kennelly and then at 8:00 p.m., the american presidency, the historical accuracy of "hamilton," the musical. at 8:00 p.m. the white house presidential site summit. watch american history tv this labor day weekend on c-span3. mechanics on american history tv, military historian mark snell on his book "getty's burg other battle: the ordeal of an american shrine during the first world war." he explained how the famous civil war battlefield was used as a world war i training camp in 1917 and 1918 named camp colt. its commander was a young dwight eisenhower. we're at the eisenhower national historic site on great war camp colt weekend. we're here to commemorate world

war i as well as the 100th anniversary of camp colt when it was commanded by a colonel eisenhower here at gettysburg, pennsylvania. our next speaker is mark snell. he's retired from the u.s. army in 1993 and has had several assignments as well as careers after that. he taught history at united states military academy at west point and he was a lecturer at royal academy in sandhurst in the uk. he was also professor of history at shepherd university in shepherdins shepherdstown, west virginia, where he was director of tyler moore center, study of american civil war. he's written extensively on world war i and the civil war,

especially the civil war in west virginia. he wrote a book on camp colt and gettysburg during 1917 and 1918, the years the united states were in the great war. why don't you come up. >> read that introduction that i sent you. that's important for the talk. >> he wrote a book about gettysburg, meditations on history and place here in gettysburg. [ applause ] >> the introduction i thought was going to be read had to do with the title, seeking to make the art that made the name gettysburg historic. if you understand the context of

that, that's a quote from a young soldier who was asiped here in the summer of 1917, a fellow by the name of private joseph stone and he was assigned to the 59th united states infaptry regiment. i'll talk about him in a little bit but he was excited to be on the same field as robert e. lee. that quote won't appear in my talk but that's what he's talking about. we're here seeking to master the art that made the name gettysburg historic. first slide, please. on an unseasonably cool yet pleasant summer day in august 1954, grain world war i tank veterans were joined by comrades from world war ii and the korean war along with approximately 3,000 onlookers to dedicate a palm tree and plaque in memory

of camp colt and in honor of its famous commander. in the 36 years between 1918 and 1954, captain dwight eisenhower rose steadily through the officer ranks to become the supreme commander of the allied expeditionary force in europe with the rank of general of the army. after world war ii the five-star general was appointed army chief of staff under president harry truman. upon leaving the service in 1948, he was named president of columbia university before being recalled to active duty in december of 1949 to take helm of nato. then in 1952 the former camp colt commander was nominated to be the republican candidate for president. next one. president and mrs. eisenhower occupied the executive mansion

for a little more than a year and a half in the summer of 1954. unable to attend the reunion in gettysburg, he sent a message to his former comrades read by general floyd l. parks. quote, please extend my warmest greetings to everyone attending the homecoming reunion of the world war tank corps association. as you review the experience gained while in the active service of your country, you can take added satisfaction from the fact that your fellow citizens understand and appreciate the importance of your contributions to the security of our nation. i wish you a most successful and enjoyable reunion, end quote. parks, commander from ft. mead, maryland, was a fitting surrogate to represent the 34th president as a young officer, parks had commanded company "a" at camp colt.

the memorial tree, a stout yellow pine was planted from soil from all 48 states and territories of alaska and hawaii. in most cases, the soil was taken from a significant historic site. for example, texas sent soil from the alamo. then the national commander of the world war tank association presented the plaque to general parks. it bore a simple inscription seen here. united states army tank corps, this site marks the birthplace of the spring army in 1918. behind the marker stands a tree plant on soil from each of the 48 states and dedicated in honor of the commanding honor captain dwight d. eisenhower who on

january 2, 1953 was inaugurated 34th president of the united states of america. this living testament is a tribute of the affection and high steam of his tank corps comrades, dedicated august 23, 1954, world war tank corps association. the plaque also included the organization's insignia, a british mark 5 tank encircled by a wreath. in his remarks, park said, quote, we are in the very heart of american military transitidi. i can think of no more appropriate spot in america to plant this pine tree which will commemorate the birthplace of this tank corps and will be a testimonial for the former commander president eisenhower, unquote. parks also mentioned the living memorial was located on the site

of the camp headquarters. in reality the headquarters was located about a block closer to town and on the other side of the emmitsburg road. eisenhower's inauguration was on january 20th, not january 22nd. the reunion came to a close that night with a banquet at hotel gettysburg and they all went home. but how did the camp come to be located on the revered gettysburg battlefield in the first place? on april 6, 1917, congress declared war on imperial germany. emblazoned across the front page were the words, state of war declared. the gettysburg compiler like wi wise announced the declaration on the front page of its weekly edition.

