the scared recruits in the boxes
had an unpleasant way of shooting first
and challenging afterward. Across the
pond, which divided the camp, was the
low-land, where the camps of the dreaded
Mississippi guerrillas were placed. 1t was
very racking to the nerves to go plodd'ng
through the high grass in this vicinity, but
/ never heard that these monsters ever de-
voured any of our small men in blue; in
fact, l am convinced that they were a re-
markable peaceable lot, whose great
anxiety was TO get tobacco and coffee.
These luxuries were at the command of
any prisoner who had q cash balance TO
his credit at the commandments Office, or
II he was industrious in the extensive hair
chain and rubber-ring souvenir business.
The ingenuity of the prisoners in the
making and use OF tools for these pursuits
was something remarkable. | recall see
ing one worker doing good work with a
rude drill, which had for balance wheel
q cake of soap. The aggregate Of the
prison list during the year was nearly
1900 men. They were on arrival, gen.
orally gaunt, sick and hungry. Many of
them were tall, splendid specimens of hui
mainly, and | do not forget the glances of
supreme contempt which they bestowed
upon the small and very young soldiers
borrowed from the State of New York and