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PRINTER'S NO. 2497
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
577
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY KIM, READSHAW, BENNINGHOFF, KIRKLAND, THOMAS,
YOUNGBLOOD, CALTAGIRONE, V. BROWN, COHEN, HENNESSEY,
J. HARRIS, WARD, BAKER, DRISCOLL, DiGIROLAMO, SCHWEYER,
WHEELAND, VEREB, ROZZI, MILLARD, KINSEY, NEILSON, D. COSTA,
WATSON, PHILLIPS-HILL, COX, GROVE AND ROSS, NOVEMBER 9, 2015
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
NOVEMBER 9, 2015
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 150th anniversary of the closing of Camp Curtin
and recognizing the 25th anniversary of the formation of the
Camp Curtin Historical Society.
WHEREAS, When news of the bombardment and surrender of Fort
Sumter reached Washington on April 14, 1861, President Abraham
Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers; and
WHEREAS, Governor Andrew Curtin also made a plea to the
residents of Pennsylvania to volunteer to help preserve the
Union; and
WHEREAS, Almost immediately, men from throughout this
Commonwealth converged on Harrisburg to offer their services;
and
WHEREAS, Governor Curtin instructed Brigadier General Edward
Williams of the State Militia to take control of the grounds of
the Dauphin County Agricultural Society, located in what was
then the northern outskirts of Harrisburg, to establish a
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military camp; and
WHEREAS, The camp was originally going to be named Camp
Union, but when Major, later Brigadier General, Joseph Knipe
officially opened the camp on April 18, he proclaimed it to be
Camp Curtin; and
WHEREAS, More than 300,000 men passed through Camp Curtin,
making it the largest Federal camp during the Civil War, with
troops from Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York,
Ohio, Wisconsin and the regular army using the camp; and
WHEREAS, Harrisburg's strategic importance as the State
capital, military camp and railroad center was made evident by
the Confederacy's attempts to take the city during the Antietam
and Gettysburg campaigns; and
WHEREAS, At the end of the war, Camp Curtin was used as a
mustering-out point for thousands of troops on their way home;
and
WHEREAS, Camp Curtin was officially closed 150 years ago, in
1865, on November 11, the same date that would become Veterans
Day after World War I; and
WHEREAS, For years, residents of the area and Civil War
veterans wanted a gateway built at the intersection of Sixth and
Maclay Streets to mark the entrance to Camp Curtin; and
WHEREAS, In 1917, the Camp Curtin Commission was created; and
WHEREAS, A total of $25,000 was appropriated in 1917 and 1919
to the commission to purchase the site occupied by Camp Curtin
and to erect a suitable memorial; and
WHEREAS, On October 19, 1922, the Governor Andrew G. Curtin
statue was unveiled by his son, William W. Curtin, and Laura and
Helen Gastrock, great-granddaughters of General Joseph F. Knipe;
and
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WHEREAS, After years of neglect, the statue was restored and
rededicated by the newly founded Camp Curtin Historical Society
on November 11, 1990, the 125th anniversary of the closing of
Camp Curtin; and
WHEREAS, In 1992, a State roadside historical marker was
dedicated during ceremonies celebrating the 131st anniversary of
the opening of Camp Curtin; and
WHEREAS, In 1993, lighting was installed to illuminate the
statue through the efforts of the Camp Curtin Historical
Society; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
150th anniversary of the closing of Camp Curtin, the first and
largest Union training camp during the Civil War, and recognize
the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Camp Curtin
Historical Society.
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