as you heard during the introduction -- as you were supposed to hear during the introduction, the legacy that created gettysburg national amendment allowed it and other places to be used as training grounds in a national emergency. these camps were of short duration, declaration of war against germany -- it is fathers would not wait for them to come to them. a group of prominent citizens, including the mayor president judge and presidents of the lutheran seminary and gettysburg

college set it up, requesting a training camp be established. citing the ample maneuver space, the area's healthy conditions and a satisfactory railroad facilities. baker and his staff agreed. how many of you wonder why it's called gettysburg national military field? the war department was responsible for it and it had a dual purpose. not just to commemorate the battle but to be used by soldiers in cases of a national emergency as a training ground. as a result of this decision, six entire infantry regiments, along with their supporting units, would live and train on the battlefield during the spring, summer and fall of 1917. the new regiments to be activated, 58th through 61st would be build around kaudry

drawn from the regular army, which had been posted on the texas/mexico border because of poncho villa's 1916 raid into new mexico. the u.s. departed the lone star state on five separate trains on may 28th and arrived in gettysburg on june 2nd. because they traveled a longer distance, pulled into the station on june 4th. the lead article in the june 2nd edition of "the gettysburg times" stated, quote, in five long trains the 4th regiment, united states infantry, numbering 2240 men with full equipment arrived in gettysburg last night and today. the 7th will come in late sunday night or early monday morning and the camp will be busy from now on for a period of several months, unquote. gettysburg was transformed into

a garrison town literally overnight. one recently arrived soldier told a "times" reporter, oh, it was awful down there. sage brush and cactus, rattlesnakes and tarantulas, unquote. instead of the hot, sandy desert, they would be on a manicured national park, ready to cater to this new breed of tourists. no attempt was made by army commanders to immediately establish a camp when the troops arrived, allowing men to explore their new surroundings as a respite from their cross-country train trip. a compiler reporter wrote, soldier boys are glad to be in what they enthusiastically call god's country. from sand to sagebrush to our country has proven delightful to the boys, unquote. the rapid mobilization of the

armed forces inspired an american composure and a duo of lyricists to write the popular song "we're in the army now." i know you all know it. just don't break out in song. in june 19d 17 gettysburg might have adopted the popular new song as its own mantra. the trains were immediately sent to ohio, to rendezvous. the gettysburg times informed its readers, gettysburg looked quite war-like, the men in khaki running over the town and many remarked, if 2200 make this a big crowd, what will it be like with 12,000 here, unquote? indeed, could the town's infrastructure support the incursion of so many soldiers? the superintendent of the water company assured its customers

there was an ample supply as long as people were not wasteful. as the 50th anniversary of the gettysburg cleanly validated. more than 100,000 veterans and spectators, towns folk and dignitaries came to commemorate the battle and celebrate the unity that followed the war. now, what goes in must come out. the soldier's camp would have its own means for sewage and trash removal. if needed, the government would coordinate with camp authorities to ensure overflow. unbeknownst to most of those visiting gettysburg today. if a ditching crew came in -- this happened when they buried the phone cables, they dug up a sewage system from camp of the

u.s. troops/camp colt. it's still there, buried there in the ground. the entire sewage system. by the end of the same week the soldiers arrived, the camp was beginning to take shape. it would be called officially camp of the united states troops, betties bu gettysburg, pennsylvania. 0 carloads had been ordered for construction of latrines, storage buildings, offices and tent floors. on june 7th, want ads were posted about town for 500 carpenters to be employed in camp construction, to work ten-hour days and paid at 25 and 35 cents an hour, depending on their skill level. historian of "the times" alluded to the hope that the camp would become permanent and that upon departure of the regulars it would become a training camp for drafted men. the same article carried dues that the dough boys so far had

conducted themselves well. lost in the rush to set up camp was the fact that the camp being occupied was a bloody battlefield and now a national historic battle site. army trucks -- depositing an equal amount of manure. certainly the historic significance of where the camp was not lost on the soldiers. joseph j. stone, a private in company "l," 59th united states infantry, keep a detailed book on his time in service. he had an historic mindedness, which is apparent in his journal entries. stone noted that, quote, the men

who formed the nucleus of the organization came from company "l," 4th infantry, grant's old regiment. they were mostly ncos, all of the old army school and hardened in service through years of experience in the old regular army, unquote. after describing their arrival in gettysburg and his experience with the other new recruits, stone wrote, drill now begin. the old battlefield of gettysburg became alive of men seeking the master of the art that made the name gettysburg historic, unquote. then he fill oz fphilosophized a half century before. quote, the place, too, was ideal for the purpose and aided much in keeping and developing the marshal spirit in the company.

