Camp F. W. Lander & Pingree Park

When the Civil War started and men needed to be trained, they needed somewhere to go. In Wenham, a man named George Dodge owned a large stretch of property that he decided to rent to the government for military training. When training started, the 48th Regiment was in the west side of the camp while the 5th were in the east. The camp was named after Brigadier General F.W. Lander who was originally from Salem, but died in what is now West Virginia in 1862. The regiments were only in the camp for a short time and left in 1865, the same year the Civil War ended. After that, the field was used for growing crops and for cows to roam on. In the 1890s, a polo field was installed in the park. In 1915, the woman who owned the park, Mrs. Thomas Pingree, donated the park to the town when she passed away. Pingree Park is open to all, with places to walk, a playground and sports fields.  

Wenham has a monument for the Civil War veterans of the town, and Jack Hauck writes a chapter about it in his history book, for those interested in the process of installing a monument. 

Images: Civil War Monument in town, letter dated 1862 from Captain E. J. Sherman about Edward F. Caswell, who was a part of the volunteer service in the 48th Regiment, filing for finacial aid for his family and a park sign installed in 1916.