ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND—Local historians from the Annapolis History Consortium think that thousands of Union soldiers may have been housed at a site in Maryland’s Crystal Spring Farm and Forest. The soldiers had agreed to live in the camp as noncombatants until they could be exchanged for Confederate soldiers captured by the Union. Soldiers’ diaries, letters, and drawings; land records; and claims made by property owners whose land was damaged by the Army all point to Crystal Spring as the site of one of the three camps in the area. The land, however, is slated for development. “People have been looking for this camp for years,” historian Jane McWilliams told The Baltimore Sun. The developers will be required to check for potential historical resources on the property. “It wouldn’t stop the development, but there might have to be some changes,” said Sally Nash, the acting planning director for Annapolis. To read about a Confederate POW camp, see ARCHAEOLOGY's "Life on the Inside."
