I have been given the honor of reviewing the book, “Images of America: Camp William Penn“, written by Donald Scott, Sr. The book is published by Arcadia Publishers (http://www.arcadiapublishing.com ).
Kinsey Labberton of Arcadia publishers graciously mailed me a copy of this wonderful book, asking me to give it a review.
Here is my review:
I give this book five stars and two thumbs up!
Camp Penn is a lovely tribute to the many black soldiers who trained there. It is mainly a pictorial account of some of the soldiers who trained at Camp Penn , many who went on to fight in some of the many battles of the Civil War, from 1863 to 1865. This photographic and illustrative book speaksof the lives these noble soldiers lived while struggling to convince a doubtful, and very racist country, that black men were able to rise to the challenge of defending a country that still kept them in the chains of bondage.
Camp Penn displays 200 photos which includes photos of the camp itself, the black soldiers, their relatives who lived at the camp (while the black soldiers were off fighting), and the black soldiers white commanders.
In the INTRODUCTION to Camp Penn , we are given a sample of the accomplishments of the soldiers of Camp Penn :
“They pursued Pres. Abraham Lincoln‘s assassins and led his funeral, as well as cornered Gen. Robert E. Lee and his army before witnessing the Southerner’s surrender. They were among the first troops to enter the burning Confederate capitol of Richmond . Several, in fact, earned the prestigious Medal of Honor for heroic and meritorious deeds during the war. They were among more than 180,000 black warriors who fought in the Civil War and today are honored in Washington , D.C. , with their names engraved on The African American Civil War Memorial.”
And Camp Penn did not just enlist black soldiers; not only did it attract over 11,000 ex-slaves, free blacks and white officers, “willing to strike a blow” against the brutality of slavery and give freedom to all black people, as well as repel the Confederate rebels, Camp Penn also had many other notable people pass through its doors. People who fought on many levels to set black people free:
-Harriet Tubman, the Underground railroads Supreme Conductor;
-Frederick Douglas, the famous abolitionist and orator;
-William Still, the “Father of the Underground Railroad;
-Lucretia Mott, “the most revered woman in America”, whose Roadside estate sat adjacent to Camp William Penn. Ms. Mott the preeminent women’s rights advocate for enfranchisement suffrage for women, was one of the fiercest anti-slavery advocates in the country.
Ms. Mott made an indelible impression on the black soldiers who trained at Camp Penn , as this excerpt describes:
“The black soldiers at Camp Penn would soon march off to war and routinely salute the little gray-haired Quaker woman, Lucretia Mott, standing or sitting on her porch. They generally adored her fresh baked pies and outspokenness for their equality and bravery.They greatly respected Mott joining hands with the likes of the majestic Frederick Douglas, who spoke to the new recruits of the 3rd Regiment United States Colored Troops (USCT). It was the first regiment to leave Camp Penn later that summer, although local white authorities refused to let the black men parade through Philadelphia with guns for fear they would incite a riot by those fearing African American retribution for racism and slavery.”
Camp Penn was the first and largest federal facility erected in 1863, to train Northern-based black soldiers during the Civil War, in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . Practically very little is known of Camp Penn , but, this new book serves to rescue the history of Camp Penn from oblivion.
Many regiments mustered out of Camp Penn :
-The 3RD regiment USCT, the first to leave, saw action at the battle at Fort Wagner in South Carolina , where the Massachusetts 54Th fought earlier, as depicted in the film Glory. The 3RD Regiment saw action at the bloody battle of Olustee , Florida , in the early part of 1864.
-The 6TH Regiment USCT, which suffered heavy casualties after being ambushed by veteran Confederate troops. Perhaps the fiercest regiment to originate from the camp, the 6TH Regiment saw horrific fighting at the Battle of New Market Heights or Chaffin’s Farm in Virginia in September in 1864. The 6TH also saw action at Richmond , Petersburg and Dutch Gap. Several of its members received the Medal of Honor at New Market Heights for saving the regiment’s colors, including black sergeants Alexander Kelly and Thomas Hawkins, as well as Nathan H. Edgerton, a white lieutenant.
