Camp Curtin

This article is about the American Civil War military camp. For the neighborhood in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, see Camp Curtin (Harrisburg).

Camp Curtin was a military training camp in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War.

When news of the bombardment and subsequent surrender of Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina reached Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to join the Army to quell the rebellion of the Southern states. Across the North, eager recruits responded to calls from local governmental officials to join newly raised state regiments. Governor Andrew Curtin of Pennsylvania issued a proclamation asking for 13,000 able-bodied men to volunteer to help preserve the Union. Within three days, thousands of men had converged at Harrisburg to enlist, but they had no formal place to organize or drill. Dauphin County officials offered Governor Curtin the use of the County Agricultural Society on the northern outskirts of Harrisburg for these volunteers. Maj. Joseph F. Knipe officially opened the camp on April 18, 1861, and named it Camp Curtin in honor of the governor (the planned name had been Camp Union). From December 1861 to March 1862, the camp was commanded by Truman Seymour.

Over 300,000 soldiers passed through Camp Curtin, making it the largest Federal camp during the Civil War. Harrisburg's location on major railroad lines running east and west, and north and south made it the ideal location for moving men and supplies to the armies in the field. In addition to Pennsylvania regiments, troops from Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Wisconsin, and the Regular Army used Camp Curtin. The camp and surrounding area also saw service as a supply depot, hospital and prisoner-of-war camp. At the end of the war, Camp Curtin was used as a mustering-out point for thousands of troops on their way home. It was officially closed on November 11, 1865.

References

Camp Curtin Historical Society
Miller, William J., Training of an Army: Camp Curtin and the North's Civil War, White Mane Publishing, 1990, ISBN 0-942597-15-X

Pennsylvania in the American Civil War

Category Commons category American Civil War

Campaigns and battles	Gettysburg Campaign (template) Fairfield Gettysburg (template) Hanover Hunterstown

Fights and skirmishes	Carlisle Chambersburg Monterey Pass Greencastle skirmishes

Cities and counties	Harrisburg Philadelphia Pittsburgh Franklin County

Units and people	Monongahela department Susquehanna department Regiments

Posts and hospitals	Camp Letterman Fort Mifflin Camp Curtin Camp Scott Camp Union Camp William Penn Carlisle Barracks Mower General Hospital Satterlee General Hospital York General Hospital

Manufacturers	Frankford Arsenal Phoenix Iron Works

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Monuments and memorials	North Carolina Monument The Pennsylvania State Memorial Smith Memorial Arch 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument

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