Home Front Travel Mart & Restaurant. [35] Heber C. Kimball, discourse, 23 August 1857, in Journal of Discourses (London: Latter-day Saints Book Depot, 185486), 5:178. Some of the dead prisoners were buried in the two small cemeteries on the grounds of Camp Douglas, but most were buried in Chicagos old City Cemetery along the shores of Lake Michigan, in what is now Lincoln Park. But thousands of their comrades, most of them victims of disease or pneumonia, would never return home. Inside, prisoners lived in long, narrow wood barracks, each with a kitchen at the back that also functioned as a mess hall. It will not be employed for any offensive operations other than may grow out of the duty hereinbefore assigned to it.[13], The requested soldiers mustered within two days, an extraordinary feat of organization. The early days of the camp were marked by a lack of discipline. [13] L. Thomas to Mr. Brigham Young, 28 April 1862, in WOTR3, 27. [16] Jas. On the grounds of Pershing East Magnet School, archaeologist Mike Gregory and his staff are hoping to unearth 150-year-old artifacts. Everyone with a connection to Lombard is part of Lombards story and relevant to our mission. [4] Since Utahs principal city was styled Great Salt Lake City until an official name change in 1868, that name is used here in documents, but for purposes of simplicity, the name Salt Lake City is used in the narrative. . [70] Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 10:107, 109, 111. A day of retribution will come.[76] On March 29, 1863, with the approval of Edwin M. Stanton,[77] Secretary of War, Patrick Connor was promoted from colonel to brigadier general for his heroic conduct and brilliant victory on Bear River over the local Indian population. Connor to Lieut. The camp was dismantled and the movable property was sold off late in the year. 10, At Swords Point, Part I: A Documentary History of the Utah War to 1858, ed. The establishment and naming of this post on the bench above Salt Lake City is a colorful, but little known, story of the American Civil War. Learn how and when to remove this template message, U.S. National Register of Historic Places, 807th Medical Command (Deployment Support), National Register of Historic Places portal, List of National Historic Landmarks in Utah, National Register of Historic Places listings in Salt Lake City, Utah, "Is it time for the University of Utah to take over Fort Douglas? It was a strange speechdelivered in impromptu fashion at the invitation of a sitting grand jury in search of entertainmentin which Douglas ranged through three of the most volatile subjects of the day: the Supreme Courts Dred Scott decision, bleeding Kansas, and Utah affairs. The Olympic Organizing Committee and university built the Olympic Village to house participating athletes on former fort property; the village housing now serves as on-campus housing for university students. Email agent. THIS PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS THE NORTHWEST VIEW OF THE STOCKADE. [20] P. E. Connor to Major Drum, 5 August 1862; R. C. Drum to Colonel Connor, 5 August 1862; and Orders No. After all, no one thought the Civil War would go on as long as it did. [14] Jas. Gen. L. Thomas, 15 December 1862, in WOTR1, 181. when the command at Camp Douglas can be moved to Fort Crittenden.[81] Any response to this order from General Connor has apparently been lost, but something caused General Wright to change his mind. No. This listing was just of Confederate soldiers from Georgia. But in the tragic scheme of things, the camp wasnt so much an aberration as an example of the deprivations many prisoners of war endured in a conflict that no one expected to last as long as it did, in an era before the rules of how combatants should treat prisoners were clearly established. Is it necessary for the government to take any action in the premises? By October 1944, there were over 2,000 German POWs interned at Camp Douglas. . Col. R. C. Drum, 16 October 1863, in WOTR2, 656657. Camp Douglas became a permanent prisoner-of-war camp from January 1863 to the end of the war in May 1865. As a museum and educational institution, we will continue to raise awareness and create a more equitable narrative rooted in our history as a recognized Underground Railroad site. If the constitutional rights which pertain unto us as American citizens were extended to Utah, according to the spirit and meaning thereof, and fairly and impartially administered, it is all that we could ask, all that we have ever asked. Col. R. C. Drum, 20 December 1862, in WOTR2, 257. Relations between the two parties had been mixed since the Churchs founding in 1830. Memories of Camp Douglas gradually faded, a part of local history that few Chicagoans cared to remember. The Fort Douglas Cemetery continues to be an active federal military cemetery, actively maintained. and Lee XE "Lee, Robert E." at the Turning Point of the Civil War are scheduled for publication in 2021. . Soldiers were accused of having placed obstructions in the stream; [having] built privies on or close to one of said streams of water, and in divers other ways have the said troops and those [civilians] following them . In the midst of the Utah War, First Counselor Heber C. Kimball stated publicly: Many of you have sustained Judge Douglas as being a true friend to this people; and he is just as big a damned rascal as ever walked, and always has been. . [71] P. Edw. Connor reported to his superior that the site he selected was a point which commands the city, and where 1,000 troops would be more efficient than 3,000 on the other side of the Jordan [River]. Connor's men were Union volunteers from both California and Nevada. Drum, 10 February 