Hello Fellow Listers: I am forwarding a posting that was sent through the PA York List which may have some interest to some of you if your ancestors fought during the Revolutionary War. Sincerely, Donna HELLER ZINN of Newville, Cumberland Co., PA. ------------------------------------------------ > Subject: Camp Security > Resent-Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 05:43:12 -0700 > Resent-From: PAYORK-L@rootsweb.com > Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 07:43:02 EST > From: STOUGH1752@aol.com > To: PAYORK-L@rootsweb.com > > Hello list members > > Camp Security, one of only a handful of its kind, and the last remaining > prisoner-of-war camp used during the Revolutionary War, is being threatened > by the proposed development of $300,000 homes. My ancestor, John Andreas > (Andrew) Stauch, was a guard there, so I have a personal interest in this > dilemma. I am in contact with Becky Roman of Historic York, Inc., and she > has supplied me with some information that I will share with all of you. I > can supply more info if anyone is interested. Some of this info is copied > exactly as it was written in the info Becky supplied to me. > > Camp Security was established by the Continental Congress to replace prison > camps in Virginia, and to also relieve overcrowding at the Lancaster > Barracks. It was ran by the county, and housed over 1,500 British and > Canadian prisoners between the summer of 1781 and the end of the war in the > spring of 1783. It included a stockade prison and a village area, where the > model prisoners and their families resided in crude log huts. > > Research and fieldwork was done by archaeologists in 1979 and 2000. > Artifacts that were found include redware pottery fragments, container or > glass bottle, nail fragments, window glass, straight pins, and buttons. A > Mr. Ditchman collected many military buttons in 1979 from backdirt piles. > His collection includes many British and Canadian enlisted mens buttons. It > also contains one British officers button which may have belonged to Lt. > Nutt, a member of the Convention Army held at the camp. > > Written history on the camp is incomplete and cannot adequately interpret its > story alone. This makes the site unique and a fragile resource of extreme > National significance, and should be saved for future generations. > > In 1999, a residential subdivision was proposed for 73 houses to be built on > the property. The development will impact wetlands and a stream, so > Department of Environmental Protection and US Army Corps of engineers permits > are required. To avoid the Corps permit, the developer is threatening to > place a bridge over the stream and leave the wetlands undeveloped. Surveys > were done on the site boundaries, but the Corps, the Pennsylvania Historical > and Museum Commission, and Historic York, Inc. results differed with the > survey completed by the developer. > > The developer has redesigned the plan to leave a small portion on the camp > undeveloped. This has been promoted by local government as an adequate > solution. The 5.3 acre preserved area of the site will be surrounded by > homes, and will be owned by the homeowners association. The camp was > originally over 100 acres. This situation is not suitable to promote future > excavation and research, and also lets the homeowners association do what > they want with the site. > > Time is running out for Camp Security. There is a meeting of the > Springettsbury Twp. Planning Commission on Thursday. This is a critical > time, and action needs to be taken. Below are addresses and phone numbers > for contacts that have a hand in this situation. I urge you to call or write > to these people and voice your opinion. I welcome anyone to email me > letters, via my email address, and not the list, and I will forward them to > the Becky Roman. I am also asking anyone that had an ancestor with an > involvement with the camp to contact me. Together, we can fight to save our > heritage. > > Alison McCullum > Department of Environmental Protection > South Central Regional Office > 909 Elmerton Ave. > Harrisburg, PA 17110-8200 > (717)705-4808 > > Springettsbury Township Planning Commission > Springettsbury Township Board of Supervisors > 1501 Mt. Zion Rd. > York, PA 17402 > (717)757-3521 > (They both have the same address) > > Honorable Gibson E. Armstrong > Senate of Pennsylvania > 120 S. Queen St. > Lancaster, PA 17603 > (717)299-7798 > > Honorable Stanley E. Saylor > Pennsylvania House of Representatives > Cape Horn Plaza (Rear) > 2997 Cape Horn Rd. > Red Lion, PA 17356 > (717)224-9232 > > The Honorable Todd Platts > United States House of Representatives > 1032 Longworth House Office Building > Washington, DC 20515 > (202)225-5836 > > Thanks you all for your help. > > Blake Stough > Researching STOUGH-STAUCH-STOUCH > families from York Co., PA