Eldad Cicero Camp
Encyclopedia
Eldad Cicero Camp, Jr. was an American coal tycoon, attorney and philanthropist, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee
, and the vicinity, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was president of the Coal Creek Coal Company, president of the Virginia-Tennessee Coal Company, a director of Knoxville's Third National Bank, and at his height, was one of the wealthiest men in East Tennessee
. His prominent North Knoxville mansion, Greystone, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
A Union
officer during the Civil War
, Camp arrived in Knoxville in 1865. In 1868, he killed Confederate
colonel Henry Ashby in a notorious shootout in downtown Knoxville. Camp first rose to prominence as U.S. District Attorney for East Tennessee, serving from 1869 until 1871. During the late 1860s, he organized the Coal Creek Coal Company, which in subsequent decades grew to become one of the major coal producing companies in the region. In the 1890s, Camp helped establish Knoxville's Florence Crittenton Home and Camp's Home for Friendless Women.
-area farm of his parents, Eldad Cicero Camp, Sr. (1804–1896) and Minerva Mallory Hinman. His parents were both primarily of English
descent. Camp attended school in nearby Chesterville
, and trained to be a teacher. He taught school at Richmond, Kentucky
, from 1857 to 1860, and at Platte City, Missouri
, from 1860 until 1861. While in Platte City, he began studying law.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Camp returned to Ohio and enlisted in the 142nd Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Camp saw action at the Battle of Island Number Ten
and the Battle of Petersburg. In June 1864, Camp's regiment successfully guided supplies through the hostile Virginia wilderness to reinforce General Ulysses S. Grant
at the Battle of Cold Harbor
. In February 1865, shortly before he was mustered out with the rank of major, Camp accompanied General Joseph Alexander Cooper
to Knoxville. Impressed with the virtually untouched mineral resources of the surrounding region, Camp decided to make the city his permanent home.
n who had fought for the Confederacy. In 1866, Camp accused Ashby of cruelly mistreating 431 Union soldiers that had been captured by Confederate forces in 1862, leading to Ashby's arrest and indictment for treason. Ashby posted bail and fled to Atlanta, but returned to Knoxville in 1868 after the charges were dropped.
On July 9, 1868, Ashby encountered Camp on Gay Street
, and a brief struggle ensued, with Ashby attacking Camp with a cane, and Camp striking Ashby with an umbrella. The following day, Ashby confronted Camp at the latter's law office near the corner of what is now Walnut and Main. According to some reports, Ashby attempted to strike Camp with a cane, and according to others, Ashby drew a derringer
. In any case, Camp drew a pistol and fired, killing Ashby.
After Camp was arrested for murder, his bail was posted by several former Unionists, among them future Knoxville Journal editor William Rule
. Knoxville's pro-Democratic newspaper, the Daily Press and Herald, dubbed Camp a cold-blooded killer, while the city's pro-Republican paper, the Knoxville Whig, hailed him as a hero. The county's acting district attorney eventually issued a nolle prosequi
, and Camp was never prosecuted for the killing.
. Most of his cases involved false pension and bounty claims, although he prosecuted sixty-three moonshining
cases during his tenure. He argued several cases before the Tennessee Supreme Court
, among them a case regarding the validity of payments in Confederate money during the Civil War (co-argued with future congressman Leonidas Houk), a case involving a horse stolen by federal soldiers during the war, and a case involving a man who claimed his son-in-law tricked him into selling his property while he was intoxicated. In 1871, Camp was suspended by Grant on recommendation from Senator William G. Brownlow
and congressmen Maynard and Roderick Butler, whose constituents were complaining that Camp was bringing too many prosecutions, and thus enriching himself with legal fees. While he was eventually reinstated in November 1871, Camp resigned the office just three weeks after his reinstatement for what he believed was the good of the Republican Party
.
with Knoxville, Camp organized the Coal Creek Coal Company and opened a mine near the center of the valley, around which the mining village of Fraterville developed. This company initially produced approximately 30,000 tons of coal per year. By 1900, the company was operating three mines in the valley— the Fraterville and Hollow Entry mines at Fraterville, and a mine at Thistle Switch (near Briceville
)— and its annual production had increased to over 200,000 tons. Coal Creek Coal was one of the few mining companies in Tennessee that never used convict labor, and as a result, avoided much of the strife that plagued most Cumberland Plateau
-area mining companies during the Coal Creek War
of 1891.
