Aaron Van Camp (June 23, 1816 – September 15, 1892) was an espionage agent for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War . He and his son Eugene B. Van Camp were members of the Rose O'Neal Greenhow Confederate spy ring, which in 1861 was broken up by Allan Pinkerton , head of the newly formed Secret Service .
24-945: Van Camp is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Aaron Van Camp (1816–1892), American Civil War spy Al Van Camp (1903–1981), American baseball player Benjamin Van Camp (born 1946), Belgian scientist Emily VanCamp (born 1986), Canadian actress Jeff Van Camp Sr. (born 1962), American police officer and professional wrestler Jeff Van Camp (born 1987), American football player, son of Jeff Van Camp Sr. Richard Van Camp (born 1971), Canadian writer Susan Van Camp (born 1959), American fantasy artist Other uses [ edit ] Van Camp, Wetzel County, West Virginia See also [ edit ] Van Camp's , ConAgra Foods brand Van Camp accounting , California property law accounting method Van Camp, Wetzel County, West Virginia , unincorporated community in
48-702: A young man and Rebel soldier, Eugene assisted the elder Van Camp in his espionage activities for the Confederate States of America . Aaron Van Camp practiced dentistry in Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. During the California Gold Rush period of the late 1840s, he took his family to California. In 1851, Van Camp went on a voyage into the South Pacific and became interested in supplying whaling ships, with
72-507: The First Battle of Bull Run . This allowed Van Camp and his father to assist Rose O'Neal Greenhow , who was operating a spy ring in the capital, in smuggling information pertaining to Union troop movements prior to that battle. Shortly thereafter, Greenhow's spy ring was broken up by Allan Pinkerton of the newly formed Union Intelligence Service . In late 1861, the elder Van Camp was imprisoned as suspected spy in downtown Washington in
96-779: The Old Capitol Prison . Dr. Van Camp was released from custody in March 1862 after signing an oath of allegiance to the Union. His son was not arrested for assisting his father in the spy ring. A confidential letter from a Union sympathizer to Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton , dated January 18, 1864, stated that Van Camp was in Vicksburg, Mississippi , and was believed to be a Confederate spy. The letter, written by "B. D. Hyam" of Memphis, Tennessee , indicated that Eugene Van Camp
120-463: The Civil War began, Van Camp's son Eugene enlisted in a Confederate cavalry unit and became an orderly for General P.G.T. Beauregard before the First Battle of Bull Run . Aaron and his son Eugene assisted Rose O'Neal Greenhow , who was operating a spy ring in the capital, in smuggling information pertaining to Union troop movements prior to that battle. Shortly thereafter, Greenhow's spy ring
144-602: The Confederates in the Vicksburg, Mississippi , area, according to a confidential letter sent to U. S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton by a Union sympathizer. They were alleged to be conducting such espionage under the cover of trading in cotton. No arrests were made. In April 1864, Van Camp arranged to secure a trading permit for Eugene to open a store at the Union-controlled Fort Pillow in Kentucky. In an attack by Confederate cavalry under
168-893: The Navigator Islands as his base. He established a whaling resupply outpost in Apia, Samoa , in 1852. In 1853, Van Camp was appointed as Commercial Agent to the Navigator Islands (Samoa) and to the Friendly Islands ( Tonga ) by the U. S. Secretary of State . He held that position until 1856, when he returned to the United States to resume his dentistry practice in Washington, D.C. Upon his return to Washington, D. C. Van Camp strongly expressed his pro-slavery views, especially after John Brown 's unsuccessful raid on Harpers Ferry, WV . In April 1861, shortly after
192-663: The United States Merete Van Kamp (born 1961), Danish model and actress Van de Kamp Stokely-Van Camp Industrial Complex , building in Trenton, New Jersey Potter-Van Camp House , historic house in Steuben County, New York [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with the surname Van Camp . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding
216-458: The command of Nathan Bedford Forrest a few days later, Eugene was badly wounded by a Confederate minie ball and was evacuated by Union forces to Illinois and then to New York for treatment. In January 1865, Van Camp sent a letter to President Abraham Lincoln seeking that Eugene be "protected from the draft" which was denied. Eugene was permitted to return with Van Camp to their family home in Washington, D.C. In April 1865, an anonymous letter
240-724: The dentist Dr. Aaron A. Van Camp . Van Camp attended St. Mary Seminary of St. Sulfice, now St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland , between 1848 and 1849. Van Camp attended Georgetown College in Washington, D. C. between 1853 and 1855. On April 20, 1861, in Alexandria, Virginia , Van Camp enlisted in Captain Edward B. Powell's Company of Cavalry, which became Company F, 6th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry . Van Camp re-enlisted on April 20, 1862, and
264-400: The fort. Eugene Van Camp survived and was evacuated to Memphis where Gen. Hurlbut personally ordered his wounds to be dressed. At the urging of an army surgeon, Dr. Van Camp arranged for Eugene to be sent to Illinois and later to Corning, New York to reside with relatives. In April 1865, after Abraham Lincoln's assassination, an anonymous letter is sent to General Christopher C. Augur , who
