Training Camps and Cantonments of World War 1

 

Facilities for housing about 124,000 officers and men at Army stations existed Apr. 6. 1917. Before the end of the year, the Cantonment Division had provided additional shelter for about 1,500,000 men.

This construction involved road-building, electric- light and power installations, water supply, sewerage, refrigeration and heating plants, fire-prevention installations and apparatus for at least 32 cantonments and camps, as well as the actual housing.

 

Map of the United States Showing Territories from which Each National Army Cantonment Camp Receives its Troops.

America's New Soldier Cities - 1917

The story of the 16 National Army cantonments surpasses anything else in the history of building. Such, indeed, has been the transformation wrought at these cantonments that the world might well have believed it all magic.

 

Shaving a Soldier with a Strong Beard.

The National Army Cantonments - 1917

Brief descriptions of each National Army Cantonment include a history of the camp, information about the nearest town, climate, and how the camp was named.

 

Send-off for New York National Guardsmen.

The National Guard Camps - 1918

Brief descriptions of each National Guard Training Camp, including information about its location, climate, how the camp was named, and basic history.

 

War Department Leaders at the Recent West Point Graduation.

An American Cantonment - 1919

Standing out as markedly apparent to the visitor to an American cantonment are therefore the homogeneous appearance, the almost even age and the uniformly high physical quality of its inmates.

 

Camp Devens Hostess House, Ayer, Massachusetts. Report of Hostess House Committee, 1919.

Hostess Houses for Everybody - 1918

In the beginning – equipped for any crisis within two months and a half of the declaration of war, the Y.W.C.A. opened its first Hostess House for hospitality and service to women who visit men in the military camps.

 

Making a Soldier Out of Johnnie - 1918

Making a Soldier Out of Johnnie - 1918

Edward Hungerford's article about life in a World War 1 Cantonment appeared in the February 1918 issue of Everybody's Magazine. It gave people a taste of what a new soldier could expect during his training.

 

Selected Men Arriving in Camp, Eager to Embark Upon the Great Enterprise of Safeguarding the Liberty for Which Their Forefathers Fought.

WW1 Training Camp Activities - 1917

The War Department, Commission on Training Camp Activities, Washington DC, released a brochure in 1917 detailing activities to furnish these young men a substitute for the recreational and relaxational opportunities they have been accustomed to.

 

Training Camps (Sections)

 

Front Cover, Camp Devens: Described and Photographed with Inset Photo Showing the Main Gate to the Camp.

Camp Devens - World War 1 Cantonment – A.E.F. Training Center 1918

Camp Devens, Massachusetts, was named in honor of Brigadier General Charles Devens, served as a training camp for 76th Division (National Army), which occupied the cantonment, August 1917 to July 1918.

 

Front Cover, "The Pick" 3rd Officers Training Camp at Camp Devens, Ayer, Massachusetts 1918.

Third Officers Training Camp - US Army - Camp Devens - 1918

Command Training Officers, Roster of Cadets, Unit History, and Statistics for each training group of the Third Officers Training Camp at Camp Devens. Units included First Battery FA and First, Second, Third, and Fourth Infantry Companies, Command Training Officers, Roster of Cadets, Unit History, and Statistics for each training group of the Third Officers Training Camp at Camp Devens. The training was commenced and completed in 1918.

 

Camp Dix - World War 1 Cantonment – A.E.F. Training Center 1918

Camp Dix - World War 1 Cantonment – A.E.F. Training Center 1918

Like every model city, Camp Dix must have running water in every building, a perfect sewerage system, an up-to-date hospital, telephones, electric lights, heating arrangements — in short, every municipal necessity and convenience.

 

Front Cover, Our Sons at Camp Dodge

Camp Dodge

Camp Dodge was established on June 18, 1917 to serve as training camp for 88th Division (National Army), which occupied the cantonment August 1917 to July 1918.

 

Views of Camp Funston in Kansas.

Camp Funston

The Camp Funston of World War I was the largest semi-permanent type training camp in the nation. The sprawling cantonment area could accommodate 50,000 men.

 

Troops on review ground listening to address by Governor Lowden. Camp Grant Pictorial Brochure, 1917.

Camp Grant

Camp Grant is the training quarters for the men who will constitute the divisions drawn from northern Illinois and all except the Lake Michigan shore counties of Wisconsin, one of the most northerly of the 16 cantonments.

 

Camp Pike, National Army Contonment, Little Rock, Arkansas

Camp Pike

Camp Pike, Arkansas was named in honor of Brigadier General Zebulon M. Pike, U.S. Army, discoverer of Pike's Peak; killed in action, 1818. Established July 18, 1917 to serve as training camp for 87th Division (National Army) , which occupied the cantonment August 1917 to June 1918. Construction started June 17, 1917 and continued through 1918.

 

Hostess House and Y.M.C.A. Officers' House

Camp Zachary Taylor

Camp Zachary Taylor near Louisville, Kentucky was established by Act of Congress for the purpose of training men for the World War. 

 

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