-The sacrifices of the 8TH Regiment USCT at Olustee , Florida , is also highlighted. Images of commanding officers, such as Col. Charles Fribley, fatally wounded during the conflict, accompany accounts of the February 20, 1864 battle that resulted in many casualties. The 8TH Regiment would be discharged on December 12, 1865, suffering by the end of the war losses totaling 251 men due to combat or disease.
-The 22ND Regiment’s action in the attack in Virginia, one of the first regiments to enter the conquered Confederate capitol of Richmond has been included.
Other regiments are depicted in photos of other Camp Penn regiments as the 32ND, 41ST, 43RD, 45TH and the 127TH, all depicted with vivid individual newspaper illustrations and paintings which show intense battle scenes. These regiments saw action at Virginia , including the Battle of the Crater, Petersburg , Richmond , Darbytown Road , Deep Bottom. Several of these regiments also pursued Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army and witnessed his army’s surrender at Appomattox , as well as participated in Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s march to the sea campaign. Most regiments would ultimately serve in Texas on the Mexican border, with some of the troops joining the famed Buffalo Soldiers.
Camp Penn is divided into three chapters:
-Camp For Liberty
-Freedom’s Warriors
-Truth Marches On
CHAPTER ONE: CAMP FOR LIBERTY
Chapter One chronicles the beginnings of Camp Penn , its living conditions for the black soldiers, and those paramount in the creation of Camp Penn as a training ground for the many black soldiers who would march into war, and into history. Some of the photographs are of the facilities of Camp Penn , with buildings built after the black soldiers had to live in tents.
*One rare photograph shows the main entrance with soldiers standing guard. Wagon tracks, human footprints, and horses hoof prints can be seen in the foreground of this picture.
*A photo of Lucretia Mott (1793-1880) is shown. She lived adjacent to Camp Penn in Chelten Hills.
*Jay Cooke (1821-1905), who financed expenses of the Civil War for the Union , by selling bonds.
*Louis Wagner (1883-1914), at age 23, a few years before he became commander of Camp William Penn in the summer of 1863. As a major in the 88TH Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, his right shin was shattered by a Confederate bullet during the Second Battle of Bull Run on August 30, 1862. Wagner steadfastly supported his black troops, even when one black sentry at the camp was convicted of shooting and killing an intruding neighborhood man in August 1863. Wagner also protested the segregated treatment of his black soldiers, as well as the brutality that some suffered in Philadelphia .
*Octavius V. Catto (1839-1871), who was one of the most influential black activists in Philadelphia and known in black communities throughout the country. He helped recruit black soldiers for Camp William Penn’s 3RD Regiment, the first unit established at Camp Penn. Octavius Catto also established a black baseball team, the Pythians, the first to formally play a white team in Philadelphia, and became the leader in desegregating the city’s public facilities, including streetcars. He was assassinated (killed by a white assassin’s bullet) in October 1871 for encouraging blacks to vote, resulting in one of the largest funerals in Philadelphia history that attracted thousands of whites and blacks.
*Broadsides are shown as well. Broadsides were basically a form of advertisement, similar to our present-day handbills that are seen posted around neighborhoods on telephone poles or trees. Broadsides were a very effective recruiting weapon for black troops during the Civil War. This “Men of Color” broadside appealed to and convinced many of the first black men to fill the regimental rolls of Camp Penn. It evoked the horrors of slavery, advocated saving the future for black children, and disproved claims that black men were cowardly and unintelligent. If white men could leave “comfortable” homes to defend the Union , then black men could also “prove” themselves “men”. Note the many names of the well-known abolitionists of the region: Frederick Douglas, Rev. Stephen Smith, Rev. Jeremiah Asher.
