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

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r ' Fort Bragg was named in honor of a native North Carolinian who was born in Warren County on March 22, 1817. After he graduated from West Point at the early age of 20, he served in the Seminole War for three years as a Second Lieutenant. In the war against Mexico, as a member of General Zachary Taylor's staff, he won dis- tinction as an officer and was promoted to the rank of Captain for ugallant and distinguished conduct. His able leadership and superb strategy at the brilliant Battle of Buena Vista won for him the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was called from private life into the Confederate Army and was made a Brigadier General. Actively engaged in the two day Battle of Shiloh, in April, 1862, he further exemplified his mili- tary genius, and on the death of General Albert S. Johnson was elevated to the rank of full General. His most notable success, the defeat of General Rosecrans at the Battle of Chickamauga, was followed by his own defeat at Chatta- nooga in November, 1863. BRAXTON BRAGG, Lieutenant Colonel, U. S. A. Ceneral, C. S. A. Early in 18644 he was entrusted with the conduct of mili- tary operations as Commander-in-Chief of the Confederate Army under the direction of President Jefferson Davis, a distinction of considerable magnitude, and in November of the same year he was placed in command of the Depart- ment of North Carolina. His defeat at Bennettis Place, near Durham, N. C., where he and General Joseph E. Johnston endeavored to defeat General Sherman, marked the cessa- tion of Confederate action in this section. After the war he was for some time Chief Engineer for the state of Alabama and as such had charge of the improve- ments in Mobile Bay. The remaining years of his life were spent as an inspector for a large railroad in Galveston, Texas, where he died on September 27, 1376. Thus, Fort Bragg bears the name of a brave, resourceful, hard-bitten fighting man . . . a soldieras soldier . . . a fighting man who saw action in three wars and won distinction in each of them . . . GENERAL BRAXTON BRAGG.

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HISTIJHIEAL SHETIIH UF FUHT HH BE While many of its countless visitors have heard that Fort Bragg is one of the largest military reservations in this country, relatively few people comprehend the unbelievable size of the Post. Few know that in area it is more than three times as large as the District of Columbia and that it is usually considered the third largest city in North Caro- lina. Fort Bragg, one of the youngest of permanent military reservations, is a complete city within itself. As a matter of fact it has even more facilities than are found in hundreds of thriving cities throughout the United States. Fifty miles south of Raleigh, capital of North Carolina, and ten miles west of Fayetteville, nearest sizable city, the reservation is located in the sandhills of Cumberland and Hoke Counties, in the southeastern section of North Caro- lina, between the Piedmont area and the coastal plain. Miles of well-paved state highways make it easily accessible to the many communities that surround it. Covering an egg shaped area of 127,664 acres, it is 282 miles long and 14-M miles wide at its broadest point and contains approxi- mately two hundred square miles of terrain. One tenth of the entire reservation is used for buildings, barracks, developed areas and other installations. The remainder provides a range wherein there is room to fire with safety any weapon from a Springfield rifle to the great 240 mm howitzer. Owing to its sandy, hilly and varied terrain, military maneuvers of any kind may be undertaken here and owing to its exceptionally mild climate, it is pos- sible to carry on outdoor training all year round. ln 1913 the Chief of Field Artillery, General William J. Snow, seeking an area having suitable terrain, adequate water, rail facilities, and a climate which would make pos- sible year-round training, decided that the area which is now known as Fort Bragg possessed the desired character- istics and consequently Camp Bragg came into existence on September 4, 1918. The new reservation was named Camp Bragg in honor of a native North Carolinian, General Braxton Bragg. Prior to its establishment as a military reservation, the area was a desolate region. Huge forests of long-leaf and loblolly pines covered the sandy area, which was first explored by the commissioners from the Barbados in 1663 and settled by the Highland Scotch about 1729. The chief occupation of these industrious people was that of tilling the soil. They settled mainly along the Long Street area where is now located the Main Post area. Although Fort Bragg did not become a military reserva- tion until the latter part of the First World War, its mili- tary history dates back to the beginning of our country. In the War for Independence, Brigadier General Francis Marion, known as the Swamp Fox, used this area as head- quarters for the famous Marion Brigade, which continually harrassed the British, playing a vital part in the colonist's cause. Cornwallis, after-the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, in his retreat southward, made a temporary stand in the area. ln the Wai' between the States, 107 men, contesting the 'gUnion Cause, left this locality to fight in the Con- federate Army. Only seven of them returned. This caused the land to revert to the same wild state that greeted the early explorers. At the beginning of World War I only seven percent of the land was occupied and the population consisted of approximately 170 families. Long Street Church and Monument erected fo founders of the church, located on Fort Bragg Military Reservation.