1865, in WOTR2, 1131. Chris DeRose explores Chicago's little known role in the Civil War: Camp Douglas, a onetime prison camp and now cemetery to thousands of confederate soldiers. The Wisconsin National Guard Museum is dedicated to the history and. Since my arrival the people of the Territory have been treated kindly and courteously by both my officers and men, who have never given one of them cause for complaint, which the people freely acknowledge. Chicago mayor Julian Sidney Rumsey agreed. It is a much less job to take them than to keep them, Grant said. 257 were here. [66] M. G. Lewis to Capt. Average Age. He selected a site east of Salt Lake City, and Camp Douglas, named after Senator Stephen A. Douglas, was officially established there on October 26, 1862. Edwin M. Stanton, 23 August 1862, in WOTR3, 449. Then, again, there have always been annoying quarrels in progress with the Mormons, which reached the very verge of war eight years ago, and the embers of which have been smouldering ever since. The 10,000 prisoners at Camp Douglas, he decided, could provide the manpower needed to keep the place clean. rev. [63] P. Edw. Col. R. C. Drum, 15 March 1863, in WOTR2, 371. The military correspondence for the fall of 1862 clearly indicates that the choice of names was Connorshe dubbed the post Camp Douglas rather than being directed to do so by General George Wright in California or by an even higher authority in Washington. . A year earlier, Stanton had vetoed the replacement of burned barracks at Camp Douglas, saying that he was not disposed at this time, in view of the treatment our prisoners of war are receiving at the hands of the enemy, to erect fine establishments for their prisoners in our hands.. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. [19] G. Wright to Brig. Camp Douglas Officers' Club State Historic Site Open June thru September. Madsen commented, The new colonel never forgot his loyalties. With respect to the naming decision, Madsens book comments without citation that Connor vetoed the desire of his men to name the post after himself, and that his choice of the admired Douglass name was understandable. [31] E. B. Longs 1981 account of Utah during the Civil War, The Saints and the Union, describes at length the initial tense approach and passage of Connors unit through Salt Lake City to the site of Camp Douglas but is mute on why the post was so named, as was Major Fred B. Rogerss 1938 study Soldiers of the Overland. See all. The post served as headquarters for the District of Utah in the Department of the Pacific. . . . Well then, what from? Because of mail delays, word of Douglass comments about the Mormons did not reach Utah until late summer, at which point the reaction was volcanic. In December 1862 Connor reported, My present position [at Camp Douglas] was selected for its availability, and commanding as it does not only all the avenues to but even the town itself, it is an important one, and I am not surprised that Brigham Young considers its occupancy dangerous to his interests.[60] Connors view was that Mormonism as preached and practiced in this Territory is not only subversive of morals, in conflict with the civilization of the present age, and oppressive on the people, but also deeply and boldly in contravention of the laws and best interests of the nation; therefore, he sought by every proper means in my power to arrest its progress and prevent its spread.[61] He initially believed there were but two ways to resolve the problems and influence of Mormonism: First, by dividing the Territory into four parts and adding the parts to the four adjoining Territories; second, by declaring martial law.[62] By dividing the territory, he hoped to weaken both Brigham Young and Salt Lake Citys influence on the surrounding regions. But what of Varleys quite accurate point about a highly negative Mormon reaction to Douglas early in the Utah War? On May 14, 1866, the Macon Weekly Telegraph, a newspaper out of Bibb County, Georgia did a listing of known Confederate deaths, the soldier's name, and the regiment they were with. Camp Douglas Officer's Club State Historic Site is open seasonally. . As early as September 1862, his official reports began to include complaints about Mormons and Mormonism. The soldiers then established Camp Floyd (named after John B. Floyd, President Buchanans secretary of war) forty miles southwest of Salt Lake City, the nations largest garrison until the outbreak of the Civil War. What can we do? During the Civil War, more Confederate soldiers died at Chicagos Camp Douglas than on any battlefield. Quiznos. (The sewers were wood-lined troughs that ran along two sides of the camp and emptied into Lake Michigan.) What was the result a year ago, when our then Governor . 4 bed. Utah residents had done too good of a job dismantling Fort Crittenden after the army blew up its magazines and marched east. Grant Building 2 bath. [54] P. Edw. Several federal actions, though, were not viewed favorably by the Saints. With Colonel Connor personally commanding, his soldiers killed at least 224 Indians and lost only 14 soldiers. Camp Douglas became a permanent prisoner-of-war camp from January 1863 to the end of the war in May 1865. The menu also included bread and a thin soup made from water drained from the beef or bacon with some beans or a potato mixed in. In the years following the Civil War, relations between Camp Douglas and Salt Lake City gradually softened from antagonism to grudging acceptance and finally to an embrace. James D. Doty following his death and burial in the cemetery. . When it came to Mormon matters, Douglas may have been stimulated by bitter private inputs from recently resigned Utah associate justice W. W. Drummond of Illinois, his constituent, as well as by the sting of Republican efforts to portray Douglass pet doctrine of popular sovereignty (local choice) as a de facto defense of polygamy, if not slavery, in the territories. . Connor to Lieut. 