Camp Chase
Encyclopedia
Camp Chase was a military staging, training and prison camp
in Columbus, Ohio
, during the American Civil War
. All that remains of the camp today is a Confederate
cemetery containing 2,260 graves. The cemetery is located in what is now the Hilltop neighborhood
of Columbus, Ohio.
4 miles (6.4 km) west of Downtown Columbus, Ohio. Boundaries of the camp were present-day Broad Street (north), Hague Avenue (east), Sullivant Avenue (south), and near Westgate Avenue (west). Named for former Ohio Governor and Lincoln's
Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase
, it was a training camp for Ohio volunteer army soldiers, a parole camp, a muster
outpost, and a prisoner-of-war camp. The nearby Camp Thomas
served as a similar base for the Regular Army.
As many as 150,000 Union soldiers and 25,000 Confederate prisoners passed through its gates from 1861–1865. By February 1865, over 9,400 men were held at the prison. More than 2,000 Confederates are buried in the Camp Chase Cemetery.
Four future Presidents
passed through Camp Chase: Andrew Johnson
, Rutherford B. Hayes
, James Garfield
, and William McKinley
. It also held Confederates captured during Morgan's Raid
in 1863, including Col. Basil W. Duke
. Early in the war, the prison section held a group of prominent western Virginia
and Kentucky
civilians suspected of actively supporting secession
, including former 3-term United States Congressman Richard Henry Stanton.
The camp was closed in 1865, and by September 1867, dismantled buildings, usable items, and 450 patients from Tripler Military Hospital (also in Columbus) were transferred to the National Soldier's Home in Dayton
. In 1895, former Union soldier William H. Knauss organized the first memorial service at the cemetery, and in 1906 he wrote a history of the camp. The Memorial Arch was dedicated in 1902. From 1912 to 1994, the United Daughters of the Confederacy
held annual services. The Hilltop Historical Society now sponsors the event on the second Sunday in June.
, a community in the Hilltop section of west Columbus. This development was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. All that remains of the camp today is a Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
cemetery containing 2,260 graves. The cemetery is located in what is now the Hilltop neighborhood
Hilltop, Columbus, Ohio
Hilltop USA is a geographic area of Columbus, Ohio on the west side of the city. It was so named because it sits atop a rise that slopes down into the Scioto River. , Wilshire Heights and Westgate are included within the Greater Hilltop area. It borders on Franklinton...
of Columbus, Ohio.
History
Camp Chase was a Civil War camp established in May 1861, on land leased by the U.S. Government. It served as a replacement for the much smaller Camp Jackson. The main entrance was on the National RoadNational Road
The National Road or Cumberland Road was the first major improved highway in the United States to be built by the federal government. Construction began heading west in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River. It crossed the Allegheny Mountains and southwestern Pennsylvania, reaching...
4 miles (6.4 km) west of Downtown Columbus, Ohio. Boundaries of the camp were present-day Broad Street (north), Hague Avenue (east), Sullivant Avenue (south), and near Westgate Avenue (west). Named for former Ohio Governor and Lincoln's
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase
Salmon P. Chase
Salmon Portland Chase was an American politician and jurist who served as U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.Chase was one of the most prominent members...
, it was a training camp for Ohio volunteer army soldiers, a parole camp, a muster
Muster
Muster may refer to:* Muster , a process or event for the of accounting for members in a military unit* Muster , the rounding-up of livestock* Muster , a competitive skills event held between fire departments...
outpost, and a prisoner-of-war camp. The nearby Camp Thomas
Camp Thomas
Camp Thomas was a United States Regular Army training facility located in North Columbus, Ohio , during the American Civil War. It was primarily used to organize and train new infantry regiments for service in the Western Theater.-Establishment:...
served as a similar base for the Regular Army.
Four future Presidents
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
passed through Camp Chase: Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
, Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
, James Garfield
James Garfield
James Abram Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive...
