Description
Camp Stanton, is located in Southern Maryland on the west side of the Patuxent River in Charles County.
The camp was established in October 1863 to recruit and train African American men of Maryland for the Union Army. At this site, strategically located in the heart of Maryland’s slaveholding region, freedom seekers as well as free blacks were enlisted to form the 7th, 9th, 19th, and 30th Colored Infantries of the United States Colored Troops (USCT). From the time the camp was established in October 1863 until it was abandoned and destroyed in March 1864, Camp Stanton played a pivotal role in the quest for freedom for men in the lower Chesapeake Bay. Maryland ultimately raised six regiments totaling over 8700 African American soldiers.
Camp Stanton was destroyed because of the unhealthful living conditions there; many soldiers perished from diseases contracted there.
Currently, the site is interpreted by a roadside marker at Serenity Farm.
Additional Resources
Extracts from the Journals of Three Ladies – Civil War-Camp Stanton, 2024, Equityinhistory.org
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=195735 Historical Markers database including specific directions to the site. As of 2024, the interpretive sign has been reported missing, but the information is on the web page.
https://emergingcivilwar.com/publication/alexander-t-augusta-confronts-resistance-at-camp-stanton/ Concerning Maj. Alexander Augusta, the senior medical officer was reassigned after complaints by White medical staff.
https://charlescountyhistorical.org/October2019.pdf Beginning on page 2 . Extracts from the Journals of Three Ladies who taught school at Camp Stanton, The Record, Charles County Historical Society Newsletter, October 2019, Vol. 114, No. 3.
https://charlescountyhistorical.org/May2020.pdf Continuation of the journal entries in The Record, Charles County Historical Society Newsletter, May 2020, Vol. 115, No. 2.and January 2020 editions of the newsletter.
Training For Equality: The Story of Camp Stanton,” the latest installment of the award-winning documentary series “Deep Roots & Many Branches: The African American Experience in Charles County.” “Training For Equality” recounts the story of Camp Stanton, a training base for black Union soldiers in Benedict that began operations in October 1863.
Camp Stanton Documentary Honors Black Civil War Soldiers by Charles County Government, Baynet, August 3, 2024.
Camp Stanton and the U.S. Colored Troops, by Patricia Samford, History by the Objects, Jefferson Patterson Park, February 11, 2021.