in late summer laborers found tangible evidence of the grim told battle when they uncovered the remains of a rebel soldier who had been killed in action more than a half century before. the workmen made the discovery while digging the camp water supply lines to ensure they were beneath the frost line. the gettysburg time reported the dough boys took great pleasure in news of the discovery and many in the hupt for mont for m bullets, which they said they would take to france as souvenirs. the very next day workmen uncovered the remains of a union soldier, identified by his uniform and equipment, who then was reburied in the national

cemete cemetery. betties burg national military park was suffering a severe environmental impact and cultural resources were impacted. the great end of the land itself for camp roads and building sites changed the topography of the battlefield were the confederate onslaught of july 2nd and july 3rd took place. not to be forgotten was the fact that a modern railroad bisected the training ground and its very existence already disturb the lay of the land. the modern camp would mingle in the earth with civil war relics for generations to come. possibly frustrating future archeological studies. parts of the battlefield were closed to visitors for security purposes. and here you can see part of the camp. i'd like to point out -- can you come up and do it so i don't have to go over there?

point out what's called the angle. right there on hancock avenue. take your finger, run it towards me. farther down. go down. keep going. i'll tell you when to stop. going down. right there. you used to be able to drive along it. it's all grassed in, some time in the last 20 years they changed how they were going to interpret the battlefield and they grassed that in. just to the left of that on the map is the famous cops of trees and i want you to point -- keep going. walk over. towards the end of the map. keep walking. right there. stop. see that? that's a swimming pool. an inground swimming pool made of cement, where as the hillbillies used to say, a high water pond. it's still there today. you just can't see it. okay. you can sit down.

hundreds of board and batten structures occupied the battlefield. monuments and memorials were surrounded by the hustle and bustle of a modern training area. susceptible to accidents. captain stewart a. howard, united states military class of 1903 and temporary command of the newly activated 61st infantry sent a note to the national park commission chairman, john nicholson, gettysburg national park chairman commission. quote, you may be sure at every effort will be made by myself to see that the enlisted men of the 61st infantry do not molest in

any ways the monuments, trees, et cetera, of gettysburg national park. i personally hold this park to be sacred and through the battalion and company commanders to see that this nuisance is abated. this regiment already has four noncommissioned officers on duty in the park to assist the park police in regulating the conduct of the soldiers, unquote. now, what nuisance was he talk willing about? well, i want you to picture tens of thousands of young men. how young were soldiers? 18, 19, 20, 21. away from home. farm boys, a lot of them, some cities boys. away from home for the first time. alcohol is not permitted in camp but it's permitted in town, even though the camp commanders put prohibition on officers drinking in uniform, but they still got it. the nuisance is you've got the devil's den, go up the towers and you'll see beer bottles, liquor bottles everywhere. what else do young men like?

this is being broadcast on c-span but that's a capable-e cable network so i can say this. they want to have their personal needs fulfilled. since gettysburg is a town of 3,000 people, part were women, and most of those women probably don't want to comply with their needs, lots of ladies arrive by the train from philadelphia, baltimore, washington, d.c., pittsburgh, york, pennsylvania, reading, pennsylvania, so far. and they have a different type here but there also were some local places of ill repute. a little farming community, catholic community outside of gettysburg called bonneville had one of the famous baudy houses, as they were called. and pennsylvania state police were constantly making busts. that's the nuisance the captain is talking about. a week later, colonel nicholson sent a letter to the war

department about military construction that continued to expand the size of the camp. noteds that it already, quote, covers one of the most historical portions of any battlefield in the country, unquote. continue, and he warned, to erect buildings on the line east of and along hancock avenue is to destroy the drain. and whilst the park land to the east is used for parades and drill, it but destroys the grass, which can grow again, but buildings are unsightly and damaging, unquote. with so many young viral men residing in a small town, it was only time before they got in trouble. what seemed to be a futile effort to keep the gettysburg

soldiers occupied with legal off-duty activities, a federal agency known as the council for training camp activities, or ctcaings worked diligently with the borough government, the churches of adams counties and other agencies to provide various forms of entertainment, including sporting events, dances, speakers, concerts and even visits to local family homes. the camp had its own baseball and football teams that played other camps in nearby colleges such as gettysburg. track and field meets were held at the college, but boxing was arranged as it prepared the men for hand-to-hand combat. soldiers clubs opened in other nearby localities and the ymcas of york and hanover provided rooms for visiting soldiers. dances were organized by the women's club of york. back at the camp proper, a concrete in-ground swimming pool was built with dimensions of 110

x.x. 50 unfortunately, its construction was not completed until autumn. another swimming hole was created by building a dam where willaby run ran into marsh creek. that's less than a mile as the crow flies from here. the army, the ctca and local agencies were doing everything possible to ensure that the war department's directives for the soldiers' wholesome entertainment were fulfilled. of the more than 12,000 soldiers stationed in gettysburg, two of them deserve special mention. the first one should not have even been in gettysburg nor should he have been wearing an army uniform. 12-year-old earnest l.retmor had stowed away on an eastbound freight train and landed in

