The CWP Museum will be available to visitors from June through October by reservation and as per schedule below.
June 20, 12 – 4 pm Artifacts that have been recently restored or received conservation work will be highlighted.
July 18, 12 – 4 pm Learn about Camp William Penn and our community, Historic La Mott
August 15, 1 – 4 pm Learn about the life of the soldier at CWP. Tour the museum and visit with a United States Colored Troop re-enactor.
September 19, 10 – 3 pm Camp William Penn and Historic La Mott Day This event honors the soldiers who trained at CWP as well as the founding fathers of this Historic Community. Visit USCT encampment, medical show and tell, ammunition making demo, CWP Museum, visit displays by local history preserving organizations and more.
As Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, prepared to celebrate 250 years of America’s freedom, a museum remembered Black Union soldiers’ contributions to their emancipation from slavery.
James Paradis thumbed through pictures of soldiers in a space dedicated to Black and military history.
The museum stood in an unassuming former fire station on Willow Avenue near Sycamore Avenue in the neighborhood of LaMott near Elkins Park. As lead historian here, Paradis wanted everyone to know about the thousands of men who came through this part of Cheltenham Township starting in 1863.
“About midpoint through the Civil War, finally, Black troops were allowed to be enlisted,” Paradis said. “And, Camp William Penn was the first and the largest federal training camp for the volunteers.”
Paradis said the fighters were drawn to the United States Colored Troops by an authentic, massive piece in the museum called a broadside.
“An 8-foot-tall recruiting poster asking for volunteers from the Black community,” Paradis said.
And as he stood by this large quilt held by abolitionist Lucretia Mott, Paradis recalled the camp was built on land owned by her family and originally called Camptown.
“The post office said, ‘No. There is already a Camptown. Come up with something else,'” Paradis said. “So, they decided to honor Lucretia Mott and called this community LaMott.”
In the museum, you could see replicas of banners flown by soldiers in battle painted by Black Philadelphia artist David Bustill Bowser.
“All 11 regiments trained at Camp William Penn and received a hand-painted silk flag,” Paradis said.
You could also see an authentic piece from the Civil War.
“It’s not only a rare officer’s trunk,” Paradis said. “It’s a USCT, United States Colored Troops Regiment. And, it’s one of the 11 regiments trained here at Camp William Penn.”
Bill Salvatore, the Cheltenham Township Parks and Recreation director, said he had a year’s worth of events planned to look over the nation’s 250-year history.
“And that rolls into September at Camp William Penn in Historical LaMott, talking about Camp William Penn Day,” Salvatore said.
Paradis will be ready to keep these soldiers’ stories alive for generations to come. He says he has to.
“It’s a passion to make sure we get this story told and told correctly,” Paradis said.
The Role of African Americans in John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry
This talk will focus on the roles played by African Americans in planning and carrying out the bold attempt to liberate slaves in Virginia and throughout the South.
Dr. Paradis teaches at Arcadia University and recently retired from Doane Academy where he served as Dean of the Upper School and taught for 35 years. He has authored two books on roles played by African Americans in the Civil War. He was historical consultant and narrator for the documentary film, Black Soldiers in Blue: The Story of Camp William Penn. He has given many tours of Harpers Ferry.
Artifacts from Camp William Penn Museum that Relate to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid
This talk will highlight some of the artifacts from Camp William Penn Museum that relate to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid.
James G. Mundy is the Historian Emeritus of the Union League Philadelphia and CROHL Board member.
Opening Ceremony – 10:00 at the historic Camp William Penn Gate
Visit a United States Colored Troop (USCT) encampment
Visit the Camp William Penn Museum
Living History demonstrations/ammunition making
Civil War Medical and Surgical instruments exhibit
Book signings, lectures, period music, films
La Mott history display
Civil War era games and activities
Local history organizations with displays and information
Visit graves of Camp William Penn soldiers at Philadelphia National Cemetery
Visit with WWII soldiers
Closing Ceremony – 3:00 at the flagpole
Camp William Penn was located in what is now the community of La Mott. It was the first and largest Federal training camp for black Civil War soldiers. Over 11,000 free black men and escaped slaves were trained here in eleven regiments. Lucretia Mott’s home was located on the eastern side of camp which enabled her to participate in the care of the recruits at the camp.
Volunteers are needed for assisting with all aspects of the event. Suggestions always welcome.
As the nation prepares to celebrate Juneteenth, the legacy of thousands of Black Civil War soldiers who once trained in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, will never be forgotten, thanks to the Camp William Penn Museum.
Nestled away inside a small, unassuming garage in Cheltenham are powerful mementos and artifacts from a little-known piece of history from the Civil War.
“Eight feet tall, this is an original recruiting broadside asking for Black people to come forward,” Jim Paradis, a board member at the Camp William Penn Museum, said. “We’re just a block away from the site of Camp William Penn, which was the first and largest federal training camp for Black soldiers in the Civil War.”
CBS News Philadelphia
Referred to as the U.S. Colored Troops, as many as 200,000 were sent to fight in the Civil War. After the Emancipation Proclamation, 10,000 soldiers trained a stone’s throw away from the museum that honors their legacy.
“The number of Black soldiers who fought for the Union Army. They turned the tide of the war,” Paradis said. “So, would that have an impact on the outcome of the war? Yeah. Why that’s not a central point for what turned the tide of the war, I don’t understand how that gets missed.”
Corporal Robert Fuller Houston is one of a dozen Black reenactors who have been shedding light on the story of Camp William Penn and the history of Black soldiers in the Civil War for 35 years. For him, it’s personal.
“I’m the first cousin, three generations removed to William Carney,” Houston said. “He was the first Black Medal of Honor winner.”
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One thousand Black Civil War soldiers are laid to rest at the Philadelphia National Cemetery in Elkins Park, just a few miles from Camp William Penn.
Edward McLaughlin is an author who has been chronicling their stories for years.
“This is a memorial that had to be,” McLaughlin said. “No one recognizes this, no one brought this. I had to bring this to public awareness. It was this and another piece of history that several hundred soldiers died in that camp. Unrealized history. No monument, no Memorial Day services.”
CBS News Philadelphia
This Juneteenth, the little-known history of Camp William Penn looms large. The legacy of Black Civil War soldiers should never be forgotten.
“Four regiments that were trained here at Camp William Penn were sent to Texas when the war came to an end,” Paradis said. “So, they were actually there at the time General Granger read the famous proclamation.”
“People should remember in terms of Juneteenth, it is an African American holiday, not an African holiday, but an African American holiday,” Houston said. “It has to do with what people of African descent have done in this country, the accomplishments they’ve achieved since emancipation.”
Natasha Brown is the co-anchor of CBS News Philadelphia at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Prior to August 2018, the Emmy-Award winner was the weekend evening anchor of CBS News Philadelphia on CBS and Philly57.