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#1732791582730288-543: The investigation into Lincoln's assassination and the above anonymous letter, Van Camp reported to investigators that his father was in West Virginia Looking after some oil lands there and that he did not know his father's exact whereabouts. Eugene indicated (probably untruthfully) that he was forced into service in the Rebel army, but correctly reported that he later defended against the attack at Ft. Pillow and
312-538: The late murder of our president and the assassin of Sec. Seward. His son is at Zimmerman's No. 71 Street near D. 'Truth' There is a good likelihood this anonymous letter was written by Benjamin D. Hyam, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who was involved in a controversy with the elder Van Camp in Tennessee about one year earlier (see above). Both Hyam and Aaron Van Camp resided in Washington, D.C., in 1865, and would have been aware of each other's activities. In response to
336-453: The other of disloyalty, and the matter was resolved by Union military authorities who found both Hyam and the senior Van Camp to be unworthy of belief In April 1864 Dr. Van Camp arranged for Eugene Van Camp to secure a trading permit from Union commander General Stephen A. Hurlbut to open a store at Fort Pillow, Tennessee , three days before an attack upon it by troops led by Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest . It may be that this
360-462: The person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Van_Camp&oldid=1238668297 " Categories : Surnames Surnames of Dutch origin Dutch-language surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata All set index articles Aaron Van Camp At
384-604: The time of the Civil War, Van Camp was a well-known dentist in Washington, D.C. After his arrest and imprisonment in the Old Capitol Prison , he was paroled in early 1862. During the remainder of the Civil War, he continued spying for the Confederacy. He had taken his family to California during the Gold Rush of 1849, and then traveled in the South Pacific. In the 1850s he operated a whaling supply company in Samoa, where he
408-461: Was a subterfuge to continue spying activities for the Rebels. On April 12, 1864, General Forrest and his cavalry troops attacked Fort Pillow, whose 600 defenders were about evenly divided between white and black Union troops. Eugene Van Camp was one of the (civilian) defenders and had most of his left hand blown off by a Rebel minie ball . A massacre of the surrendering troops followed the taking of
432-595: Was appointed as Commercial Agent for the United States in the Navigator Islands (now American Samoa ) from 1853 to 1856. Later in 1881 he was appointed as Commercial Agent in Fiji , serving until 1884. Van Camp was born in 1816 in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania . He married Maria L. Bestor of Harper's Ferry, Virginia , in about 1836. Their son Eugene B. Van Camp was born in Louisville, Kentucky , in 1838. As
456-485: Was assisting his father, a "suspected man" to purchase cotton, and that Eugene Van Camp was moving between Vicksburg and Memphis as a secret agent, gathering and conveying intelligence to the Rebels. "B. D. Hyam" was Benjamin Daniel Hyam (1813–1893), a Washington, D.C., lawyer involved in trading cotton with Aaron Van Camp in that area in 1863–1864. This led to a dispute between the two over an unpaid note. Each accused
480-587: Was broken up by Allan Pinkerton of the newly formed Union Intelligence Service . In late December, 1861, the elder Van Camp was imprisoned as a suspected spy in downtown Washington in the Old Capitol Prison . Van Camp was released from custody on parole in March 1862 after signing an oath of allegiance to the Union. After release, Van Camp most likely linked up with the Confederate Secret Service . In January 1864, both Van Camps were reported to have been engaging in spying activities for
504-563: Was buried in Glenwood Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) . Eugene B. Van Camp Eugene B. Van Camp (March 31, 1838 - June, 1904) was an espionage agent for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War , assisting his father Dr. Aaron A. Van Camp in his spying activities. Eugene Bestor Van Camp was born on March 31, 1838, in Louisville, Kentucky . His parents were Maria Bestor Van Camp and
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#1732791582730528-612: Was investigating the conspiracy: General C. C. Auger: Aaron Van Camp has left the city to reside in Brooklyn or New York, to throw off the scent and where he can, he thinks, be lost in the crowd of a large city, as well as be near the workers with whom he has heretofore been operating with as also to be able to enjoy the ill gotten gains he has amassed. There would have been too much espionage on him here and too many questions asked. How he became rich so very, very suddenly from comparative poverty. See to him. Perhaps you may find him know to
552-658: Was promoted to third sergeant. He was wounded at an engagement in Strasburg, Virginia , and took convalescent leave in Winchester, Virginia , in the fall of 1862. Van Camp then went absent without leave on November 1, 1862, and was arrested in Berlin, Maryland , as a deserter. Van Camp was paroled and ordered to proceed to Baltimore and then stay north of Philadelphia for the duration of the war. In April 1861 Van Camp became an orderly for General P. G. T. Beauregard before
576-587: Was sent to Union General Christopher C. Augur , who was investigating the Lincoln assassination, accusing Van Camp, and his son Eugene of being involved in the President's assassination and the attempt on the life of Secretary of State William Seward . There is no evidence that either Van Camp was involved in the conspiracy. Between 1881 and 1884, Van Camp served as U. S. Commercial Agent at Levuka , Fiji. He died in Washington, D.C., on September 15, 1892, and
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