altoona, pennsylvania, where he found a recruiting station and enlisted in the regular army. a half century later, he recalled, quote, the day i stepped into an army recruiting office to tell a the day i stepped into a recruiting office and told the officer my desire to enlist, i was 12 years old. the date was september 29, 1917, unquote. smart, large in frame and mature for his age, wrentmore indeed was not even a teenager yet and convinced the recruiter that he was 18 years old. he signed an alias on an enlistment form, henry e. monroe. his recruitment was complete, and this time he was on a train, desperation gettysburg. wrentmore wrote in his memoirs, quote, the campsite was situated on the memorable battlefield, gettysburg. our eyes were met with an

endless sea of tents and low buildings. it was a familiar sight. never had we forgotten it, unquote. i was assigned to 60th infantry. he was sent to france and signed to the infantry division. in the offensive in 1918, he was wounded and gassed. he survived his wounds and went on to live a long life. in 1939, he was recommended for the medal of honor. but nominations after the fact at that time had to be made within ten years of the incident, and the recommendation was denied. wrentmore was recalled to active duty in 1992 and served in the army air forces and after the conflict served in the air force reserve. he was called back to active duty during couthe korean war.

wrentmore was married several times and had children across the country, some of whom never knew him. he was buried on the site and it said on the back of the tombstone, youngest american soldier, american expeditionary services. he was also assigned to the 60th united states infantry. if you were at the last presentation with mr. langel, you heard about this fellow. 34-year-old sergeant samuel woodfill was a senior registrar who came up from regular army infantry. he was rivalled only by sergeant york during the same campaign, actions which won both men the

mel medal of honor. i'm not going to read it because it's really long. can you all see it? can you see it over here? can you read the highlighted parts? anybody on that side? okay. well, let's make a long story short. singlehandedly took out a bunch of machine guns, just like sergeant york. one of them he took out at 250 and 300 yards at long-range fire. he then went on his own to silence other ones. when he rattled off ammunition, he picked up a pick ax and killed several germans. he crawled back to camp and didn't even brag about it. he was an unassuming regular soldier. other than the fact that sergeant york was a pacifist, he had a story similar to york in that he was a dirt poor farmer. he had to get out of the army so he could get a job that paid more than the army did so he

could pay off a second mortgage on his farm until he got bailed out by concerned citizens of cincinnati, ohio. he was from indiana, but cincinnati was close by. so this guy was quite the warrior. sam woodfill reverted to the western ranks after world war i. having received the medal of honor and named after general john persh ing the ideal soldier for the war. he also served for one of the pall bearers of the unknown soldier. he was placed on recruiting duty. he died at age 58 in 1951 and is buried at arlington cemetary. the camp of the united states troops remained in use until colder weather arrived. since the men were quartered in tents, the war department decided to relocate the six reg

ments to camp greene in north carolina until they were ready for deployment. although they would leave on thanksgiving, they left behind numerous buildings constructed during the stay in their camp. the camp measured approximately 400 acres of government-leased land. the structure included 100 mess halls of various sizes. keep in mind this is smack dab in the middle of the gettysburg battlefield. 115 bathhouses, 115 multi-home latrines, one bakery, one animal shelter, six hay storage sheds, one telephone exchange, three sleeping barracks for the quarter master troops that would remain after two of the camps closed, two sewage disposal camps, one waist incinerator, a

grease shed and two pump houses all totaled 40 structures all in the center of the battlefield. even though i will tell you those sewage treatment plants only processed gray water. gray water means water from the bathhouses and water from the kitchens. latrines were very similar to world war ii, vietnam which contained metal containers in the holes, someone had to pour those out, and burn the solid waste. imagine being stuck on the detail to do that. imagine what that did to the monuments in the battlefield. palls of this odd-smelling smoke drifting around the monuments. because the local civilians had contributed to so many of the

vice-related problems related to the 1917 camp, there was some doubt whether the u.s. army would send another body of trainees to gettysburg in 1915. the gettysburg times printed an article on february 18 titled, quo quote, reenters of the camp. they all wanted to come back. why would they want that? they're tearing up their beautiful battlefield. because they're selling them stuff. they're making lots of money. the writer of this article concluded, quote, all the street rumor of the truth to which "the times" does not vouch, but several of the stories are apparently well-founded, unquote. the wild tales came from a hall

on march 8. roger bombeck confirmed that another camp soon to be established from the site of the previous year's site. one of the rumors that spread through gettysburg was it was going to be a camp for 10,000 colored soldiers, black men, african-american soldiers. back then they were called colored soldiers or negro troops. this is pretty much a white town in 1917, 1920. you can imagine the fear that ran through some folks' minds. the first contingent came from camp b in maryland on august 17. they assumed the camp on march 9, 1818. it replaced the senior office president when the camp was activated on march 23, 1918.

