Civil War era flags to be replicated in Camp Curtin Vexillology Project

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Camp Curtin, Harrisburg, PA:
The Union Rediscovered

Serving as the largest Federal Civil War base, Camp Curtin housed and trained over 300,000 troops, transported supplies to the front lines, operated a hospital, and prisoners-of-war jail. This encampment supported the Union victory in the American Civil War.

To celebrate the importance of its role in our National history, Harrisburg leaders will partner with the Civil War Museum to deem the original boundaries of this encampment as Hallowed Grounds, to procure funding to redevelop the Uptown Harrisburg Camp Curtin neighborhood, and to promote Central PA as a Civil War history tourist destination.

The goals of this project include:

• To educate the community about Civil War history, as recorded and preserved by various institutions and resources.
• To present vexillology (study of flags), the chronological military records and experiences of Union Civil War units raised at Camp Curtin, and their members roles as instruments in the Union victory in the Civil War.

Camp Curtin

1. The project is to obtain these goals by replicating and displaying reproduction battle flags of the regiments that trained at Camp Curtin. This is to be a part of a community beautification initiative and subsequent public campaign to recognize the contributions and deeds of the Union soldiers in the Civil War. The project will sustain itself through the sale of reproduced flags, magnets, and ornaments to the general public.
2. An online educational component will illustrate the activities, campaigns, engagements, and fully-detailed rosters of each regiment that trained at Camp Curtin. The service of these regiments is to be fully described-amid interactive photographs of the original battle flags. This project will require collaboration with reference materials and historians to ensure the full accuracy of compiled research. This dynamic soldier inventory is to provide the biographies, and service records for all soldiers that served in regiments that trained at Camp Curtin.
3. As an in-kind gesture of outreach from the Harrisburg community to the Pennsylvanian, and other Northern towns where Camp Curtin Union Army regiments originated, a ceremonial visit will be made to every town to present the replicated battle flag of that towns Union Army regiment.

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