*A lithograph which appeared in the National Guard newspaper of Philadelphia on Saturday, July 18, 1863, depicted activity at the camp. Camp Penn became quite the place for the surrounding communities, including nearby Philadelphia . Many of the men’s wives and partners visited the camp attracting large crowds when parades or drills occurred. Observers traveled by horse and buggy, as well as via segregated trains and horse-drawn trolleys.
*One very rare photograph of Camp William Penn soldiers served as the model for an extremely popular recruiting poster. The picture of the 25TH Regiment United States Colored Troops recruits and an officer, resembling commander Louis Wagner, was likely shot during early 1864 in Philadelphia .
*Photos of abolitionist John Brown sometimes communicated with the Quaker anti-slavery abolitionist Lucretia Mott, before leading the insurrection of Harper’s Ferry on October 16, 1859. His wife Mary Brown was harbored at the Mott family estate, Roadside, as Brown was hung on December 2, 1859, after being cornered by West Point graduate Robert E. Lee, the future general of the Confederate army.
*Elizabeth Greenfield Taylor, born a slave between 1817 and 1831, was an educator and very popular singer who performed at concerts to raise funds for black troops at Camp Penn , as well as for various abolitionist causes. Know as the the “Black Swan”, she was born in Natchez , Mississippi . She was freed when her owner, widow Elizabeth Holliday Greenfield, moved to Philadelphia during the 1820s and became a Quaker.
*The first black to rise to the rank of major in the U.S. Army during the Civil War era, Martin R. Delaney (1812-1885) helped to convince Pres. Abraham Lincoln to recruit black troops, including at Camp Penn. The multi-talented Delaney was also very active with the Undergrounds Railroad, as well as working as a physician, author, and an editor. The Pittsburgh native edited the black newspaper in his hometown, the Mystery; he also served as editor of the North Star, Frederick Douglas’s newspaper.
CHAPTER TWO: FREEDOM’S WARRIORS
This chapter concentrates on the warriors themselves: the black soldiers, their white commanders, and the families of the black soldiers who lived at Camp Penn while their loved ones were away fighting to gain freedom for all enslaved black people.
*Lt. Col. Ulysses Doubleday who mustered into service on October 2, 1863, joining the 3rd regiment USCT. He was promoted from lieutenant colonel of the 3rd regiment to colonel of the 45Th Regiment USCT on October 5, 1864.
*”Colored Men Engaged in Battle, Petersburg, VA”.This picture depicts several of Camp Penn’s regiments fighting in Petersburg, Virginia, including the 43rd, 45Th and the 8Th Regiments. This depiction shows troops fighting in close quarters with Confederate troops.
*The Battle of New Market Heights or Chaffin’s Farm in Virginia on September 29 to 30,1864, involved several Camp Penn USCT regiments, including the 6TH, and the 22ND. Several of the 6TH, including Sgt. Thomas Hawkins, Sgt. Alexander Kelly, and Lt. Nathan H. Edgerton, performed meritoriously to earn the Medal of Honor while protecting and saving the regimental flags and colors.
* Philadelphia abolitionists supported orphanages for black children. Iinfants and their caretakers, black women in dresses, are seen in a rare photograph of the Orphanage for Colored Children in Philadelphia . The burning of such facilities by white mobs in Philadelphia and New York City before and during the Civil War likely rallied more black men to the Union ‘s cause.
* George W. Keyes, a private in Company F of the 22ND regiment USCT, wwho was a member of GAR Post 139 in Scranton following the Civil War. Keyes likely saw action in Virginia , including the Battle of New market heights or Chaffin’s Farm on September 29, 1864.
*Sgt. William H. Brown of Newark , New Jersey , who was mustered into service in Company A of the 125Th regiment USCT on January 12, 1864. As his Camp Penn muster form states, he was mandated to “serve for three years or during the war”.
*An image of the “Colored Volunteer Marching into Dixie” and published by Currier and Ives of New York was very encouraging for blacks seeking enrollment at such places as Camp Penn. Many ex-slaves relished the thought of returning back to areas of enslavement to free loved ones and for justice.