1 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1897), 200 (hereafter cited as WOTR1). The other two books, Military Prisons of the American Civil War, Factors that Made Them What They Became and Command at Antietam: Lincoln XE "Lincoln, A" , McClellan XE "McClellan, George B." Eric was kind enough to juggle his schedule and open the place on Tuesday. For 2023 season our hours of operation will be Tuesday thru Saturday 10am to 4pm starting May 30, 2023 thru September 2, 2023. The site, made up of two tracts bordering the fairgrounds used for the U.S. . Col. R. C. Drum, 1 July 1864, in WOTR2, 887. We invite and welcome all to share your history with us. [18] Special Orders No. [47] Third District Federal Court, Deseret News, April 15, 1863. Camp Douglas was established in October 1862, during the American Civil War, as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah, to protect the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route. Daniel was sent to Camp Douglas on Aug. 24, 1863 for going AWOL. He is nothing to me as a business man. The artists names are V. Finotti, E. Tarquinio, and F. DeRossi. Col. R. C. Drum, 19 February 1863, in WOTR2, 319, 320. While Camp Douglas (later renamed Fort Douglas) experienced a long and colorful history that has continued into the twenty-first century, this essay focuses on the short period between the camps founding in October 1862 and the end of the Civil War. See also Thomas G. Alexander and Leonard J. Arrington, Camp in the Sagebrush: Camp Floyd, Utah, 18581861, Utah Historical Quarterly 34 (1966). In Glory Hunter, his 1990 biography of the general, Brigham D. Madsen notes that Connor had long been an admirer of Senator Douglas and even before entering the army had raised funds to finance the erection of a statue in his honor in Stockton. A New York Times writer predicted that the removal of the small force from Utah will prove a fatal blunder, as it will leave the great overland routes to California and Oregon unprotected, and invite aggression both from lawless Mormons and hostile Indians.[9] When increased Indian activity and attacks along the Overland Trail followed the withdrawal of soldiers from Fort Crittenden, it soon became apparent that military action was required to protect the trail. The Mormon portion of the community entertain certain hard recollections of the Senator, on account of his loathsome ulcer recommendations. Property Value Avg. . We do not see, however, from anything that has been published, that there have been any new or menacing developments of late, or that things are in any worse condition than that in which they have been for the last eighteen or twenty years. There have been some attempts to relocate the center to allow the University of Utah to grow its campus. [61] P. Edw. Fans can secure tickets for the 2023 Dolphins training camp beginning Thursday, July 6. Many of the inmates were sick, and 500 already had died. 31, No. The lack of a sewer and proper sanitation accounted for a tremendous amount of sickness and death, Joseph L. Eisendrath Jr. concluded in an article published in 1960 in the. Camp Douglas was just six months old when a grand jury of the U.S. District Court for the Third Judicial District of Utah Territory (with Latter-day Saint Apostles George A. Smith and Franklin D. Richards serving as the foreman and a jury member, respectively) was empanelled in Salt Lake City to consider Camp Douglass notoriously offensive or . 0.4 mi. [80] G. Wright to Adjutant-General U.S. Army, 31 July 1863, in WOTR2, 546. Col. R. C. Drum, 10 March 1863, in WOTR2, 344. So too with the suggestion of martial law, which General William S. Harney, the Utah Expeditions initial commander, had sought unsuccessfully in June 1857. The warnings come after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his fighters were entering the Russian Rostov region, which neighbors Ukraine. In 1864, the soldiers at the post improved the cemetery significantly. Full view. Col. R. C. Drum, 15 March 1863, in WOTR2, 37071. . . After being introduced by Colonel Connor, the governor addressed the troops. 1, Fort Churchill, 6 August 1862, in WOTR2, 5355. Kenneth L. Alford (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012), 16181. They are all matters of history; delineating them will present one of the darkest pages ever recorded of any religious people.[48]. Within a week more than 200 of them were in the hospital, with several hundred more being treated outside. 50, pt. The camps distance from Salt Lake City was probably viewed favorably by most of the citys residents. [10] L. Thomas, report on measures taken to make secure the Overland Mail Route to California, 24 April 1862, in WOTR1, 1023. Halleck quickly searched for a prison site that fit certain basic criteria. Bad sanitation wasnt the only problem at Camp Douglas. Col. R. C. Drum, 15 March 1863, in WOTR2, 371. Col. R. C. Drum, 19 February 1863, in WOTR2, 319. However, when the grand jury sat in 1864 it found no indictment against him and he was discharged. See Letters of Brigham Young to His Sons, ed. That policy, as you are aware, involved certain and speedy punishment for past offenses, compelling them to sue for a suspension of hostilities, and on the resumption of peace, kindness and leniency toward the redskins. [50] The Pacific Telegraph Line, New York Times,. [73] Andrew Jensen, Church Chronology (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1899), 69.