CAMP COPELAND AND THE CIVIL WAR
BY MRS. JENNIE S. LAPSLEY

Braddock's Field was a small town in 1861 when the call name for men and means to help preserve this Union of ours. Small though she was, she was patriotic and gave of her best. Men were soon enlisting and hurrying to the front, at first in the three months' service and then for three years.

A fife and drum corp was formed and with martial music helped to keep up the courage both of those who left and of those who remained at home.

A familiar sight in those days was the red shirts of the Home Guard as they went back and forth to their drill grounds, which were where the Carnegie School now stands. Their guns were mostly home made, shaped out of a piece of wood; but what matter, they answered the purpose of the drill. As there was not much work to be had, the men had plenty of time on their hands and the drill was a daily occurrence. From this organization many went into the army.

The other day while talking with a dear old lady about the Civil war, she told me how she had climbed the hill to the Pennsylvania railroad and as the train, crowded with its cheering men went by, she had held up her baby boy that its father might see it again. The old lady, Mrs. Nathaniel Lowry, and her son, Mr. John S. Lowry, now one of the substantial and most highly respected citizens of Braddock, prominent in industrial, fraternal, civic and church work, are still living in Braddock, but the father fell at Fair Oaks. As she told the tale I thought of the many sad stories that have been related of those days, and feared that our nation may soon be again living through such scenes.

Some of those who enlisted from Braddock's Field were: George F. House, Samuel T. Guthrie, John P. Guthrie, William H. Furlong, James McCauley, George Petty, Thomas Kinney, David McCune, Isaac Mills, J. A. Young, William Smith, Charles Harrison, Daniel Oskin, Alexander Law. Zacharia Oskin, William Ford, William Sarver, Eli R. Dowler, John W. Adams, Charles Adams, Frank Dunbar, William Redman, Hiram Baughman, C. C. Lobingi!er, J. T. Getty, John Strathern, A. R. Adams, W. H. Morrow, James Strathern, Nathaniel Lowry, Alex. McCauly, Wm. McCombs, Wm. Sherwin, John Soles, David Perry, Thomas Hadden, George Gibson, Lester Gibson, Augustus Schultz, Conrad Speidel, John McCrack~en, James A. Russel, Frank Russel, John Kolb, Jack James and two brothers, George Smith, David Bradford, Robert Forsythe, Samuel Hart, James Johnson, Patrick McGreevy.

This list is probably incomplete.

Of this number nine are still living—four of them in Braddock.

Captain William Smith, Charles Adams, John Strathern, Nathaniel Lowry, David Perry, and John McCracken never returned home.

According to a circular issued by the War Department, Washington, D. C., July 3, 1863, three rendezvous for drafted men were established in Pennsylvania. One was to be at Pittsburgh and the site selected was a portion of the Mill's farm near the Pennsylvania railroad at Braddock's Field.

These depots were for the purpose of receiving and conducting to their several regiments the men of the draft, who were assigned to fill them. The commandants of the rendezvous were informed of the number of drafted men to be sent to each regiment, and they prepared the detachments and sent them as soon as the requisite number could be made up.

Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Kane was appointed in charge of this camp, July 4, 1863. He was reheved July 18, 1863 by Brig. Gen. Joseph T. Copeland. Gen. Copeland had charge until March 26, 1864 when he was relieved by Col. M. D. Hardin.

At first the camp was composed of tents, but later, lumber was obtained and buildings were erected, the work being done by the men in the camp.

In the picture reproduced here, may be seen the hospital in the foreground close to the railroad. In the entreme left is the Commandants' house, and next to it are the officers' quarters. The other buildings are the barracks for the troops.

The original picture was obtained from Mr. Walter Collins, who had it taken in 1864, while he was located at Camp Copeland with his company under Capt. James L. McFeeters, who was for many years after the war a resident of Braddock.

This insert is a picture of Mr. Collins who served three years. He saw much service under Pope and Burnside being in the battles of second Bull Run and Fredericksburg; then was under Grant when Vicksburg fell. Later he spent about a year at Camp Copeland helping to drill the men and taking charge of squads that were sent out to fill up regiments. Mr. Collins is now living on Washington Street in Braddock.

This camp's location so close to the town kept the people constantly in touch with the soldiers. At times there were as many as six or seven thousand men in camp. It is said by those who lived in Braddock's Field at that time, that these men were generally orderly and well behaved, giving the people little occasion for complaint. They were rather fond of stopping at the different homes to chat with the people, and never were above accepting a pie or cake when offered them, though they were not always careful to return the plates.

Sometimes the citizens would clash with the authorities in camp. Mrs. Nathaniel Lowry tells the following story: Many of the fences having been taken down and used for firewood, the animals of the surrounding farms sometimes went astray. One day a prominent citizen lost a pig and, going to the camp, blamed the soldiers for taking it. An argument arose and later a soldier went to the man's home and asked his wife to send a dinner to the gentleman. They had placed him in the guard house, and they kept him there until four o'clock that afternoon.

The camp was called "Camp Copeland" in Honor of Gen. Copeland while he was in charge. When Col. Hardin took command he named it "Camp Reynolds" for Gen. Reynolds, who had fallen at Gettysburg. Later, however, the name first given was again taken and we now always speak of it as Camp Copeland

During the year 1864 there was much sickness in the camp. Many of the men died and were buried in the Robinson graveyard, but their bodies were afterwards raised and transferred by the government to the Soldiers' plot in the Allegheny Cemetery. There was at least one case of small-pox at this time.

A sad accident happened at the Camp when one of the Mills boys, while handling a gun, was accidently shot. He died shortly afterwards.

Religious services were held at Camp on Sabbath afternoons and were attended by the townspeople.

Soon those that remember Camp Copeland will have passed beyond and it will be only a small matter of history. During the time of its existence, however, it was woven very closely into the life of the people of Braddock's Field.

An order April 29, 1865 closed the camp, but the name still remains, that portion of Braddock being still called Copeland as is the station on the Pennsylvania Railroad at that place.