Confederate Cemetery at Camp Chase

CMWinkler

Colonel
Retired Moderator
Joined
Oct 17, 2012
Location
Middle Tennessee
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Given that it's in a bit of a rough area, the fact that that cemetery is in as good of condition as it is always surprises me. I live on the other side of Columbus and don't have much occasion to get to that part of town, but when I do, I usually try to stop and pay my respects. The cemetery is small and densely packed, but it is well cared for, and is treated with respect.
 
I was in Columbus visiting my brother and mentioned that I wanted to stop by there. His words...I don't think you want to go to that area, but we can if you still want to. We did something else instead.
 
I would definitely recommend a visit to the Camp Chase Cemetery. I would advise the individual to visit in the daylight. The ice cream shop next to the cemetery is yummy!

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HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery is located in Franklin County, Ohio, six miles west of downtown Columbus. The federal government purchased the site in 1879.

Camp Chase shifted from a training camp for Union Army recruits to a prisoner-of-war camp early in the war. The facility was named after Salmon P. Chase, Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln, and former governor of Ohio. The first inmates at Camp Chase were chiefly political and military prisoners from Kentucky and Western Virginia allegedly loyal to the Confederacy. Union victories at Fort Donaldson, Tennessee, on Feb. 16, 1862, and at Mississippi River Island No. 10, on April 8, 1862, brought an influx of prisoners. All of the officers taken at these battles were moved to Camp Chase, save for generals and field officers, who were sent to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor.

The establishment of the Confederate Stockade on Johnson's Island in Lake Erie led to the transfer of most of the officers to the new prison. Subsequently, enlisted men and non-commissioned officers made up the bulk of the Confederate soldiers confined at Camp Chase. By 1863 Camp Chase held 8,000 men, the peak of the prison population. Similar to many prisons in the north, Camp Chase was ravaged by disease; during late 1864, a smallpox epidemic resulted in many deaths.

Prior to the establishment of the cemetery at Camp Chase, the Confederate dead were interred in the city cemetery of Columbus. Their remains were re-interred in the prison cemetery after its opening. In addition, the remains of 31 Confederate soldiers who died at Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati, were removed to Camp Chase Cemetery shortly after the cessation of the Civil War.

By the mid 1890's, efforts began to mark the graves of the Confederate dead within Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery. Led by William H. Knauss, a wounded Union veteran, this movement succeeded in bringing together both Union and Confederate veterans organizations to pay tribute to those interred in the cemetery. In 1904, Congress allocated funds for the maintenance of Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery.

Officially, there is an estimate of 2,168 remains in 2,122 gravesites in Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery. However, this does not match the inscription on the Boulder monument.

The Camp Chase site, including the Confederate Cemetery, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/lots/campchase.asp
 
Given that it's in a bit of a rough area, the fact that that cemetery is in as good of condition as it is always surprises me. I live on the other side of Columbus and don't have much occasion to get to that part of town, but when I do, I usually try to stop and pay my respects. The cemetery is small and densely packed, but it is well cared for, and is treated with respect.

Looks very peaceful & well maintained, indeed, thankfully.

What has always irked me a bit whenever planning a vacation or weekend getaway, when seeing if any historic or well known cemeteries are nearby, and find out from people and/or reviews, that it's not in the best of areas. Granted, I've found it's easier to go to these places earlier in the day to enjoy & pay respects, but I admit, it's rather unsettling to have to worry about your surroundings at times when simply attempting to visit such places.

One place I've always wanted to visit is the Confederate Cemetery in Helena, Arkansas where Cleburne and others are at; however, a friend of mine who lives nearby advises against it, which is disconcerting to say the least. But hopefully soon I'll be able to visit there as well.
 
I'm torn, myself.

It's a site I'd love to see, for sure, but being loyal to the University of Michigan, I told myself that Columbus, Ohio is a city I'd avoid at all costs (Ohio State), oh the predicament. :smile:

Go Bucks, beat TTUN!!!

lololol......

My wife and I will be visiting the state of M******* in September. This will be my first visit to this state. I will be packing!

Bill
 
I'm torn, myself.

It's a site I'd love to see, for sure, but being loyal to the University of Michigan, I told myself that Columbus, Ohio is a city I'd avoid at all costs (Ohio State), oh the predicament. :smile:

There are plenty of us here who couldn't possibly care less about OSU. I happen to be one of them, and I've lived here for 30 years now.
 
Go Bucks, beat TTUN!!!

lololol......

My wife and I will be visiting the state of M******* in September. This will be my first visit to this state. I will be packing!

Bill
Lol, I thought it was supposed to be the state of *ichigan? :wink:

Awesome! Hope you have a pleasant vacation come then, weather should be perfect, that time of year. I recommend the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn, for a neat day trip. :thumbsup:
 
Lol, I thought it was supposed to be the state of *ichigan? :wink:

Awesome! Hope you have a pleasant vacation come then, weather should be perfect, that time of year. I recommend the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn, for a neat day trip. :thumbsup:

I am looking forward to it! We will be traveling up the west coast towards Sleeping Bear Dunes NP. My wife is a hugh lighthouse freak.

When I talk about the state, I spell it M*******. When I talk about the football team, I spell it *ichigan.

Bill
 
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