In 1902, the Fraterville Mine disaster
, the deadliest mine explosion in the state's history, occurred at Coal Creek Coal's Fraterville Mine. Camp's son, George, who was superintendent of the company's Fraterville mines, oversaw the rescue operations in the explosion's aftermath. In spite of his efforts, 216 miners died. The company was subsequently sued for over one million dollars in damages, but the suit (Slover, et al. v. Coal Creek Coal Company) was thrown out.
Along with Coal Creek Coal, Camp also served as president of two other companies: the Virginia–Tennessee Coal Company, which operated mines in the Raven, Virginia
area, and the Knoxville Acetylene Company, which manufactured gas generators. During the 1890s, Camp was a director of Knoxville's Third National Bank, serving on the bank's board alongside Knoxville Iron Company
president W.R. Tuttle. In 1887, Camp co-organized a streetcar line, the Knoxville and Edgewood Street Railroad Company.
. While he was focused primarily on his business interests, he remained active in the Tennessee Bar Association, and continuously pushed for stricter bar admission requirements.
In 1895, Camp helped establish the Knoxville's Florence Crittenton Home, which helped unwed mothers find gainful employment. Around the same time, he established Camp's Home for Friendless Women, which cared for destitute elderly women.
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, and the vicinity, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was president of the Coal Creek Coal Company, president of the Virginia-Tennessee Coal Company, a director of Knoxville's Third National Bank, and at his height, was one of the wealthiest men in East Tennessee
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
. His prominent North Knoxville mansion, Greystone, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
A Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
officer during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Camp arrived in Knoxville in 1865. In 1868, he killed Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
colonel Henry Ashby in a notorious shootout in downtown Knoxville. Camp first rose to prominence as U.S. District Attorney for East Tennessee, serving from 1869 until 1871. During the late 1860s, he organized the Coal Creek Coal Company, which in subsequent decades grew to become one of the major coal producing companies in the region. In the 1890s, Camp helped establish Knoxville's Florence Crittenton Home and Camp's Home for Friendless Women.
Early life
Camp was born in 1839 on the Mount Vernon, OhioMount Vernon, Ohio
Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 16,990 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is named after Mount Vernon, the plantation owned by George Washington.-History:...
-area farm of his parents, Eldad Cicero Camp, Sr. (1804–1896) and Minerva Mallory Hinman. His parents were both primarily of English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
descent. Camp attended school in nearby Chesterville
Chesterville, Ohio
Chesterville is a village in Morrow County, Ohio, United States, along the Kokosing River. The population was 193 at the 2000 census. Chesterville is southeast of Mount Gilead, the county seat.-Geography:Chesterville is located at...
, and trained to be a teacher. He taught school at Richmond, Kentucky
Richmond, Kentucky
There were 10,795 households out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.6% were non-families. Of all households, 34.7% were made up of individuals and 8.8% had...
, from 1857 to 1860, and at Platte City, Missouri
Platte City, Missouri
Platte City is a city in Platte County, Missouri, along the Little Platte River. The population was 3,866 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Platte County.-Geography:Platte City is located at...
, from 1860 until 1861. While in Platte City, he began studying law.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Camp returned to Ohio and enlisted in the 142nd Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Camp saw action at the Battle of Island Number Ten
Battle of Island Number Ten
The Battle of Island Number Ten was an engagement at the New Madrid or Kentucky Bend on the Mississippi River during the American Civil War, lasting from February 28 to April 8, 1862. The position, an island at the base of a tight double turn in the course of the river, was held by the Confederates...
and the Battle of Petersburg. In June 1864, Camp's regiment successfully guided supplies through the hostile Virginia wilderness to reinforce General Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
at the Battle of Cold Harbor
Battle of Cold Harbor
The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought from May 31 to June 12, 1864 . It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign during the American Civil War, and is remembered as one of American history's bloodiest, most lopsided battles...