eisenhower hoped in vain to see combat in france, but instead found himself back in gettysburg. i say back in gettysburg because this was his second visit. he came here with the class of 1718, west point, on a senior class trip. ike recalled in his memoirs, quote, my mood was black. i decided to give them a good man garnered from the commission ranks. i knew little about him but he seemed quite capable. he watched as the small troop raised the flag that had been used in the previous year's camp and served the union of the blue and gray. he apparently had been an enlisted soldier that had been there in 1913. continuing his story, he

reminisced about the incident many years later. quote, i saw captain garner watching the flag flapping at the top. he said, captain, the last time i was on this ground was many years ago. at the time i was standing before a general court martial which sentenced me to six months in the guard house and then suspended the sentence. now, garner said, i'm a captain in the same army. and i'm standing here as contemporary commander in the camp in which i was disgraced. as i look up, this gray-haired commander had tears running down his face. all i could manage to say was, look, garner, i know you will do a splendid job, unquote. according to ike, to this day whenever we stand and salute the

flag, that memory is with me. unlike the infantry camp a year earlier actually received a name called camp cole, after martial cole. camp coal occupied the same ground as the previous year's infantry camp, but more structures were authorized and a target range was situated some two miles south of camp near big round top. additional hospital accommodations, the conversion of some of the old stables and warehouses in the personnel quarters, and the procurement of heating camps for the base facilities were required, all to the tune of $17,000. they requested funding for these projects on april 18. $20,000 had already been allocated two months earlier, and he indicated that the previous amount had been

commissioned for 2500 men. longborn estimated that supplemental funding would allow 4,000 soldiers to be accommodated at camp cole. as it turned out, the tank recorded some of the existing soldiers and new recruits and the camp would eventually swell in size to peak strength of 6,400 men. that's roughly half the size of the united states troops. camp -- captain eisenhower took out an ad for a six-room house, furnished or not, quote, unquote. he wanted his family in gettysburg. it did not take too long to find a home. his first residence is not determined, but may we remember it being a damp, tiny home with two rooms upstairs and two rooms downstairs with the only heating source a potbelly stove on the first floor.

the new commander's wife did not know how to operate the stove without instructions, as she had never seen one before. after a short time there, the family moved to the fraternity house on north walnut street vacated by the brothers. the house did not have a kitchen, compelling mamie and the baby to eat cold food. the eisenhower family found a nice brick residence on springs eva jace he not to the lutheran seminary campus. according to their eldest granddaughter, susan eisenhower, it was their first real home, end quote. captain eisenhower deployed battalions on the western front, but none would see combat.

of course, there would be quartermaster troops, private and public transportation functions, older soldiers who worked as machinists as well as a headquarter section of a medical staff. i so-called casual company was formed for new arrivals awaiting assignment to one of the battalions. they did not meet the physical or mental standards and a development battalion was created where they would give classes, exercised and it was given by norman randolph, and you saw him in a previous life. the casual company included a venerial attachment and a man had formed a venereal camp for

those who had attained veneareal diseases. probably as an omage to the civil war generation who had fallen on the same ground 55 years earlier. the corps was assigned to the group who had the ability to play musical instruments. if you go to this tent over here, there are photos that show the officer training school. eisenhower's most immediate training problem was a lack of tanks.

remember, this was the tank training ground for the united states army here in the united states. so his personnel fabricated a model mock-up dubbed the backyard lizzy. they could at least get a feel of being inside one of the monsters. the newspaper on june 1718 declared corporal leavenhart directed a building to mimic a tank. it runs along on excellent style. if nothing else, it made a great backdrop for group photographs. no heavy tanks, big ones that would have looked like that. no heavy tanks were ever delivered to camp cole, but on

june 6, 1918, kind of an ironic day when you think about eisenhower's career. on that day, leneau west tank arrived. a gettysburg times reporter wrote, quote, the special tank is here. the officer is as happy as children with a new toy. they received freight from an automobile manufacturer somewhere in america. it was soon unloaded and driven through town while scores of people watched it with great interest. >> this tank was built in france but it was delivered to a motor factory here so we could look at it and bring it up. in his memoirs, three small tanks were sent to us, each in

combat, carried on a small cabin mounted on a turret. ike's memory was a bit hazy. none of the local newspapers ever reported the appearance of the two other tanks which would have arrived at one of the two train stations in town. as evidence to substantiate that only one tank was ever assigned to the camp, the gettysburg time said, quote, the. and also at gettysburg national military park, those exhibits will tell you will indicate that it was a first production model.

eventually, it would be armed with a hoch can i say machine. visitors are not allowed to get a sight of it. allowing it to travel a lethargic 4 miles an hour with an average of 34 gallons for a tank of gas. the fuel reservoir was installed near the engine. the tank was manned by a driver and commander/gunner. the turret could rotate 360 degrees and giving directions to the driver. the tank's army is nearly an inch thick. it also noted a curved.

