Chickamauga and Chattanooga Administrative History

CHAPTER VI:
MILITARY USE OF THE PARK (continued)

The relationship between park authorities and the post command at Fort Oglethorpe continued much as in the past during the years leading up to World War I. Because both sides worked for the War Department, the situation produced many awkward moments. In 1912 the park registered complaints against the Army for erecting, without park approval, horse hurdles in fields where large monuments were located. Park authorities also protested as dangerous to the public the "crossing and re-crossing of the most frequently traveled roads of the park by thirty or forty horses at full speed. . . . " [41] Later, Superintendent Randolph complained loudly when troops felled more than 150 trees in building and repairing the hurdles. "Some beautiful water oaks were cut on Snodgrass Hill, . . . one of the most historic spots in the park. . . . " [42] In May, 1913, a camp of instruction for militia officers took place, followed by an assembly of boy scouts in July. [43] And in 1916 Fort Oglethorpe and the park served as a convalescent camp for troops returning from duty on the Mexican border. [44]

America's entry into World War I in 1917 brought an expanded occupation of Fort Oglethorpe and the adjoining battlefield. Over the next two years the historic ground became the scene of a complex of buildings and troops that was more massive than the concentration in 1898 had been. Operations began in May, 1917, with the directive of the Quartermaster General to erect sufficient structures to accommodate nine regiments of infantry, three of cavalry, six hundred officers for medical training, plus an ambulance company and a field hospital company. Layout of the buildings began immediately with considerations for drainage and prevailing winds foremost in mind. In May, two facilities opened. Camp Forrest, named for Confederate Cavalry leader Nathan Bedford Forrest, was a training camp for reserve officers. Camp Greenleaf, named for medical corps pioneer Brigadier General Charles R. Greenleaf, was established for the training of reserve medical officers. Situated on Snodgrass Field, Camp Greenleaf initially sheltered 1500 troops but later was expanded to include facilities previously occupied by combat personnel. By November, 1918, early 7,000 officers and 31,000 enlisted 45 men had been received for training at Camp Greenleaf. [45] In addition, an officer candidate school, Camp Warden McLean, was set up, besides a recruiting station and reception center for inductees. [46]

Cantonments for the various Army units were established through the park as follows:

The Eleventh, Twenty-second, and Twenty-third Cavalry regiments, the medical officers' camp, and the hospital and ambulance units were also situated in the park. All of these military commands required construction of tents and wooden barracks buildings. There were, besides, at least a dozen buildings erected by the Young Men's Christian Association at the intersection of Lafayette and Saw Mill Fork roads, and a German prisoner-of-war camp was established on the Fort Oglethorpe reservation north of the post. As a primary Army medical facility there was much concern over maintaining good health as well as good discipline among the troops. Attempts were made to close several brothels that opened in the vicinity of the park. Avoiding the problems with the water supply that had tormented officials in 1898, Army authorities had the water mains connected to the Chattanooga water supply system. No wells were drilled in the park. For fire protection a large reservoir was built on a ridge of Snodgrass Hill. Sewer pipes connected to the cantonment areas provided drainage, and electric light and telephone service was installed. [48]

Only part of the barracks were ready to receive the first trainees in June, due partially to difficulties in draining and otherwise preparing the designated ground. Over the next year numerous schools were organized. At Camp Greenleaf the School of Applied Surgical Mechanics started instruction in November, 1917, and other schools dealing in dentistry, nutrition, anatomy, plastic and oral surgery, urology, opthalmology, psychology, surgery, neurosurgery, veterinary medicine, and roentgenology soon followed. The School of Gas Defense also opened in November; eventually the gas training apparatus was moved close to the Snodgrass Hill Road and new buildings were constructed. Still other instruction programs were devised for mechanics and drivers, cooks and bakers, and noncommissioned officers. A meteorological station was established early in 1918 at Camp Greenleaf. [49]

The presence of the large concentration of troops once more made park authorities seek assurances that the resources would not be harmed. Commanding officers were duly instructed against destroying timber and damaging markers and monuments. To insure compliance, Commission Chairman Joseph B. Cumming had published substantially the same regulations formulated in 1898 respecting use of the park. These included provisions against damage to trees by cavalry stock, indiscriminate cutting of timber, dumping of trash or manure on wooded tracts, and mutilation of memorials, markers, and gun carriages. [50]

