122nd Annual Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery Memorial Service:

On June 11th 2017 at 3PM the Hilltop Historical Society will conduct the 122nd Annual Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery Memorial Service. The cemetery is located at 2900 Sullivant Avenue in Columbus. It is all that remains of what was the Camp Chase Confederate Prison. Over 20,200 confederate soldiers and civilian sympathizers were imprisoned there during the Civil War and 2260 of them still remain here today. Each year we remember one soldier from the South and one person from the north who were at or were involved with Camp Chase during the war. This year we will remember COL George Washington Neff who was the Commander of the 88th Ohio Volunteer Infantry who provided the guards for the prison. COL Neff had previous to this assignment been captured and imprisoned by the Confederacy for 14 months. Our soldier from the south this year will be PVT Eli Kanipe from Marion NC. He was captured while defending Atlanta and came to Camp Chase on July 30th 1864 and died of smallpox on March 7 1865. He was just a simple solider from the western foothills of North Carolina who joined the Confederate Army in July of 1862. The rest of his story connects his family to Camp Chase, Marion North Carolina, The Little Big Horn and New Albany Ohio.
We now enjoy the period music at the service provided by the 73rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment Band who performs period music in period uniform. They actually use instruments that were made during the 1860’s (Except the Drum). We also have Steve and Lisa Bell who play and sing period songs as they were heard during the Civil War.
All are invited to attend this Memorial Service. Participation in period costume is welcomed. For information visit our web site at hilltpusa.tripod.com.