it was propelled l. they passed around four wooden wheels. they were to support the advance of the infantry over no man's land. a scene of the first successful use of tanks against the germans. one of the veteran officers was 46-year-old lieutenant colonel frank summers, who had been awarded his reenaction in march 1915 and a distinguished service order for his leadership as a

tank company commander during battle of som, in 1916. their son, cyri. . he took advantage of a tank and l let, to organize tank training, he soon departed for the united states and was assigned as a liaison officer at camp cole. take a look at this photograph. i've got everybody identified except for the young man on the far right. notice the older officer has a black armband. that's for his friend cyril who died in battle. the other british adviser you

see here was major phillip hammond and whose tank commander nearly exploded the british breakthrough. the tanks they brought to the program would be immeasurable. decades later, dwight eisenhower. thus began my connection with allies. the british officers helped us to understand the uses of these new arm orred weapons, unquote. continuing, ike remembered that, quote, in their conversations, i heard about a british political figure named winston churchill. according to the two officers, churchill had a hand in producing the first tanks. they had made them

extravagantly. in fact, the first tank was churchill's brainchild. in 1915, as the first loyal admiralty, he thought devices for taking to the trenches ought to be developed. before i knew it, there became a cultural, experimental bond. this was his headquarters in 1918. it was also the headquarters camp of the u.s. troops in 1917. you can see the building behind the flag positively. . that's still there today. it's close to the cyclerama

building. so the parking lot of general picket's buffet was ike and mamie eisenhower's quarters. drill and ceremony tactics and even telegraphy. more importantly, machine gun training would require -- according to eisenhower, a number of gun slingers came in and someone had the notion of mounting them when truck trailers were out did say plar.

many. it's based on the perfect stop. me ment. sfmt the gettysburg times noticed formed, i got the impression there was a regular battle underway. but it was only a dmolgs arrived in gettysburg were trained to drive. to learn how to organize, they used i barn. to get the feel of driving through a battlefield, the boys to

took. the 14 connecticut infantry prevented the building to be used by sharpshooters. all that remains was the bank, the bank barn and the cellar. steel tracks over this historic cultural feature has not been measured. but the ramp and cellular on still busy today, meaning any caused by many. in my book, i cover all the sordid particulars about how eisenhower went about solving these social problems by military discipline and by providing the methods of the social reformers. he was assisted in these endeavors by the military police, local authorities,

pennsylvania straight police, u.s. marshals and the u.s. district attorney. as well as, the salvation army and the camp. in may 1714, shortly after their arriva arrival. many they announced special events and generally improved moral. treat 'em rough. 36 years later, a former camp cole officer coming from the retreated place in alaska. quote, in nome, alaska, there was much playing of the basketball teams.

i was a member of the arctic brotherhood teams. treat em rough! above the words was. it was the icon of the international order of the hu u hu-hu. the arctic brotherhood that he mentions was one of its lodges. this officer, the original denominator of the motto for the newspaper, was lieutenant george r.goshall, who at one point was assigned as the camp adular. president dwight d. eisenhower goes as u.s. commissioner of alaska which remained a territory until it attained statehood in 1959. in 1918, eisenhower, who by now

was a lieutenant colonel, faced the most serious problem of his career. ten days before the offensive was scheduled to begin on the western front, and while all eyes were focused on france of 111 soldiers from camp david, massachusetts, an area also referred to. they believed it was achieved by typhoid fever inoculations. some of the men were registering high fevers and were obviously very ill. the camp immediately took fluid measures. because the man had not been

confined to quarters and some of them were obviously carriers, the whole camp had to be considered as exposed, unquote. it was. and soon it would spread to gettysburg and the outlying communities. total deaths were estimated at approximately 50 million and were arguably as high as 100 million. historians and scientists have yet to determine exactly where the spanish floor originated, but it probably appeared in july 1820. eventually making its way eastward across the state where it was contracted by soldiers founded at a camp in kansas. from there it went to the east coast and finally to the western front. once in france, it spread

through the rear areas of front lines of the allies. across no-man's land and eventually back to the combative native countries. since the warrior nation's kren sord war reports that the flu was having on its armies and civil populations, only when it would slide. ever since it's been known as the spanish influenza. it began when a mild flu flared up in the spring and early summer of 2018. >> the flu symptoms. as well as a sore throat,

medical, a pe veer cough and even an intense nosebleed and dark skin blotches. sometimes loose bowels occur. in most cases women only appeal coc . it was to the soldiers of both sides already weakened by stress, fatigue and exposure, and on the western front, to mustard. mustard agent. the influenza epidemic hit camp did he ha devins, massachusetts on september 8. they called four days later on september 16. the first person to die in adams

county from complications of the flu was one of the soldiers who had been transferred from dem ins the next day two more died and a number of patients in the hospital doubled for the previous stay. three more soldiers died between the 20th and 24th of september, ask another three passed in the next 24 hours. "the times" headline on november 27 blares, influenza captures camp cole. sorry. i must have left one out. go back to the previous slide. military police were stationed at all the major roads leading out of gettysburg to prevent men without official passes to leave the town. troops showing any sign of sickness were quarantined and soldiers were not allowed to

