The Patapsco Camp or the CPS Camp No. 3 was a

Civilian Public Service The Civilian Public Service (CPS) was a program of the United States government that provided conscientious objectors with an alternative to military service during World War II. From 1941 to 1947, nearly 12,000 draftees, willing to serve their ...

camp established during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

for conscientious objectors. Located at the

Patapsco Valley State Park Patapsco Valley State Park is a Maryland state park extending along of the Patapsco River south and west of the city of Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It ...

near

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, the site was the first Civilian Public Service camp for conscientious objectors in the United States.

History

The camp was opened on May 15, 1941, and closed in September 1942. The camp was a

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

base camp located on a former

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC) camp near

Elkridge, Maryland Elkridge is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Howard County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,593 at the 2010 census. Founded early in the 18th century, Elkridge is adjacent to two other counties, An ...

, in the Patapsco Valley State Park, then known as the Patapsco State Forest. The CCC camp was known as Camp Tydings, as

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

project operating between 1933 and 1942. The camp allowed drafted conscientious objectors, predominantly

Christian pacifists Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Chri ...

, to serve the country without fighting in the war. The men serving in the camp faced public hostility. One conscientious objector received a

letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

calling conscientious objectors "Hitler's little helpers". The camp was 2 to 3 acres in size and included eight buildings, including barracks. The only remaining structure in the Patapsco State Park is a fireplace located underneath a picnic shelter. Some paths from the camp remain, but lead to nowhere. The remains can be found at Shelter #1, located at the Avalon area of the Patapsco Valley State Park. The first twenty-six conscientious objectors at the camp arrived alongside fifty-four reporters and photographers. Referred to as "the gold fish bowl", the press focused on the "peculiarity" of conscientious objectors' beliefs. Operated by the

American Friends Service Committee The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Religious Society of Friends (''Quaker'') founded organization working for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world. AFSC was founded in 1917 as a combined effort by Am ...

, about one-third of conscientious objectors were

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

. One-third were

Mainline Protestant The mainline Protestant churches (also called mainstream Protestant and sometimes oldline Protestant) are a group of Protestant denominations in the United States that contrast in history and practice with evangelical, fundamentalist, and charis ...

s. The remaining third mostly belonged to other Protestant denominations such as

Christadelphians The Christadelphians () or Christadelphianism are a restorationist and millenarian Christian group who hold a view of biblical unitarianism. There are approximately 50,000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries. The movement developed in the U ...

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

, Brethren,

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

, or were religiously non-affiliated. The population of objectors were relatively educated, with over half being college educated and many were professionals. Only twenty-five percent were

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

, having technical, skilled, or non-skilled jobs. A 70th anniversary celebration of the camp was held on May 15, 2011. The event was attended by members of the historic

peace churches Peace churches are Christian churches, groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism or Biblical nonresistance. The term historic peace churches refers specifically only to three church groups among pacifist churches: * Church of the Brethr ...

, staff from the

Center on Conscience & War The Center on Conscience & War (CCW) is a United States non-profit anti-war organization located in Washington, D.C., dedicated to defending and extending the rights of conscientious objectors. The group participates in the G.I. Rights Hotline, an ...

and the

Mennonite Central Committee Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is a relief service, and peace agency representing fifteen Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are in Akron, Pennsylvania, the Canadian in Winnipeg, Manitoba. ...

, Civilian Public Service alumni and their family members, and historians.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Conscientious Objectors, Part I; Work Fit to Make Pacifists Reconsider Corporal Punishment
1941 establishments in Maryland 1942 disestablishments in Maryland Civilian Public Service Elkridge, Maryland History of Jehovah's Witnesses Men in Maryland Mennonitism in Maryland Pacifism in the United States Patapsco Valley Protestantism in Maryland National Park Service Quakerism in Maryland

History

See also

References

External links