Early life Camp was born in 1839 on the
Mount Vernon, Ohio, farm of his parents, Eldad Cicero Camp Sr. (1804–1896) and Minerva Mallory Hinman. 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. He argued several cases before the
Tennessee Supreme Court, among them a case regarding the validity of payments in Confederate money during the Civil War (co-argued with future congressman
Leonidas Houk), a case involving a horse stolen by federal soldiers during the war, and a case involving a man who claimed his son-in-law tricked him into selling his property while he was intoxicated. In 1871, Camp was suspended by Grant on recommendation from Senator
William G. Brownlow and congressmen Maynard and
Roderick Butler, whose constituents were complaining that Camp was bringing too many prosecutions and thus enriching himself with legal fees. While he was reinstated in November 1871, Camp resigned the office just three weeks after his reinstatement for what he believed was the good of the
Republican Party.— and its annual production had increased to over 200,000 tons. In 1902, the
Fraterville Mine disaster, the deadliest mine explosion in the state's history, occurred at Coal Creek Coal's Fraterville Mine. Camp's son George, who was superintendent of the company's Fraterville mines, oversaw the rescue operations in the explosion's aftermath. In spite of his efforts, 216 miners died. Along with Coal Creek Coal, Camp also served as president of two other companies: the Virginia–Tennessee Coal Company, which operated mines in the
Raven, Virginia, area, and the Knoxville Acetylene Company, which manufactured gas generators. ==See also==