congregate lest they spread the influenza. the did he tegettysburg fire de even hosed down the streets in order to get rid of the influenza. a church turned its parochial school into a military hospital. another school followed suit. a one-room school called littletown asked people to solicit donations and they quickly. likewise, the red cross sent nurses to gettysburg to assist the camp. the death toll continued to climb. according to eisenhower, quote, that little town had no place to take the dead. we had no place to put the

bodies except to a storage shed so they cou until they could be taken care of more suitably, end quote. lavinia dock had called western county her home and she dropped what she was doing to come to gettysburg to assist the overly burdened medical staff. dock was, it turned out, one of the most out spoken of the. it went to washington, d.c. for their right to vote. she stopped and came home to take care of the soldiers skchlt the flu took multiple family members, some from the same household. in early october, tragedy stuck barlow, which is where i lived. mrs. grace maring, age 36.

her husband john was also overtaken by the flu. they had two sons, john a-- hary and mary. two others were lost, followed by their mother. another hamlin and eastern county were lost 16 months apart. harry struvick of littlestown was struck with the flu. his mother died october 14 and his 16-year-old daughter passed

in october 19. by mid-october, the flu crisis of adams county was waning, yet it continued to take the lives of soldiers and civilians the rest of 1918 and 1919. the cult swis seemed to be on tp swing. the military death was 118. for a total of 129 debts, the epidemic struck. there was a total of 156 fatalities overall. the passing of the last soldier from influenza occurred on november 7, 1918. the majority of the dough boys got its third wave before the influenza struck in late november, early december.

there was a little girl who died on april 27, 1919. for a total of 133 civilian deaths from influenza or pneumonia in adams county. with that final casualty, the ordeal is over. it cost at least 289 military and civilian souls within the county's borders. at the end of the battle of gettysburg, at the end of the tenure to camp cole, 133 civilians lay dead. numbers, percentages and ratios are impersonal and do not ref t reflect the widespread suffering who were afflicted of family and friends. soldiers who were buried at national cemetary but most

returned home at the request of their next of kin. each flag-draped coffin was returned. the uniforms and other items of the soldiers were destroyed on the orders of the camp surgeon, so the remains were dressed in new uniforms consisting of a wool coat and britches, cotton underwear, a pair of stockings, a pair of leggings and marching shoes. personal effects, other than uniform items, were packaged and sent to the next of kin. you can see things buried at the national cemetary. the influenza epidemic had a sad and profound impact on the soldiers and nurses at camp cole. perhaps the greatest memorial bestowed on its dead was written in a newsletter titled "gone west: a tribute by a comrade."

the anonymous author, in the midst of this, eloquently articulated his sorrow in the last lines of his tribute. quote, we stand a moment with heads bowed, with heavy hearts, in silent tribute. then with heads up and eyes front, we will carry on, fellows. we will carry on, unquote. and they did carry on, but not for much longer. in fact, none of camp cole's soldiers who read that particular issue would ever see combat in the great war. in a few weeks, it would all be over over there. on november 11, 1918, armistice went into effect. the next day the gettysburg times correctly predicted in a front page article that, quote,

camp cole will probably be a thing of the past in the next few weeks. no official announcement has been made but the abandonment of camp cole has been respected as a natural end of the war, closed quote. the newspaper announced the tankers would be leaving the next day, saturday, november 16, on special trains bound for camp dix, new jersey to be mustered out of the service. camp cole was no more. all that remained was -- it proved to be a mass undertaking. leaving the battlefield with scars for years to come. next slide. lieutenant colonel emm oro b. c,

mark engineer, talked about the damage the u.s. army had caused from 1917 to 1918. click again. and again. it's a little light. can you all read that? at least 1,428 cubic yards of refuse needed to be removed to clear the camp site's areas from waste and make fills. 3,979 cubic yards of earth had to be moved to level drains, ditches and culverts. they were all sprayed in the middle of the battlefield. one of the tracks that must be plowed up, stone removed and

leveled. next one. on the trostle farm, do you all know the trostle farm, the famous picture of the horses around the farmhouse? 1,103 could you be i recollect yards of fill ground would be needed to restore land used for trenches, machine gun pits and ant septic tanks for the disposal of sewage. this is 1918. $1,400 worth of post and rail fencing, gates, walls, concrete culvert and wire fencing had been destroyed and needed replaced. wire, broken board, wooden foundation blocks, et cetera, scattered all over the area. this cannot be correctly estimated but must be removed. most of the junk that he didn't want went into that swimming

