Eldad Cicero Camp
| Eldad Cicero Camp | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee | |
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In office 1869 – 1876 |
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| Preceded by | John M. Fleming |
| Succeeded by | George Andrews |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 1, 1839 Mount Vernon, Ohio, United States |
| Died | November 21, 1920 (aged 81) Knoxville, Tennessee, United States |
| Resting place |
Old Gray Cemetery Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Political party | Republican Party |
| Spouse(s) | Nettie Dunn |
| Occupation | Attorney, entrepreneur |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
Eldad Cicero Camp, Jr. (August 1, 1839 – November 21, 1920) was an American coal tycoon, attorney and philanthropist, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the vicinity, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was president of the Coal Creek Coal Company, president of the Virginia-Tennessee Coal Company, a director of Knoxville's Third National Bank, and at his height, was one of the wealthiest men in East Tennessee. His prominent North Knoxville mansion, Greystone, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A Union officer during the Civil War, Camp arrived in Knoxville in 1865. In 1868, he killed Confederate colonel Henry Ashby in a notorious shootout in downtown Knoxville. Camp first rose to prominence as U.S. District Attorney for East Tennessee, serving from 1869 until 1871. During the late 1860s, he organized the Coal Creek Coal Company, which in subsequent decades grew to become one of the major coal producing companies in the region. In the 1890s, Camp helped establish Knoxville's Florence Crittenton Home and Camp's Home for Friendless Women.
Camp was born in 1839 on the Mount Vernon, Ohio-area farm of his parents, Eldad Cicero Camp, Sr. (1804–1896) and Minerva Mallory Hinman. His parents were both primarily of English descent. Camp attended school in nearby Chesterville, and trained to be a teacher. He taught school at Richmond, Kentucky, from 1857 to 1860, and at Platte City, Missouri, from 1860 until 1861. While in Platte City, he began studying law.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Camp returned to Ohio and enlisted in the 142nd Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Camp saw action at the Battle of Island Number Ten and the Battle of Petersburg. In June 1864, Camp's regiment successfully guided supplies through the hostile Virginia wilderness to reinforce General Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Cold Harbor. In February 1865, shortly before he was mustered out with the rank of major, Camp accompanied General Joseph Alexander Cooper to Knoxville. Impressed with the virtually untouched mineral resources of the surrounding region, Camp decided to make the city his permanent home.
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