Camp Stanton: Training Post for USCT

History: Camp Stanton, a Civil War-era recruiting and training post for African American Union soldiers, stood near here. Named for Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, the camp was established in August 1863. 

Although black soldiers had served in the nation’s armed forces since the Revolutionary War, they were barred from the U.S. Army during the Civil War until President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. 

The 7th Regiment, United States Colored Troops (USCT), organized in Baltimore, trained here. The 9th, 19th, and 30th Regiments were organized and trained at Camp Stanton. All of the units saw hard combat in Virginia during the last campaigns of the war. 

More to Explore: Grab a bite to eat at a waterfront restaurant in Benedict, such as Ray’s Pier or River’s Edge Restaurant. Cross the Patuxent River on MD 231 to enter Calvert County, where you can taste award-winning wines and craft beer at Running Hare Winery, a Tuscan villa with an outdoor tasting room. Around the corner is Mully’s Brewery and tasting room, where small batch test beers experiment with flavors and innovative techniques, producing a unique craft beer experience.

Photo Credits:

1. Company of the 4th USCT.
2. The Plains Plantation - Two mid-17th century cemeteries are all that remain of the once-thriving Plains Plantation. The cemetery for the plantation’s owners has been rebuilt with bricks and stone fragments used to mark their graves from centuries past. The cemetery set aside for the plantation’s slaves has no remaining markers if it had any at all. Today, it is marked by a simple monument commissioned by the community of Golden Beach.