The Edie and Elmira Show

By Paul D. Patton

In the summer of 1864, an entrepreneur built an observation tower just outside the walls of the federal prison at Elmira, New York. He charged 15 cents for citizens to climb the tower and observe the Confederate prisoners below. Ginger cakes and drinks were sold. The venture paid for itself in a matter of weeks. Then winter came.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Integratio Press
• Release date: Jan 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9781959685067

Book preview

Historical Note

ELMIRA PRISON OPENED in July of 1864 and closed the following July. The Southern prisoners commonly referred to the prison as Hellmira, with almost 3,000 of the 12,100 prisoners dying from a combination of malnutrition, exposure to winter temperatures (many prisoners without coats and seeing snow for the first time), and diseases spread by poor sanitary conditions.

Very quickly, with the construction of two observation towers charging Northern citizens to climb and gawk at the rebel soldiers below, the outside acreage surrounding the camp took on a very festive atmosphere. Refreshments were sold to the onlookers. And just as quickly, the prisoners came to resent the pointing and gawking from the towers and began to mockingly pantomime circus-animal antics. As winter approached, the towers lost most of their customers, the prisoners were left without an audience, and many of them froze without winter attire.

That winter (1864-65) was especially cold, with temperatures dipping twice to -18. That February, a snowstorm dropped over two feet of snow.

The prisoners built tunnels under the prison walls to escape to the Southern states. There were many attempts, but in the end, only ten prisoners were successful.

The mortality rate at the Elmira prison (24.5%) nearly matched the mortality rate of the South’s Andersonville prison (28.7%).

Production Note

THE EDIE AND ELMIRA SHOW premiered in the late 1990s at Regent University and subsequently played at Spring Arbor University in 2009.

In the Spring Arbor production, performed in an auditorium with 350 seats and a traditionally sized staging area, Elmira Prison scenes took place stage left and the Edie McDonald show was on stage right. This made for quick and efficient transitions. For the Edie McDonald scenes, television cameras projected image close-ups of Edie and her guests on a large screen, pushing audiences to decide whether to witness the live action or the enlarged screen images.

Cast of Characters

(in order of appearance)

Scene One