Alright, I had to do some research on Fort Douglas. It was established to protect the Central Overland Road in 1862 as Camp Douglas, three miles east of Salt Lake City. The name came from Stephen A. Douglas, at President Lincoln's insistence. In 1878, the name was changed to Fort Douglas, which it remained until it closed in 1991.
During World War I it was used as an internment camp for Germans living in the US (I didn't know we had internment camps in World War I). German Naval personnel from the raider SMS Cormoran (never heard of this ship either, something else to look up).
Between wars, it was the home of the 38th Infantry. During World War II, it became an Army Airfield, home of the 7th Bombardment Group (B-17s).
It is now closed, but a group is running it as a museum.
Stuff I Didn't Know. --Cooter
Showing posts with label Fort Douglas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fort Douglas. Show all posts
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Utah in World War I-- Part 2 -- "Goodbye Boys. They've Got Me."
During the war, there was much reporting done on events at Fort Douglas. Some of these stories:
MAY 30, 1917-- there was to be an increase in enlisted pay from $21 to $36 a month.
AUGUST 30, 1917-- The 42nd Infantry was making seven miles of trenches like on the Western Front. Soldiers will begin training in bomb and grenade throwing, sapping and mining, bayonet charges, machine gun firing, counter charges and periscope work.
I will write about sapping and periscope usage later. By then, the Western Front had ground down to trench warfare so this was a very useful thing to train troops bound for it. I wonder if any of these trenches still exist.
From 1917 to 1920, the fort was used as a prison for German soldiers (Naval), civilian internees and conscientious objectors, one of three such camps in the US.
After Raymond F. Crow was hit, his last words were "Good-bye boys. They've got me." The Germans had been shelling the camp and Crow had been getting his men from the mess hall back to a dug our for safety. reports say he was literally riddled with shrapnel from the shell.
Utah at War. --DaCoot
MAY 30, 1917-- there was to be an increase in enlisted pay from $21 to $36 a month.
AUGUST 30, 1917-- The 42nd Infantry was making seven miles of trenches like on the Western Front. Soldiers will begin training in bomb and grenade throwing, sapping and mining, bayonet charges, machine gun firing, counter charges and periscope work.
I will write about sapping and periscope usage later. By then, the Western Front had ground down to trench warfare so this was a very useful thing to train troops bound for it. I wonder if any of these trenches still exist.
From 1917 to 1920, the fort was used as a prison for German soldiers (Naval), civilian internees and conscientious objectors, one of three such camps in the US.
After Raymond F. Crow was hit, his last words were "Good-bye boys. They've got me." The Germans had been shelling the camp and Crow had been getting his men from the mess hall back to a dug our for safety. reports say he was literally riddled with shrapnel from the shell.
Utah at War. --DaCoot
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Utah in World War I-- Part 1
From the April 5th Salt Lake City Deseret News "World War I left impact years after conclusion" by Mark Haddock.
The April 5, 1917 Deseret News headlines blared "SENATE DECLARES FOR WAR." World War I had been raging for three years, but now the US was going to get into it which it did 93 years ago this week.
It would be one year before the first Utahn (so that's what they call a person from Utah) was killed. Raymond F. Crow died near Verdun, France by shrapnel from an exploding German shell.
The war was over 7 months later, but another 644 Utah soldiers had died of a total of 21,000 from the state. Most of these trained at Fort Douglas, which became a prison after the training and was a final deployment site when the men returned.
More Utah in World War I to Come. --Cooter
The April 5, 1917 Deseret News headlines blared "SENATE DECLARES FOR WAR." World War I had been raging for three years, but now the US was going to get into it which it did 93 years ago this week.
It would be one year before the first Utahn (so that's what they call a person from Utah) was killed. Raymond F. Crow died near Verdun, France by shrapnel from an exploding German shell.
The war was over 7 months later, but another 644 Utah soldiers had died of a total of 21,000 from the state. Most of these trained at Fort Douglas, which became a prison after the training and was a final deployment site when the men returned.
More Utah in World War I to Come. --Cooter
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