. In February 1865, shortly before he was mustered out with the rank of major, Camp accompanied General Joseph Alexander Cooper
Joseph Alexander Cooper
Joseph Alexander Cooper was an American farmer, soldier, and civil servant. He briefly served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War, and later he was a Union Army general during the American Civil War, fighting most notably during the 1864 Battle of Nashville.-Early life:Cooper...
to Knoxville. Impressed with the virtually untouched mineral resources of the surrounding region, Camp decided to make the city his permanent home.
Camp–Ashby shooting
Shortly after the war, Camp became embroiled in a quarrel with Colonel Henry Ashby, a native VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
n who had fought for the Confederacy. In 1866, Camp accused Ashby of cruelly mistreating 431 Union soldiers that had been captured by Confederate forces in 1862, leading to Ashby's arrest and indictment for treason. Ashby posted bail and fled to Atlanta, but returned to Knoxville in 1868 after the charges were dropped.
On July 9, 1868, Ashby encountered Camp on Gay Street
Gay Street (Knoxville)
Gay Street is a street in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, that traverses the heart of the city's downtown area. Since its development in the 1790s, Gay Street has served as the city's principal financial and commercial thoroughfare, and has played a primary role in the city's historical and cultural...
, and a brief struggle ensued, with Ashby attacking Camp with a cane, and Camp striking Ashby with an umbrella. The following day, Ashby confronted Camp at the latter's law office near the corner of what is now Walnut and Main. According to some reports, Ashby attempted to strike Camp with a cane, and according to others, Ashby drew a derringer
Derringer
The term derringer is a genericized misspelling of the last name of Henry Deringer, a famous 19th-century maker of small pocket pistols. Many copies of the original Philadelphia Deringer pistol were made by other gun makers worldwide, and the name was often misspelled; this misspelling soon became...
. In any case, Camp drew a pistol and fired, killing Ashby.
After Camp was arrested for murder, his bail was posted by several former Unionists, among them future Knoxville Journal editor William Rule
William Rule (American editor)
William Rule was an American newspaper editor and politician, best known as the founder of the Knoxville Journal, which was published in Knoxville, Tennessee, from 1870 until 1991. A protégé of vitriolic newspaper editor William G...
. Knoxville's pro-Democratic newspaper, the Daily Press and Herald, dubbed Camp a cold-blooded killer, while the city's pro-Republican paper, the Knoxville Whig, hailed him as a hero. The county's acting district attorney eventually issued a nolle prosequi
Nolle prosequi
Nolle prosequi is legal term of art and a Latin legal phrase meaning "to be unwilling to pursue", a phrase amounting to "please do not prosecute". It is a phrase used in many common law criminal prosecution contexts to describe a prosecutor's decision to voluntarily discontinue criminal charges...
, and Camp was never prosecuted for the killing.
District attorney
In 1869, Camp was appointed United States District Attorney for East Tennessee by President Ulysses S. Grant, having been recommended for the position by Congressman Horace MaynardHorace Maynard
Horace Maynard was an American educator, attorney, politician and diplomat active primarily in the second half of the 19th century...
. Most of his cases involved false pension and bounty claims, although he prosecuted sixty-three moonshining
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
cases during his tenure. He argued several cases before the Tennessee Supreme Court
Tennessee Supreme Court
The Tennessee Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the state of Tennessee. Cornelia Clark is the current Chief Justice.Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state legislature, the Tennessee Supreme Court appoints the...