pool. and that's still there today, and i told your superintendent here, you go out there in the springtime and you take a look, and she said, what do you see, mark? i said, groundhog holes everywhere and world war i relics scattered all around. remember what she said? groundhogs are the best little archeologists. so that's still there today. our time this afternoon has not allowed me to go in depth about the environmental impact on camps of the gettysburg military park. nor have i had a chance to tell you about the contribution to the war effort or how the people who lived here remembered their sacrifices in the years that followed. to find out about those things, a shameless plug coming up, you will have to read my book which just came out, not forthcoming,

which is the first in h in-dept history of world war i. thank you very much for your time. [ applause ] >> yes, sir. >> the swimming pool, was that close in proximity to the united states regulars monument? >> right in front of it. >> east or west? >> west. you could stand at regulars monument, throw a baseball, it would land in the swimming pool. that's how close it was. any other questions? yes, ma'am. >> the soldiers recruited or those who became soldiers in world war i, what percentage of them stayed stateside and what percentage of them wentov over europe? >> you got me. i could look it up, but i really

don't know. i know several million went overseas. the problem was the war was relatively short from our perspective, from the united states' perspective. the war was declared in april. we do send a contingent. we did send the first division over early on. we send the fashl guard divis n division. most of your trips don't arrive until the early spring of 1918. the combat involving american forces does not occur until the last week of may 1919 and the first man who was killed who came from gettysburg, the first man killed in action was in the first division, and he was killed about two weeks prior to the battle of cantiti, which was considered the first big american action of war. his name was albert j. lent, and

our american legion made a post of his name to his memory. but as far as numbers and percentages, i just couldn't tell you. we would have had the lion's share of forces over there had the war gone into 1919 or 1920. >> so what if it was something really dramatic, like half? >> i can tell you it wasn't half. they were gearing up to go over. a lot of them were on their way when the armistice was declined. >> that before was 1920. unfortunately, no report exists between 1922, i believe it is, and 1926, so we don't know if there was any tangible vestiges in the camp remaining. but i imagine you could see them with the naked eye. the topography of the battlefield has changed because of these camps.

first of all, there was a railroad line that bisected the camp and that was before the civili civil war. from a bird's eye view, you can still see today where the. or they at the present time tanks you will. they have races for them. i would say in 1920, most of that went away. but in 1920, maneuvers came from quantico and they made some damage. there is torrential downpours as they're getting ready to leave, and they bring in a bunch of tanks and heavy equipment. that all gets stuck and that's

all over at seminary ridge. so they battled that. >> was there a perimeter area where vifsit ors couldn't go? >> it did curtail visitor parking when they were here. >> i'm talking about visiting soldiers who were here. >> yes. i can tell you when they were being used as a machine gun range, there were no many. >> i was just going to say it seems like on the ground of camp colt was the prison camp during

world war ii. they had been built new, right? >> there were no sfrurz from e the. the only one who got quarters were officers, and it was only torn down 10 to 15 years ago. they were quartered there and it was contracted out for officers and their families. i walked out to the area where the p.o.w. camp was, and there were busted bottles laying there from the world war ii period. let me pull up some of the flags i didn't show.

>> if was talking about the battlefield being changed. when you bring in all these soldiers and you're digging foundations for buildings and you are grating the area you're going to put company streets on and lay down gravel, if you look at the battlefield today, to the naked eye, it probably looks the way it did. but if you're a confederate soldier in one of the attacking divisions, it would look completely different to them today, because as they're walking across, they're taking advantage of the rolling ground of the battlefield to mask themselves from union defensive fire. well, that rolling ground pretty much was flat out there. the camp did take its toll on the resources here at

gettysburg. >> in '22, the landing strip, the airstrip. >> that was a temporary strip. they had a temporary landing strip on seminary ridge. that didn't do too much because those planes could land just about anywhere. one marine plan crashed into the ground and both guys died as a result. another one almost crashed into the wheat field, the famous wheat field where it ditched. >> i have a question. how many monuments were destroyed? >> well, none were destroyed but a lot were vandalized. some were hit by trucks, army trucks. there were a couple hundred motorcycles, trucks and cars that were driving on these company streets in the middle of the battlefield along park road. and the colonel talks about pieces missing off of cannons and bayonets busted off the

soldiers. >> he didn't repair them, then? >> yeah, they were all repaired at the cost of the american taxpayer. any other questions? all right. well, thank you very much. [ applause ] tonight on american history tv on cspan-3, an in-depth look at world war i starting with a tour of the library of congress exhibit, echoes of the great war with curator ryan reft. american history tv in prime time begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern. you're watching american history tv. follow us on twitter at cspan history to keep up with our schedule and get the latest history news. for conversation, like us on facebook at c-span.

our labor day weekend starts saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. at the university of colorado, professor matt harris talks about the anti-slavery unit in the civil war. then at 10:00 a.m. on sunday, oral histories. then at 8:00 p.m., the presidency. monday at 8:00 p.m., the presidential sites summit. watch american history tv this weekend on c-span3. the national museum of health and medicine in silver spring, maryland recently hosted a discussion with historian rachel