*As commander of all U.S. troops during the Civil War and destined to become an American president, Ulysses S. Grant was friends with Jay Cooke, the “financier of the Civil War”. Following the war, Grant would visit the Cooke estate and the Chelten Hills area because his son Jesse attended a local military academy. Grant, as commander of all U.S. forces during the war, was naturally in charge of the black regiments at Camp Penn during the later years of the great struggle. Women’s rights activist and antislavery freedom fighter Lucretia Mott visited the two men at Grant’s nearby Ogontz estate following the war to stop the hanging of Native American leaders in the far west.
CHAPTER THREE: TRUTH MARCHES ON
This final chapter chronicles the later years of the regiments who mustered out of Camp Penn , the soldiers advocates, the family members and descendants of the soldiers and the outstanding legacy the soldiers created.
*William Bowser (1842-1945) who was one of the first black settlers in the Camptown or LaMott area. He arrived after the Civil War in 1869, when Lucretia Mott’s son-n-law Edward M. Davis subdivided the property in the area via his land-development firm. Davis ‘s other clients included rich tycoons such as banker Jay Cooke.
*An early 1900s photograph shows children who attended the local school at Sycamore and Willow Avenues, which became the LaMott Community Center.Lucretia Mott’s son-n-law Edward M. Davis, according to the Old York Road Historical Society, constructed the first school in the area then known as Camptown in 1868, just several years after the war. The integrated student body reveals the early progressiveness of the area, established by such early local Quakers as the Motts.
*Thomas I. Dawson of Philadelphia is shown holding the medal of his grandfather Prestley Dorsey. Although the inscription reads: “P. Dorsey; Co H; 43rd Pa. Vol. Inf.,” Dorsey actually served in Company H of the 43RD USCT from Camp William Penn. His unit participated in such Virginia battles as Hatcher’s Run, the Rapidan campaign, and the Mine Explosion Assault at Petersburg . Ironically, today Dawson lives across the street from where the camp once stood.
*Not all Civil War reenactors are white, as one photo so aptly depicts. Civil War reenactors of the 3RD Regiment USCT Infantry are shown marching in Washington , D.C. , during the dedication of the African American Civil War Memorial in 1999. Most of the men in the unit are from the Philadelphia area and routinely contribute to history programs thoughout the United States .
*The historic marker at the intersection of Willow Avenue and Sycamore Avenue in LaMott that has graced the neighborhood for more than 65 years, is included at the end of this book. It is often the centerpiece of local parades, celebrating July 4, Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, and Juneteenth, which commemorates black emancipation in Texas where many of the Camp Penn soldiers were discharged at the end of the war.
All in all, Images of America: Camp William Penn is a worthy book that should be in everyones home library. The enormous contributions that black men (and women) made to wrench this country from the vicious claws of slavery must never be forgotten nor ignored.
The millions of black men who soldiered in the Civil war were fighting for more than just to keep the union together.
They were fighting for more than just a country in which they were born, a country that sought to keep them and their descendants in slavery.
No other group of people, before or since then, can truly say that they were fighting for their freedom.
To the men of Camp Penn , I salute you for your bravery, for your perseverance, for your tenacity in following your dream in breaking the chains of slavery and making America a better place for all.
SALUTARE.
Images of America : Camp William Penn, $19.99, Arcadia Publishing
Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, on-line bookstores, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or (888) 313-2665)
Camp Penn was the only Civil War camp built in Pennsylvania mainly for the training of Black soldiers. It was one of eighteen Union camps built that housed and prepared for battle Black men who hailed from Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
RELATED LINKS:
Ann
BEAUTIFUL, ALSO, ARE THE SOULS OF MY BLACK SISTERS 
I have been interested in Camp Wm Penn for sometime–I recently saw a documentary on the Camp produced by Temple U. Do you have anymore information on fate of the sentry–I recall that “intruder” continued going thru the Camp after being warned. Sincerely, SPS
It has been a while since I read “Camp Penn”. I will have to look into the fate of the sentry, when I get a chance.
Thanks for this post. Never knew of Camp William Penn.