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

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C 03? Pictures taken during construction period 11940-4I During the first year of its existence 356,000,000 was spent in purchasing land and erecting cantonments for six bri- gades. Although cessation of hostilities came in November 1918, work was rapidly pushed to conclusion and February 1, 1919, saw the completion of Camp Bragg. As soon as the war was over, the artillery personnel and materiel of Camp McClellan, Alabama, was transferred to Camp Bragg in order that the Field Artillery might have adequate facilities for testing the long range weapons developed during the war. Because demobilization had be- gun, the War Department decided to reduce the size of Camp Bragg from a planned six brigade cantonment to a two brigade cantonment. in order to provide a garrison for Regular Army units and a training center for National Guard Artillery units. lV1i1itary personnel then took over all the work at the Camp. a large part of which had been done by wartime civilian employees. The year 1920 found little military training in progress. 12 A large tract of land on the reservation had been set aside as a landing field to be used in connection with observation of Field Artillery firing. Here were stationed various air- craft and balloon detachments to serve the Field Artillery Board, by carrying out experiments in conjunction with the Board. On April 1, 1919, the landing lield was named Pope Field in honor of First Lieutenant Harley H. Pope, who was killed in an airplane accident near Fayetteville. Early in 1921 two Field Artillery units began training in the camp, the 13th Field Artillery Brigade and the lfth Field Artillery Brigade. Although training was being con- ducted according to schedule, the War Department decided to abandon Camp Bragg on August 23, 1921. Through the efforts of Brigadier General Albert J. Bowley, Commanding General of the Camp, and various civic organizations in the nearby community, the Secretary of War inspected the facilities of the reservation and on September 16. 1921, orders directing the abandonment of Camp Bragg were rescinded. h... x ' ' 'Q S- ' ..-f -

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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.

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FROM CAMP TO FORT Une of the most important dates in the history of the reservation is September 30, 1922, for on that date it be- came Fort Bragg and the work of making it a permanent Army post got under way. Under the leadership of General Bowley, the development of the Post progressed rapidly. Parade grounds and training facilities were furnished. Baseball diamonds and other athletic facilities were con- structed. Thus the various features of the Fort developed and the fruits of this work are well in evidence today. Because Fort Bragg was the only reservation in the United States sufficiently large to test the latest in long range artil- lery weapons, the Field Artillery Board was transferred here from Fort Sill, Oklahoma on February 1, 1922. From 1923 to 1926 Field Artillery regiments at Fort Bragg were recruited up to peace time strength mainly from the ranks of men who had served in World War l. Motor- ized regiments of the Field Artillery made considerable progress in learning how to operate in deep sand, heavy mud, swamps, streams and forests. For each type of Field Artillery weapon there was an organization stationed at Fort Bragg armed with that particular weapon. This was done in order that the War Department might have within easy reach of Washirigtoii a practical Field Artillery Labo- ratory where every new item of Field Artillery equipment and each new procedure might be tested under actual service conditions. Thus Fort Bragg became an experimental laboratory as well as a training camp. The training was made even more thorough since the soldiers could obtain first hand knowledge of the latest weapons of war. By that time, 1923, buildings used in World War I were reduced to a state of decay and, as a result, permanent structures began to appear on the reservation. During the four-year period which followed, four of the permanent brick barracks buildings were constructed, as well as 53 offi- cers quarters, 40 non-commissioned officers quarters, maga- zines, motor and materiel sheds. All of the unoccupied tem- porary buildings of the early period were torn down. Streets and sidewalks were built. l.awns, shrubs, and trees were planted. Fort Bragg took on the appearance of one of the hnest of all Army posts. Realizing the value of friendly relations between the mili- tary personnel and the surrounding civilian population, a series of developments were started to build up the desired friendship between Fort Bragg and its neighbors. A new highway was built connecting the center of the Post with the limits of the reservation, making the Fort more acces- sible to the outside world. ln 1932 was erected the beautiful Post Hospital in the main area of the Post. Additional brick barracks were also built then as were most of the permanent buildings which are standing today. The number of troops at the Post was increased by the arrival of the 4-th Field Artillery from Camp Robinson, Arkansas, June 9, 1931. Units of the National Reserve Olli- cers Training Corps, Officers Reserve Corps and Citizens Military Training Corps of the state used the facilities of the Post for their annual encampments. Fort Bragg, as head- quarters for District A of the Civilian Conservation Corps, supervised the work and administration of approximately thirty camps in the two Carolinas. rv ,, -. . . .2 ?-Eggiai , ' gf? N, Pictures taken during construction period H940-4l