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Elmira Prisoner of War Camp
In May of 1864 in Elmira, New York, a prisoner of war camp arose. It occupied about 30 acres and was 1000 feet long. From all directions, high fences surrounded the camp, so that the Union soldiers could closely guard the Confederates. This camp was called Elmira, or “Hellmira”, as the prisoners called it.
The first detachment of about 400 men arrived in June 1864. They were unhappy, spiritless, poorly dressed, and tiresome; some of them could hardly move. The Union sufficiently fed and sheltered the first detachments and they had sanitary water that they drunk from a well. In a couple of months, the population of the camp grew to 11,916. Even after the population swelled, the Union still had sufficient necessities that the Confederates needed.
Guarding the prison was fairly easy; there was no need for a deadline because many prisoners didn’t try to escape. However, about 12 prisoners began to dig a tunnel and because of a miscalculation the escape......

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Approximate Word Count: 575
Approximate Pages: 3 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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