I love checking out historical markers on the road, especially when I see one in an unexpected place like this marker for an Indiana Civil War training camp site I spotted in a fast-food restaurant's parking lot, across the street from a pawn shop, and surrounded by orange construction barrels!
We battled barrels and traffic to turn back into the parking and learn about one of three Civil War training camps located just south of the Michigan border in northwestern Indiana.
Camp Anderson was in Michigan Township, in what is now Michigan City, and about a quarter mile west of the marker at the northeast corner of East Michigan Blvd. and Carroll Avenue, on what was then an old plank road called Michigan Road.
LaPorte County saw 2,750 of its residents serve during the Civil War, with about 10 percent of them dying during battle, from a disability, or disease.
The county had a number of militia groups before the Civil War, but as the war began, many groups organized into militia companies as preparation in case of invasion.
More men from this area of northwestern Indiana, which was the 9th Congressional District during the Civil War, volunteered for service than any other district in Indiana. LaPorte County women also organized an active Soldiers Relief Society.
Many Civil War camps took their names from their commanding officer, so it's likely the name Camp Anderson came from the colonel, Rev. Edward Anderson, commanding officer of the 12th Cavalry based there.
The camp started in 1863 with an officers' headquarters and a large building with five rooms to house 124 men. The camp soon expanded to include other barracks and a hospital.
The site was excellent as a training and rendezvous place because it was on high ground with ready access to water. Higher ground meant the site was less likely to become a muddy and miserable breeding ground for disease.
Camp Anderson hosted Indiana's 12th Cavalry (127th) Regiment, as well as the 128th and 129th Infantry Regiments.
LaPorte County's two other Civil War camps were closer to the city of LaPorte and established earlier in the war. Camp Jackson and Camp Colfax were home to the 9th Regiment Infantry and 29th Regiment Infantry. Other soldiers reportedly camped for a time at the county fairgrounds.
Camp Colfax took its name from Indiana congressman, Schuyler Colfax, who later became Vice President of the United States under President Ulysses S. Grant. Colfax was also a cousin to Harriet Colfax, Michigan City's legendary lighthouse keeper from 1861 until 1904.
A marker for Camps Jackson and Colfax is at State Highway 2 West and Colfax Ave., but we didn't see it this trip.
Little, if any, trace remains of Camp Anderson. One account says a local man used some lumber from the buildings to construct a barn on a nearby farm he purchased in 1904.
The Indiana Historical Bureau and McDonald's erected the Camp Anderson marker, dedicating it on November 16, 1966.
Find out more about light keeper Harriet Colfax in my story, Visit the Old Lighthouse Museum at Michigan City, Indiana.
This isn't the first time I've found an historical marker in front of a business. Read about one I found in front of an auto parts store in Brake for early automotive history in Geneva, Ohio.
Want to learn more about LaPorte? Check out LaPorte Indiana and its Environs by the LaPorte County Historical Society.
Indiana's War: The Civil War in Documents edited by Richard F. Nation and Stephen E. Towne is a collection of primary sources like letters, newspaper articles, and official records and Indiana Civil War Regimental Histories Book Collection is a DVD collection of histories about many of the Indiana-based regiments and their members.
© Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved
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