Death at Elmira: George W

East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 5-2005 Death at Elmira: George W. Jernigan, William Hoffman, and the Union Prison System. Thomas Watson Jernigan East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Jernigan, Thomas Watson, "Death at Elmira: George W. Jernigan, William Hoffman, and the Union Prison System." (2005). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1017. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1017 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Death At Elmira: George W. Jernigan, William Hoffman, and The Union Prison System A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of History East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master in Arts in History by T. Watson Jernigan May, 2005 Dr. Andrew Slap, Chair Dr. Stephen Fritz Dr. Elwood Watson Keywords: Elmira Prison Camp, William Hoffman, Union Prison System ABSTRACT Death At Elmira: George W. Jernigan, William Hoffman, and The Union Prison System by T. Watson Jernigan This thesis examines the interaction between the Union Prison System led by William Hoffman and the Confederate prisoners-of-war, specifically those held at Elmira, New York. By focusing on Hoffman’s actions and decisions in the last year of the war, the Confederate death toll can be better understood. The treatise relies heavily on The War Of The Rebellion: A Compilation Of The Official Records Of The Union And Confederate Armies. Two studies were indispensable for this study: Hesseltine’s Civil War Prisons: A Study in War Psychology, and Leslie Hunter’s Ph.D. Dissertation, Warden for the Union: William Hoffman (1807-1884). The conclusions of my research are: (A) William Hoffman developed a change in actions in 1864, and (B) these actions continued in the last year of the war. As a result of his actions and other factors, Elmira had the highest percentage of death of any Union prison camp. Hoffman’s actions led to a higher death rate of Confederate prisoners than has been previously recognized. 2 Copyright 2005 by T. Watson Jernigan All Rights Reserved 3 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to: GEORGE W. JERNIGAN (ca 1842-1865) WATSON JERNIGAN (1848-1905) RUPERT WATSON JERNIGAN (1889-1967) It is done to honor my father: RUPERT WATSON JERNIGAN, JR. 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the members of my committee for their guidance of an adult learner through the process of this thesis. To Drs. Dale Schmitt and Stephen Fritz whose gentle persuasion and care allowed me to fulfill my dream, I thank you. To Dr. Elwood Watson whose intellectual challenges made me rethink the history of my own life, I thank you. To Dr. Doug Burgess whose listening ear gave comfort to an adult learner, I thank you. To Dr. Andrew Slap whose patience and understanding were most helpful in completing this project, I truly thank you. I would most especially like to thank Dr. Wayne Andrews for his unwavering support. His upbeat attitude on the progress of my degree was gratefully appreciated. I would like to thank my mother, Henrietta Marsh Hopkins Jernigan, for giving me my love of history and an incurable thirst for knowledge. I would like to thank my father, Rupert Watson Jernigan, Jr., for an appreciation of genealogy and family history. I would like to thank my children, April, Rachel, and Grace, for their support when I began this project and their continued love and support through its writing. Your comments were appreciated and needed. For my grandchildren, this is “to let you know who you are and where you came from.” Lastly, to the Love of My Life, Linda, I can never thank-you enough for your support and love throughout this process. Through the periods of frustration and the long nights of research and writing, you were my ground. I am blessed to have a partner such as you—now and forever. 5 CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... 2 COPYRIGHT ....................................................................................................................... 3 DEDICATION ……………………………………………………………………………. 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ………………………………………………………………… 5 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………. 7 2. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF TREATMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR TO THE EXCHANGE CARTEL OF 1862......................................................... 12 3. TREATMENT OF CONFEDERATE POWs DURING THE EXCHANGE CARTEL UNTIL THE SPRING OF 1864…………………………………….. 41 4. GEORGE W. JERNIGAN: HIS HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND INVOLVEMENT IN THE CIVIL WAR FROM ENLISTMENT TO CAPTURE AND ENTRANCE TO ELMIRA PRISON CAMP……………... 