, among them a case regarding the validity of payments in Confederate money during the Civil War (co-argued with future congressman Leonidas Houk), a case involving a horse stolen by federal soldiers during the war, and a case involving a man who claimed his son-in-law tricked him into selling his property while he was intoxicated. In 1871, Camp was suspended by Grant on recommendation from Senator William G. Brownlow
William Gannaway Brownlow
William Gannaway "Parson" Brownlow was an American newspaper editor, minister, and politician who served as Governor of the state of Tennessee from 1865 to 1869 and as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1869 to 1875...
and congressmen Maynard and Roderick Butler, whose constituents were complaining that Camp was bringing too many prosecutions, and thus enriching himself with legal fees. While he was eventually reinstated in November 1871, Camp resigned the office just three weeks after his reinstatement for what he believed was the good of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
Business interests
In 1868, shortly after railroad construction connected the Coal Creek Valley of western Anderson CountyAnderson County, Tennessee
Anderson County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, its population is 75,129. Its county seat is Clinton.It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee, Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
with Knoxville, Camp organized the Coal Creek Coal Company and opened a mine near the center of the valley, around which the mining village of Fraterville developed. This company initially produced approximately 30,000 tons of coal per year. By 1900, the company was operating three mines in the valley— the Fraterville and Hollow Entry mines at Fraterville, and a mine at Thistle Switch (near Briceville
Briceville, Tennessee
Briceville is an unincorporated community in Anderson County, Tennessee. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The community is named for railroad tycoon and one-term Democratic U.S. Senator Calvin S...
)— and its annual production had increased to over 200,000 tons. Coal Creek Coal was one of the few mining companies in Tennessee that never used convict labor, and as a result, avoided much of the strife that plagued most Cumberland Plateau
Cumberland Plateau
The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia, part of Tennessee, and a small portion of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia . The terms "Allegheny Plateau" and the "Cumberland Plateau" both refer to the...
-area mining companies during the Coal Creek War
Coal Creek War
The Coal Creek War was an armed labor uprising that took place primarily in Anderson County, in the American state of Tennessee, in the early 1890s. The struggle began in 1891 when coal mine owners in the Coal Creek watershed attempted to replace free coal miners with convicts leased out by the...
of 1891.
In 1902, the Fraterville Mine disaster
Fraterville Mine disaster
The Fraterville Mine disaster was a coal mine explosion that occurred on May 19, 1902 near the community of Fraterville, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. 216 miners died as a result of the explosion, either from its initial blast or from the after-effects, making it the worst mining disaster in the...
, the deadliest mine explosion in the state's history, occurred at Coal Creek Coal's Fraterville Mine. Camp's son, George, who was superintendent of the company's Fraterville mines, oversaw the rescue operations in the explosion's aftermath. In spite of his efforts, 216 miners died. The company was subsequently sued for over one million dollars in damages, but the suit (Slover, et al. v. Coal Creek Coal Company) was thrown out.
Along with Coal Creek Coal, Camp also served as president of two other companies: the Virginia–Tennessee Coal Company, which operated mines in the Raven, Virginia
Raven, Virginia
Raven is a census-designated place in Russell and Tazewell counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 2,593 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Raven is located at ....
area, and the Knoxville Acetylene Company, which manufactured gas generators. During the 1890s, Camp was a director of Knoxville's Third National Bank, serving on the bank's board alongside Knoxville Iron Company
Knoxville Iron Company
The Knoxville Iron Company was an iron production and coal mining company that operated primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, and its vicinity, in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The company was Knoxville's first major post-Civil War manufacturing firm, and played a key role in bringing heavy...
president W.R. Tuttle. In 1887, Camp co-organized a streetcar line, the Knoxville and Edgewood Street Railroad Company.
Civic improvements
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Camp advocated numerous civic and infrastructural improvements. He was vice president of the National Rivers and Harbors Congress in 1910, and persistently sought better shipping facilities and lower freight rates on the Tennessee RiverTennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
. While he was focused primarily on his business interests, he remained active in the Tennessee Bar Association, and continuously pushed for stricter bar admission requirements.
In 1895, Camp helped establish the Knoxville's Florence Crittenton Home, which helped unwed mothers find gainful employment. Around the same time, he established Camp's Home for Friendless Women, which cared for destitute elderly women.