Nonetheless, some damage occurred. In the spring of 1918 the infantrymen in the camp began training in trench warfare, excavating broad ditches in the woods near where the cantonment buildings were located. Fearing wholesale destruction of the timbered park land, Superintendent Randolph requested of the War Department that such entrenchments henceforth be confined to the open fields where restoration could be made. By mid-summer extensive trench works carved up the terrain on the north and south slopes of Snodgrass Hill. [51] When the medical camp was expanded into that area the trenches thereafter went unused. An Army inspector called for the restoration of the tract:

Owing to the action of the elements the longer these trenches remain the more unsightly the grounds will become, due to washouts and cave-ins and a resultant loss of material for back filling which it will be necessary to have to restore them. These trenches vary in depth from 8 to probably 10 or 12 feet, including rooms or bomb proofs. The slopes of Snodgrass Hill have been so disturbed that it is doubtful whether it will be possible to restore them to their original condition. [52]

As the medical camp increased in size it occupied cantonments in the south part of Chickamauga Park vacated by line personnel. A new hospital complex of fourteen buildings was constructed on McDonald Field below Fort Oglethorpe. This, together with the location of cantonments on park lands farther south, raised fears that the concentration might be permanent rather than temporary. [53] The troop camps were "in direct conflict with the historical value of the park . . .," wrote War Department inspector Robert E. Parker. [54] Parker penned a tremendously significant critique of the Army's use of the ground that went far beyond conventional inspection reports. To occupy the park, he wrote, "it was only necessary to ignore or subordinate the object of the park's establishment." Furthermore, he said, other land was available nearby that could have been used instead. [55] Not only had many trees been cut down, but the buildings of the various cantonments had been arranged without semblance of harmony or logic. "In other words, buildings have been 'plumped' down where ever available open space existed or could be obtained by slight cutting of timber."

From the prison barracks, at the north end of the Fort Oglethorpe Reservation, on the LaFayette road until the road emerges at the south end of the park there is an almost unbroken series of groups of unsightly one-story buildings with here and there a tent camp. In some sections it has been necessary to build the cantonments around the monuments or in such close proximity that these monuments have to be protected by rude fencing. In some cases groves have been whitewashed. . . . To date there have been 1,638 structures erected, including cantonents, hospitals, Y.M.C.A., K of C., and Red Cross buildings. [56]

Other threats to the park's integrity included the deterioration of its roads caused by the heavy Army trucks, the cutting of trails through fields and forests, and the disturbing of the battlefield terrain by altering the grades to conform with construction needs. If the park were to survive, concluded Parker, further construction would have to be stopped, all trench work eradicated "to the satisfaction of the Superintendent," and notions for continued occupation after the war must be abandoned. The park "should be preserved as one of our great national memorials of the Civil War in accordance with the purpose of its creation by Congress." [57]

The action of Congress in preserving this beautiful park and marking thereon the history of the three days struggle has been justified by the wide spread popular interest. Not only have the states made large appropriations for the erection of monuments, markers and tablets, but state historical commissions have been appointed and provision made for large delegations to visit the park. The public visits it in large numbers, being actuated by historic interest. Patriotic reasons alone should impel the Department to preserve the park in the integrity of its historic associations. After a careful survey of the conditions on the grounds, after a year's occupation as a cantonment site, it appears that the time has come when a hard and fast decision must be made to so preserve it. Any other course would mean its ultimate destruction without the warrant of military necessity. [58]

But the army still needed more land, and in September proposed to obtain a large tract south of the park for another cantonment. The War Labor Board eventually disapproved the project, [59] and the Armistice in November removed the need altogether. Meantime, Fort Oglethorpe and Chickamauga Park were hit by the influenza epidemic that struck the nation in September and October; influenza and pneumonia infected 3,553 soldiers at the cantonments. By late November, 1918, medical training activities at Camp Greenleaf were suspended, and by December the camp had been designated as a general demobilization center. [60] Likewise, Camp Warden McLean was closed and its buildings turned over as a medical annex to Camp Greenleaf. In the previous nineteen months over 60,000 troops had passed through the center. [61]

