Railroad Accident - Elmira, NY - Graves Mentioning a Cause of Death on Waymarking.com

They were reburied in the Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira, NY. A monument was erected were they were buried. They were not able to identify them individually.

"On July 15, 1864 a wood burning steam locomotive pulling 17 passenger and freight cars moved along the Broad Gauge Erie Railroad in southeastern New York state. Aboard were 833 Confederate prisoners of war and 128 Union guards. The guards were members of the 11th and 20th Regiments of the United States Veteran Reserve Corps under the command of Captain Morris L. Church. Most of the guards rode in the last three cars, others stood atop boxcars and inside the boxcars. The Confederates were the fourth group of prisoners to be sent from Point Lookout, Maryland, to Elmira, New York...At the junction John Martin descended from his post in the caboose and entered Lackawaxen Station asking if the track was clear to Shohola. His question was answered by Kent, indicating that the track was clear. With this mistake the fate of the two locomotives was sealed...The trains meet at "King and Fuller's Cut", A section of track followed a blind curve where only 50 feet of forward visibility was possible. When they collided, only Engineer Hoitt had time to jump clear."

Type of Death Listed: Accident Website (if available): [Web Link] Cause of death inscription on headstone: Not listed

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Date Logged Log   10/02/2015 TheWildRoots visited it