The business of captivity
Subtitle: Elmira and its Civil War prison
By: Michael P. Gray.
Publisher: Kent State University Press
Published: 2001
Place of publication: Kent, Ohio
Language: eng
Number of pages: 228
Subjects: Elmira Prison (Elmira, N.Y.); Prisoners of war -- New York (State) -- Elmira -- History -- 19th century.; New York (State) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons.; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons.; Elmira (N.Y.) -- History, Military -- 19th century.; Chemung County (N.Y.) -- History, Military -- 19th century.
Description: "One of the many controversial issues to emerge from the Civil War was the treatment of prisoners of war. At two stockades, the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia, and the Union prison at Elmira, New York, suffering was acute and mortality was high.".

"In the early stages of the Civil War, Elmira was designated as a rendezvous for training Union soldiers. The local economy boomed from supplying troops. Then, in 1864, Union leaders decided that Elmira would be converted into a prison, During its single year of existence, more money was expended on the Elmira prison than on any of the other Union stockades.

Even with this record spending, a more ignominious figure was attached to Elmira: of the more than 12,000 Confederates imprisoned there, nearly 3,000 died while in captivity - the highest rate of any Northern prison. The author's conclusions are based on new, little-known, or never-used archival materials. The economic and social impact of the 'prison' on the host community offers new insights into the social history of the war.

In a similar vein, the author's description of the prison culture is especially illuminating."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 214-218) and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Illustrations; title: Acknowledgments; title: Introduction: The Chemung Valley Prior to Civil War; title: i The Elmira Depot; title: 2 Preparations, Arrivas, and Disaster; title: The Inaugurtion of Elmira Prison; title: 3 The August Buildup; title: 4 Ingredients for Survival; title: Foodt a Necessiy of Prison Lif; title: 5 The October Exchange; title: 6 Winters Torment; title: 7 Economics on the Inside; title: The Prion Market, Employment, and the Inmate Social Orden; title: 8 Economics on the Outside; title: Elmira, a Cit on a Civil War Contraa; title: 9 Johnny Reb's Other Occupations; title: to Billy Yank as Prison Keeper; title: it March Showers, April Flowers, and the End of the Civil Wa; title: 12 The Aftermath and the Legacy; title: Notes; title: Bibliography; title: Index.