Camp Stanton (18CH305)

Camp Stanton (18CH305) represents a mid- 19th-century military encampment occupied by US Colored Troops during the Civil War. The site was located is along MD 231 near the town of Benedict in Charles County, Maryland.

This site was initially recorded in 1987 by Mary F. Barse during a Phase I survey of the middle portion of the Patuxent River. This site was defined by a light scatter of glass, ceramics, pipe fragments, brick, and oyster shell within an area measuring 125x100m, identified during surface collection with excellent visibility. This site was considered probably representative of an early to mid-19th-century domestic occupation as indicated by the temporal ranges represented in the ceramic and glass assemblage, and the presence of brick and window glass. The location and general date range correspond to an occupation depicted on the "Map of the Patuxent and St. Mary's River" from surveys by Major J.J. Abert and Major J. Kearney in 1824, published in 1857. Three structures are indicated on the map and are attributed to "Southard." This site was considered potentially significant for the information it might hold concerning settlement and subsistence practiced during the early to mid- 19th century.

Between 2010 and 2012, the State Highway Administration conducted a large-scale study of the area in order to identify the location of Camp Stanton, a Civil War encampment for colored troops. The site determined to be the likely location of the camp was 18CH305. The boundaries of 18CH305 were expanded beyond the originally mapped 125x100m area to encompass a 680x295m area. The entire site is covered with two feet of plowzone, however, some of the site contains fill on top of 18th century and truncated 19th century strata.

Based on historic records and archaeology, Camp Stanton primarily occupied flat land alongside MD 231. Metal detectors surveyed the property and found Civil War-related artifacts across approximately 22 acres; archaeological traces of the former camp probably extend west and south beyond the area subjected to metal detection survey. Mechanical stripping and test unit excavation exposed 6x8-foot outlines of four former structures situated in a grid. These dwellings were temporary, and when constructed, included a partial wooden frame with white canvas stretched up the sides and across the top to form the roof. The eastern ends of the structures supported a wattle-and-daub-like fire hearth crowned with a barrel. These hearths not only warmed the men, but the fires may have been used to cook and prepare food gathered outside of their daily rations.

In addition to the four dwellings, archaeologists also identified a fire hearth and possibly an associated structure on the base of a hillside along MD 231. Although not fully exposed, the hearth consisted of a circular baked and reddened clay surface. A small domestic assemblage of aqua glass and ironstone was associated with the hearth. In addition, archaeologists found food remains from oysters, cow, pig, and unidentified bird species. The mid-19th-century date of the artifacts and the orientation of the fire hearth suggest a Camp Stanton dwelling. Available descriptions of the camp indicate some spatial segregation of officers from the African-American recruits with separate privies at opposite ends of camp designated for the use of each group. Although speculative at this time, it is possible that the location of this structure on higher elevation and closer to the commanding officer's post on top of the hill may indicate an officer's quarter.

A final reflection about Camp Stanton is related to its location in an area that proved to be wet and generally undesirable, albeit one convenient to regional transportation networks and near a ship landing. In 1999, the area just to the east of Camp Stanton was transformed into a wetland by DNR and historical descriptions of Camp Stanton indicate that damp conditions pervaded the site, particularly as the success of recruitment prompted expansion towards the east onto the floodplain. This damp was perceived to render the camp particularly unhealthy, though Humphries (2008) offers a compelling discussion of casualties from disease and other pathologies among the U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War. She notes disease was high among African American units, and medical care frequently wanting. Despite the low-lying position of the property, it was used before and after the Civil War. During the early 20th century, barns and outbuildings occupied the property, while the archaeological investigation reported here turned up a cellar associated with a domestic outbuilding. This cellar not only contained mid-19th-century artifacts, but ceramics that dated back to the 18th and early 19th centuries, suggesting the presence of dwellings on the property prior to Camp Stanton.

Indeed, the larger plantation houses in this area were constructed on higher ground, close to navigable waterways, or near the port in Benedict. This area between the town and the hill was, and remains, productive farmland, but it proved to be poor living space due to damp conditions. The nearby Two Friends Site (18CH308) is an 18th century domestic site that could be a slave quarter; however, the archaeologists were unable to unequivocally determine who lived there. If the two domestic dwellings found in this area during the two separate projects are slave quarters, there may be spatial continuity between the housing of enslaved workers and the U.S. Colored Troops--most of who were only recently emancipated through enlistment. This series of arguments requires additional data and further documentary research for it to be supportable, but it speaks to the importance of a landscape approach and the potency of spatial context as a dimension of historical analysis.

(Edited from archeological site survey form, Maryland Historical Trust)