Edgar Camp came to Bement in 1855 with two brothers and, as one of the early settlers, helped build the first houses; another brother joined them in 1858. When the Civil War began, Edgar, James, and William volunteered. Edgar enlisted in August 1862 in Company H, 107th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry and was mustered into United States service at Camp Butler, Illinois. He was promoted to first lieutenant and then captain in February 1863, and while on the skirmish line near Kenesaw Mountain, he was mortally wounded on June 16, 1864; James and William survived. Bement itself was young at the war’s outset, having been incorporated as a village in 1860, just before secession began in February 1861 and war started in April. Illinois was unprepared when Governor Richard Yates received a call on April 15, 1861, for six regiments of militia for immediate service, since the state had no available efficient, armed, and organized militia companies, yet within five days volunteers beyond Illinois’s quota had reported. Writing from Bement on April 23, Dr. Elam Bodman spoke of critical and trying times, terrible excitement, and volunteers turning out freely. The response across Piatt County was overwhelming: based on the 1860 census, Illinois sent 100 volunteers for each 742 inhabitants, Piatt County sent 100 men for each 580 citizens, and Bement Township sent 100 soldiers for each 465 people. The war placed a heavy burden on Illinois families, especially in Bement Township, where more than 60 percent of volunteers came from farms; women and children worked the fields to keep family farms going, educated women found openings as enlisted clerks and others left their jobs, and many women joined sewing bees, food drives, and medical collections, while leaders such as Mrs. Sarah Bryant organized voluntary associations, fundraising events, church efforts, and charitable societies to support those left without help.