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Enlarge Tunnel escape survivors. Hickory
Jackson, Wash B. Traweek, William H. Templin, Cecrops Malone, John
Purifoy and Berry Benson |
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Barry
Benson, one of the escapees |
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 Lt.
Col. Stephen Moore
Stephen Moore was stationed at Elmira under Col. Tracy and was assigned
there on October 1, 1864. Moore was the camps executive officer.
Moore was involved in one of Tracy's more controversial decisions while
running the camp, special order No. 336: a beef inspection that took
place in October of 1864. The order allowed Moore and Major Henry V.
Colt to inspect meat in the camp and dispose of it if they did not feel
it was fit for use. This was done at a time when beef rations had
already been reduced by 20%. Once Moore and Colt had rejected the beef,
it was sold to local shops and then to the citizens of Elmira. Moore was
in charge of the camp until it's closing in July of 1865. The final
figures Moore reported were 2,933 dead in camp, including 24 civilians
who most probably were sutlers who were caught with Confederate
prisoners in Virginia. |
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Col. Benjamin Tracy
After the removal of Col. Seth Eastman, Col. Tracy took over the
prison of Elmira. His record there is in debate. Letters to Washington
show him as a man who was concerned about the state of the prison. He
was also constantly at odds with the staff surgeon, Major Eugene F.
Sanger, over the treatment of prisoners. Earlier in 1864 he was
awarded the Civil War Medal of Honor for service at the Battle of the
Wilderness
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