“Hellmira” on This Week’s State of Greater Western New York Report – October 14, 2021
It’s known as the Union’s most notorious POW camp during the Civil War and it was located right here in Greater Western New York. What was it, where was it, and why is it so hard to find today? Learn this story and other events in our region leading up to the War Between the States.
Derek D. Maxfield, an associate professor of history at Genesee Community College in Batavia, New York, begins the show by telling us a little bit about what was happening in the Greater Western New York Region immediately before the Civil War. Along the way, he explains “Victorian death ways” as well as 19th-century politics and culture.
In the second half, Maxfield gets into the details of the Union’s infamous POW Camp in Elmira, New York. He explains what happened there and why it was so difficult for him to research the location. Maxfield relays to us how he relied primarily on contemporary personal journals for his source information. He also informs us about the history of the “Lost Cause” legend and why it might not be a proper interpretation of the South.
Our guest happily answered questions from the live audience. In fact, these are probably some of the same questions you had. Would you like to be a member of our live audience so you can ask our guests questions? Click here to join the growing number of members who share your feelings on StateOf.GreaterWesternNewYork.com because then we can automatically send you the link to watch our shows live.
Theme music by mansardian courtesy of FreeSound.org under Creative Commons License Attribution 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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