US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Bragg, NC)

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HTSTUTIY UF FUHT BTI GE Situated on land that was hrst inhabited more than 200 years ago, Fort Bragg, an important installation for national defense, contains the largest field artillery range in the world. With its mild climate permitting outdoor training throughout the year over varied ter- rain, it is a splendid training center and on its extensive ranges field guns of the largest calibers may be fired with safety. - Located in the sandhills section of North Carolina between the Piedmont area and the coastal plain, the Fort Bragg Military Reservation is 10 miles northwest of Fayetteville and averages eight miles in width by 24 miles in length and contains approximately 122,000 acres. A branch line connects the post With the main line of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad at Fayetteville. The post proper is located at the eastern end of the reservation due to the existence of level terrain there suitable for drill, maneuvers, post construction and air- dromes. With an estimated 22,000,000 gallons a day being available at the Waterworks intake station on Little River, an adequate supply of fresh water is as- sured. SITE EXPLORED IN I663 The land on which this modern military post is lo- cated was first explored by commissioners from Barba- cios who sailed up Cape Fear River in 1663. and it was first settled about 1729 by Highland Scotch, who still remain the dominant racial group. A slow but steady immigration of Scots followed in succeeding decades, with a great influx about 1749. Tnfrequent clearings supported the sparse population, whose principal means of livelihood was small farming. Great forests of long leaf and loblolly pine covered the area. Within several decades after their arrival in 1729, the Scots had spread out into the area between Man- chester and Cross Creek fFayettevillel. An especially promising section was the Long Street area, in the cen- ter of what is now the Fort Bragg reservation, located in Hoke and Cumberland counties. The Long Street community was favored by the beauty of the scenery, the fertility of the soil, the variety of the forest growth and the general healthful site of the locality. Although these Highland Scots were industrious farmers, whose main occupation was the tilling of the soil, they became involved in the Revolution and were divided among themselves in the late 1700's with re- gard to political sympathy in the strife between the colonists and King George. In the early days of the revolution, a settlement of Whigs located in Piney Bot- tom Was wiped out by the Tories coming from the lo- cality now occupied by the City of Fayetteville. During the Carolina campaign, Lord Cornwallis, following his defeat by General Nathaniel Greene at Guilford Court House, retreated along the Yadkin Road which traverses the length of the reservation. Morgan, called T281 the Swamp Fox, made this locality his headquarters, from which he carried on harassing operations against the British forces. Following the revolution and the winning of inde- pendence for the colonies, the Highland Scots again farmed the land, but during the period from 1782 to 1862, the area and its inhabitants showed little change. In the War Between the States, this area was again the scene of military operations. One of the last engagements in this conflict, brief but sharp in nature, took place at what is now called the Battle Field Farm on the Fort Bragg Reservation. It was here that the Confederate forces, commanded by Major General Wade Hampton, and the Union forces, commanded by Brevet Major General H. Judson Kil- patrick, met in conflict, and, on the Reservation, there are now small groups of graves of unknown Union and Confederate soldiers who gave their lives to their cause in that action. Annually, these graves are decorated with appropriate ceremonies by the Fort Bragg garrison with the assistance of local patriotic societies. During the War Between the States, 107 men from the Fort Bragg area marched away to fight for the Confederacy, but only seven came back at the close of the war. In the years that followed, the land was al- most depopulated, and not a child was presented for baptism in the Long Street Church for a full 16 years. Slowly the land commenced to revert to the wild state which characterized it when the fearly settlers first viewed it. As time passed, the process slowly reversed itself, although at the outbreak of the World War, half a century later, only seven per cent of the land was under cultivation and approximately 170 families were living in the area which eventually became Fort Bragg. MILITARY RESERVATION The history of this area as a military reservation be- gan in June, 1918, when the Chief of Field Artillery sought a site for the establishment of an Artillery Firing Center having adequate artillery range, suitable terrain and soil, nearby rail transportation, adequate water sup- plies and a location as far north as possible but still where climatic conditions would permit year round training. Major General William Snow, the Chief of Field Artillery, instigated a survey of the areas which might be appropriate for the establishment of artillery firing centers. Colonel E. P. King made a search throughout the Eastern part of the United States for such an area. Tn his account of this search, he stated in part: At that time, there were no road maps such as we have today and we found very few sign posts through the country. The geological survey had made very few maps in that section. We traveled principally by compass and dead reckoning . . . About six o'clock

