Camp Recovery was established on September 15, 1820 by the Southeastern Army of the United States headquartered at Fort Scott. It served as a recuperation area for soldiers who had contracted malaria and dysentery in the swampy environs of the fort. Soldiers considered Fort Scott the deadliest military assignment in the country because of the numerous illnesses and deaths there. The camp stood on a high ridge three miles southeast of Fort Scott, near a cemetery for soldiers who perished there.