The Annapolis area community’s concern over the impact of the proposed 110-acre Crystal Spring development on Forest Drive took an unexpected turn in September when a group of historians released a report indicating the land in question was the likely location of a long-lost Civil War site, Camp Parole 2.
Both the Annapolis Capital and the Baltimore Sun reported extensively on the Annapolis Historic Consortium’s findings, based on what the Capital described as “a trove of letters, maps, diaries and deeds” that documented Crystal Spring and neighboring Mas Que farm as “a likely spot” for the camp.
There were three Camp Paroles in the Annapolis area in the 1860’s: camps where Union soldiers who had been captured, then “paroled” by the Confederates, were held until sent back to their homes or their military units. Camp 1 was on the St. John’s campus, Camp 3 in what is now the Parole neighborhood. Camp 2 had never been located.
The historians reported their findings to the City of Annapolis in late August; the newspapers both published articles based on the report, and after talking with some of the historians, in late September.
The implications of the report were not clear. There appeared to be agreement by both the city and the developer that there will have to be an analysis of any potential historical resources on the property, likely including what the historians expect would be test digs to see if any artifacts are buried.
“It wouldn’t necessarily stop the development, but there might have to be some changes,” the Sun quoted Sally Nash, acting planning director for the City. She said the developers’ proposal is too early in the process to require the analysis. That would come when they proposed their full site development plan, she said.
Jane McWilliams, author of a comprehensive history of Annapolis and one of the authors of the report to the city, told the Sun that “People have been looking for this camp for years.” The search gained steam thanks to research by Annapolis resident George Hughes, who has been tracking a great-uncle who served as a Union soldier.
Rock Towes, another of the historians, told the Capital that “People have been interested in the camps for years, but there were no good records for where the second camp was located.” He said amateur historians have been aware of area Civil War connections for years: “Guys with metal detectors would find artifacts,” he said. “In fact, the field where the Safeway now sits (on Forest Drive) used to be called Button Field, because so many Civil War buttons were found there.”
Thousands of area residents have petitioned the city with their concerns over the project, which would take down some 44 acres of forest and, many believe, worsen area water quality, traffic and school crowding, not to mention threaten wildlife living in the forest.
The Sierra Club has joined with other community groups in urging a close look at the project before granting approval. It is helping in a Legal Fund to protect the forest and is a sponsor of a website devoted to the issue: www.crystalspringfacts.com.