, and William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
. It also held Confederates captured during Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid was a highly publicized incursion by Confederate cavalry into the Northern states of Indiana and Ohio during the American Civil War. The raid took place from June 11–July 26, 1863, and is named for the commander of the Confederates, Brig. Gen...
in 1863, including Col. Basil W. Duke
Basil W. Duke
Basil Wilson Duke was a Confederate general officer during the American Civil War. His most noted service in the war was as second-in-command for his brother-in-law John Hunt Morgan; Duke would later write a popular account of Morgan's most famous raid: 1863's Morgan's Raid...
. Early in the war, the prison section held a group of prominent western Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
and Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
civilians suspected of actively supporting secession
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
, including former 3-term United States Congressman Richard Henry Stanton.
The camp was closed in 1865, and by September 1867, dismantled buildings, usable items, and 450 patients from Tripler Military Hospital (also in Columbus) were transferred to the National Soldier's Home in Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
. In 1895, former Union soldier William H. Knauss organized the first memorial service at the cemetery, and in 1906 he wrote a history of the camp. The Memorial Arch was dedicated in 1902. From 1912 to 1994, the United Daughters of the Confederacy
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy is a women's heritage association dedicated to honoring the memory of those who served in the military and died in service to the Confederate States of America . UDC began as the National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy, organized in 1894 by...
held annual services. The Hilltop Historical Society now sponsors the event on the second Sunday in June.
The Lady in Gray
The Lady in Gray is purportedly an apparition that haunts Camp Chase Cemetery. The story goes that the ghost is looking for her lost love, and cannot find him in the cemetery. The woman is described as young, in her late teens or early twenties, dressed entirely in gray, and carrying a clean white handkerchief. The legend of the Lady in Gray dates back to just after the Civil War, when visitors to Camp Chase spotted the woman walking through the cemetery, trying to read the carved names on the marked grave markers. She was seen quite often for several years, before disappearing completely.Camp Chase today
Aside from the Confederate Cemetery, which still exists, the land that formerly housed Camp Chase is now a residential and commercial area known as WestgateWestgate, Columbus, Ohio
Westgate is a community within the Hilltop area of Columbus, Ohio. It was constructed partially on land formerly housing the American Civil War Camp Chase and Confederate prison. After the Civil War, the land was purchased by Joseph Binns and his associates to be used to start a Mennonite community...
, a community in the Hilltop section of west Columbus. This development was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
See also
- Ohio in the Civil WarOhio in the Civil WarDuring the American Civil War, the State of Ohio played a key role in providing troops, military officers, and supplies to the Union army. Due to its central location in the Northern United States and burgeoning population, Ohio was both politically and logistically important to the war effort...
- Camp DennisonCamp DennisonCamp Dennison was a military recruiting, training, and medical post for the United States Army during the American Civil War. It was located near Cincinnati, Ohio, not far from the Ohio River. The camp was named for Cincinnati native William Dennison, Ohio's governor at the start of the war.With...
- Johnson's IslandJohnson's IslandJohnson's Island is a island in Sandusky Bay, located on the coast of Lake Erie, 3 miles from the city of Sandusky, Ohio. It was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate officers captured during the American Civil War. Johnson's Island was the only Union prison exclusively for Southern...
- Hilltop AreaHilltop, Columbus, OhioHilltop USA is a geographic area of Columbus, Ohio on the west side of the city. It was so named because it sits atop a rise that slopes down into the Scioto River. , Wilshire Heights and Westgate are included within the Greater Hilltop area. It borders on Franklinton...
- List of Civil War POW Prisons and Camps
External links
- Comprehensive Camp Chase Cemetery headstone inventory
- Camp Chase Prison
- Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery
- Camp Chase Cemetery on graveaddiction.com
- Camp Chase Cemetery on Rootsweb
- Aerial photo of Camp Chase
- Find-A-Grave: Camp Chase Cemetery
- Knauss, William H.; The story of Camp Chase; 1906
- Not to Be Forgotten: Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
