Camp Wadsworth, South Carolina-- Part 1: Mobilizing for WW I

In my last post, I mentioned the call for 2,395 white men from Chicago to go to Camp Wadsworth in South Carolina to train for war.

From Wikipedia.

A World War I training facility located near Spartanburg, S.C..  It was in operation from July 1917 to  March 1919.

As the United States began to expand its army in preparation for entry into the war through a combination of  mobilizing units of the National Guard and drafting men into the wartime National Army it was determined to open 32 centers to train them.

The centers for draftees would have wooden barracks as it would take longer to prepare them.  National Guard centers would use tents and be located in the warmer Southern states because of that.

Cities and towns lobbied to get one of these because of economic reasons.  Spartanburg was successful in their effort.  Newton B. Baker, Secretary of War, and General Leonard  Wood, commander of the Army's Eastern Department visited the area and approved a location there.

--CootCamp