Elmira Prison Camp - Government Documents

One of the most important resources for the situation in the Elmira Prison Camp are reports written prior and during the life span of the camp. Letters and dispatches written from the camp commanders and Washington officials are included in this section.

They are found in a multi-volume collection entitled The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. The letters are found in Series III, Volume VII. The Compilation was published in 1899 under the direction of Russell A. Alger, Secretary of War, by Brig. Gen. Fred C. Ainsworth, Chief of the Record and Pension Office, War Department, and Mr. Joseph W. Kirkley, Government Printing Office.

The letters were written between the following people:

• Lt. Col. C.T. Alexander: Surgeon, US Army Inspector General.

• Lt. Col. Eastman: U.S. Army, Commanding Depot. Eastman was placed in charge of the camp in Elmira.

• Col. W. Hoffman: 3rd Inf. and Commissary Gen of Prisoners. Hoffman was responsible for seeing that the prison camp system ran smoothly.

• Hon. E.M. Stanton: Secretary of War.

• E.D. Townsen: Adj. General.

These men will have biographies in the Union Index. These documents are available online at here or here.