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 for the purpose of recruiting and training 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.
The site is currently interpreted by a wayside marker at Serenity Farm.
Additional Resources
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 who 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.