89 5. HOFFMAN’S DECISIONS AT ELMIRA MILITARY PRISON AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE HEALTH OF CONFEDERATE POWs…………………. 127 6. CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………………………………. 162 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………………. 174 VITA….................................................................................................................................. 186 6 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Andersonville. Even today, the name resounds as a prime example of man’s inhumanity to man. The records showed that over 13,000 Union prisoners-of-war (POWs) died in the small stockade in Georgia. The camp had a reputation for some of the worst conditions ever endured by any POW. Inadequate shelter (make-shift tents), poor water supply (a single stream supplying over 30,000 men), and horrific rations were among the conditions that caused the death of so many men. The images of the returning Union survivors were among the most striking photographs ever taken and compare to those of Holocaust victims of World War II. As a result of Andersonville, the people of the North demanded retaliation and accountability. The commandant of Andersonville, Henry Wirz, became the object of their scorn. There was no doubt that the conditions at Andersonville were horrific and the death toll was high. It was not, however, the only Civil War prison camp to have that reputation. The Union prison camp at Elmira, New York had the reputation of “Hellmira.” During its twelve-month existence, one in every four of the prisoners who entered the camp was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. That was a death rate comparable to Andersonville. Many of the survivors of Elmira wrote of inadequate shelter (housed in tents until December in New York State), the poisonous drinking water, and the poor rations. Yet, no Union commander had the accountability of Wirz. It is the thesis of this treatise that William Hoffman, Commissary-General of the Union Prison System, was in part responsible for the reputation of Elmira. 7 Following the Civil War, POWs, both Union and Confederate, wrote books about their experiences in prison camps. As most survivors passed away, the literature on the prison camps declined. In 1912, Clay W. Holmes wrote The Elmira Prison Camp: A History of the Military Prison at Elmira, N.Y. July 6, 1864, to July 10, 1865.1 It was not until 1930 that another author tackled the subject of Civil War prisons and prisoners. William Best Hesseltine’s Civil War Prisons: A Study In War Psychology2was the classic study on the subject and stood alone until the end of the century. In the 1990s, there was a resurgence of interest in this subject. Lonnie R. Speer’s Portals To Hell: Military Prisons of the Civil War3 was the first of an increasing number of books on Civil War prisoners and their prison experience. The difference was that Northern prison camps have come under as much scrutiny as Andersonville. George Levy’s To Die in Chicago: Confederate Prisoners at Camp Douglas 1862-18654 discussed the prison facilities in Chicago, Illinois. By the turn of the century, Elmira and its reputation was the subject of several books. Michael Horigan’s Elmira: Death Camp of the North5, Michael P. Gray’s The Business of Captivity: Elmira And Its Civil War Prison6, and Philip Burnham’s So Far From Dixie: Confederates in Yankee Prisons7 were new additions to literature scrutinizing the Union prison system, specifically Elmira. The increased interest in this subject served as the basis for James McPherson’s comments. Writing in a new afterword to his classic, Battle Cry Of 1 Clay W. Holmes, The Elmira Prison Camp: A History of the Military Prison at Elmira, N.Y. July 6, 1864, to July 10, 1865 (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1912). 2 William B. Hesseltine, Civil War Prisons: A Study In War Psychology (Columbus: The Ohio State University Press, 1930). Hereafter Civil War Prisons. 3 Lonnie R. Speer, Portals To Hell: Military Prisons of the Civil War (Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 1997. 4 George Levy, To Die in Chicago: Confederate Prisoners at Camp Douglas 1862-1865 (Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 1999). 5 Michael Horigan, Elmira: Death Camp of the North (Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 2002). 6 Michael P. Gray, The Business of Captivity: Elmira And Its Civil War Prison (Kent: The Kent State University Press, 2001). Hereafter listed as: The Business of Captivity. 7 Philip Burnham, So Far From Dixie: Confederates in Yankee Prisons (Lanham, Maryland: Taylor Trade

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