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jorf mqq C0265 THEATER

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fthe fourth eveningj , we drove into Manchester, North Carolina, along an unimproved sand road that ran along the north bank of Lower Little River . . . We stopped at a store in Manchester and asked the store- keeper where was the nearest place we could put up for the night. He directed us to Fayetteville . . . The first tract of land we found which bade fair to comply with our requirements was the watershed north of Lower Little River. We stayed at Fayetteville the fourth night and the next day examined the present site of Fort Bragg. We liked it so well that we went no farther. We remained in Fayetteville about a week going over this tract in great detail and laying out the lines, which, with certain alterations, are the present boundaries. Judge John G. Shaw, of Fayetteville, kindly consented to give us a great deal of his time and guide us. LOCATING FORT BRAGG The area selected begins at a point about 10 miles northwest of Fayetteville and extends westward for about 24 miles to the vicinity of Southern Pines. Av- eraging eight miles in width, the reservation contains approximately 122,000 acres. The post prop-er was lo- cated at the eastern end due to the proximity of the water supply and the existence of level terrain suitable for drill, maneuvers, post construction and for airplane landing fields. The plan was approved by General Snow after a per- sonal inspection, and, on July 1, 1918, he submitted a report to the War Department requesting the assign- ment of the site to the Field Artillery. This request was promptly approved. The new camp was named Camp Bragg in honor of General Braxton Bragg, Confederate States Army, who was a native North Carolinian and had been a distin- guished artillery officer in the War with Mexico. Actual construction of Camp Bragg began Septem- ber 16, 1918, and about 86,000,000 was expended that year for the purchase of land. Erection of cantonments was planned for six brigades but cessation of hostilities in the World War changed these plans. The War Department recognized that no existing Field Artillery training area except Camp Bragg was of sufficient size to permit training in the firing of heavy caliber and long range artillery weapons developed during that war, so it was decided to continue Camp Bragg but to reduce it to a two brigade cantonment to provide a garrison for Regular Army units and a training center for Na- tional Guard artillery units. One company of the 46th Infantry was Camp Bragg's first garrison. With Camp Bragg completed by the Constructing Quartermaster about February 1, 1919, artillery per- sonnel and material were transferred there from Camp McClellan, Alabama. Although 1919, the year follow- ing the World War, was a period of demobilization, construction was completed, and lumber, trash and scrap material left by the contractors cleaned up. Mili- tary personnel took over the clerical work at post head- quarters from war-time civilian employees. In 1920, little military training was conducted at Camp Bragg. In 1921, the 17th Field Artillery, which is still there, arrived at Camp Bragg on January 9, and on May 19, 1921, the 13th Field Artillery Brigade Was organized at the post. On August 23, 1921, the War Department, in re- organizing the Field Artillery, ordered the abandon- ment of Camp Bragg, but through the efforts of the post commander and civic organizations, the Secretary of War came to Camp Bragg and inspected the facili- ties, and on September 16, 1921, the orders directing the abandonment of Camp Bragg were revoked. FIELD ARTILLERY BOARD On February 1, 1922, Army Regulations changed the station of the Field Artillery Board, an agency devoted to research and testing of new artillery Weapons, from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to Camp Bragg, the Boardys pres- ent station. On September 30, 1922, Camp Bragg was designated a permanent establishment of the Army and named Fort Bragg. Parade grounds were finished, roads improved and game preserves set aside. Th-e years from 1923 through 1926 constituted a pe- riod of valuable training for artillery regiments at the post. Units were recruited up to peace strength, with many of the non-commissioned officers having seen war service. The men were contented and many enlist- ments were from nearby points. A great deal of time was spent on field training, the vast expanse of the reservation being admirably adapted to this purpose. Great progress was made by the motorized regiments of Field Artillery in learning how to handle this com- paratively new type of transportation in deep sand, heavy mud, swamps, streams and forests. The Field Artillery Board turned over to the various regiments new, experimental types of vehicles, weapons and equip- ment, making Fort Bragg a laboratory as well as a training center. During the period from 1927 to 1931, new construc- tion was begun that has aided in making Fort Bragg one of the finest of Army posts. Four of the perma- nent brick barracks buildings were constructed then, as well as 53 officers' quarters, 40 non-commissioned oflicers' quarters, a modern water supply system with cast iron mains, storm and sanitary sewers, nurses' quarters, mag- azines and motor and material sheds. By the end of 1931, 53,000,000 had been spent on new construction. It was also during this period that all occupied tem- porary buildings of World War construction were painted and most of the unoccupied ones torn down. In 1930, the new barracks were made attractive by plant- ing lawns, shrubs and trees. Streets, sidewalks and the road from the post to the reservation limit were paved, and the drainage system completed. The Fourth Field Artillery arrived from Fort Robinson on june 9, 1931, and construction of the regiment's new stables was finished in 1932. The Station Hospital was also begun and completed in 1932. From 1932 to 1940, beautification of the post was