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by Clay W. Holmes (Author)
A civil war history that refuses easy comfort. It records hard truths plainly. W. Holmes Clay's The Elmira Prison Camp presents a detailed history of the military prison at Elmira, N.Y., covering July 6, 1864 to July 10, 1865. Part sober reportage and part institutional study, the book locates Elmira within the broader landscape of prisoner of war camps and military detention camps, making it essential to civil war prison history. The narrative's clarity and documentary focus engage casual readers drawn to civil war nonfiction while offering reliable material for civil war historians and for those tracing patterns of civil war incarceration in the Union and Confederate systems. Its steady, evidence-led approach also rewards local researchers and family historians seeking grounded context rather than romanticised accounts. As a piece of elmira new york history, Clay's account offers a corrective counterpoint to better-known southern narratives, and readers interested in an andersonville prison comparison find useful contrasts here. The book provides comparative insight into union confederate prisons and helps frame debates about wartime detention and discipline. Those who study military prison memoirs will welcome the measured, documentary emphasis; archivists and librarians will appreciate its fit within any academic research collection devoted to 19th century american history. More than an administrative register, the volume preserves human detail beneath institutional records, so it speaks equally to casual readers of civil war nonfiction and to classic-literature collectors who prize restored heritage volumes. Readable, exacting and unadorned, Clay's prose rewards close study and repeated consultation, whether by students, civil war historians or classic-literature collectors. Its evidence still rewards careful, comparative attention and annotation. Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike.
