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September of 1862 saw perhaps the
greatest activity ever to occur on the "flats" vicinity. Camp Delaware, an
organization camp for Delaware County's 144th Regiment was located there.
The area selected was just north of the Presbyterian Church with seven of
ten companies supplied with tents. Three companies, those formed in
Middletown, Kortright, and Colchester, could not be furnished with tents
and had to be billeted in the church horse sheds as were also the
regimental headquarters and guard house. A huge tent, erected in the area
for the contractor who provisioned the regiment, also served as a dining
area for the troops. Daily large crowds of county residents flocked to the
camp to witness the activities and visit relatives, young men now getting
their first training as soldiers. It was said a
festive atmosphere prevailed much of the time and a good deal of laughter,
horseplay, and games were prevalent to break tensions and relieve anxiety.
If this was the fun time of the regiment, the following months and years
were not, among the mud, heat, rain, and death that awaited them in the
Civil War South. More of the ranks would be decimated by disease and
suffering than from battle casualties. |