The aftermath of the World War I occupation was a period of reflection and restoration. Commission Chairman Cumming accused the War Department of having "adopted a course toward the Park unqualifiedly antagonistic to the reason of the Park's existence." [62] New roads and trails, he declared, now confused official records of the Civil War operations. Open trenches still abounded and trees had been felled. "In some instances buildings are almost in contact with monuments--the effect and the significance of the latter being lost thereby." [63] While during the war, Cumming stated, he felt constrained not to interfere, now "the Commission feels that it would be recreant to its trust" if it did not seek action "as will prevent the final defeat of the original purpose of the Park." [64] He pointedly called for removal of all military buildings from within the park, filling of trenches and regrading of the soil, obliteration of all new roads, repair of monuments, markers, and gun carriages, reforestation where required, and resodding of the fields. [65] Most of these rehabilitative elements occurred over time. For the moment, however, Camp Greenleaf remained functioning as a recruit station and detention camp, [66] much to the chagrin of park officials. In November, 1919, the War Department sold most of the cantonment buildings. Funds realized went to the Treasury, while the park submitted a request for an appropriation for $105,273 to cover the expense of restoration. Congress approved $65,000 for the work. [67] In 1920 the army cantonments were sold to the American House Wrecking Company of Chicago which proceeded to remove the buildings. Next year Cumming reported that substantial progress had been made in restoring the trench-scarred ground, but that much work remained in effacing the Army roads and trails. By then all buildings had been dismantled except for the hospital on McDonald Field, some warehouses near Bloody Pond, and a few cantonments in the area occupied by Camp McLean. [68] These were sold during the year. Restoration of the disfigured fields proceeded, and by July Superintendent Randolph reported "a marked improvement in the appearance of Chickamauga Park." [69]

Over the next few years rehabilitation of the battlefield continued. In 1926 Randolph reported substantial progress and noted that "nature is healing many of the scars left by the troops." [70] The military use of the park did not end, however, with its World War I occupation, and over the next two decades troops from Fort Oglethorpe took useful advantage of the proximity of the historic ground to the post. Snodgrass Field became a parade field where reviews and inspections were commonly held. Cavalrymen made frequent use of the grounds to practice training maneuvers, although they remained posted to Fort Oglethorpe. National Guard units from surrounding states annually used the park for maneuvers, and in 1933 an airstrip was built on Wilder Field for training of the Alabama Thirty-first National Guard Division Aviation Detachment. This development brought complaints from residents of Lookout Mountain about airplanes flying too close to their communities. Following the transfer of the park administration to the Department of the Interior, army officials feared their training privileges on the battlefield would be lost. Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes wrote the Secretary of War on August 14, 1933, to dispell the fear and assure the War Department that permission for using park lands for training purposes would continue. In addition, golf courses and polo fields located on park property continued in use as a matter of courtesy. [71]

But National Park Service administration of the park differed from that under the War Department and leaned away from the use of the ground for maneuvering purposes. The park service began limiting military bivouacs on the battlefields to one night as opposed to the two weeks formerly approved. This brought a barrage of criticism from national guard officers who complained that too much attention was being paid to beautifying the tract thereby destroying "its usefulness as a military training ground." Randolph adeptly defended his position, however, citing the original purpose of the park was as a memorial shrine rather than a training facility. [72] Military use nonetheless proceeded much as before, and in July, 1935, received further impetus when a War Department request for authority to use the park for "routine" training was approved by the National Park Service. By then the lands each summer were being extensively occupied by regulars, national guardsmen, reserve officers, Reserve Officers Training Corps trainees, and Citizens Military Training Camp trainees. [73] Perhaps the closest any of the training came to the ideal laid down in the 1896 legislation authorizing use of the park for purposes of instruction occurred in 1935 when a group of officers from the Army War College spent three days at the park studying the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga. [74] Other use of the park that year involved the customary reviews and inspections held on Snodgrass Field, and maneuvers and drills by regular troops, reserve officers, and national guardsmen. The use continued to pose problems of worn roads and trails and destruction of vegetation, all of which defied permanent resolution. work. [75]

When Army use of the land increased with the outbreak of war in Europe in the late 1930s, the park service was obliged to accommodate the situation as best it could. In 1940 a special interpretive program began, designed to instruct draftees from Fort Oglethorpe about the Civil War battles while instilling in them patriotic motives geared to the present day. This successful program was continued in 1941. [76] Horse trail systems were also developed, some along historical routes, for the use of maneuvering cavalry units within the park. [77] Motor vehicle traffic on park roads increased, causing rapid surface deterioration and necessitating short term repairs by park personnel. During 1940 and 1941 some 30,000 troops, mostly national guardsmen, bivouacked in the park, while the Sixth Cavalry, with approval of the National Park Service, conducted extensive training operations using horses, motorcycles, trucks, and trailers. [78] In October, 1941, Army officials surveyed Snodgrass Field in preparation of a design for a 7,000-man prison camp possibly intended to house prisoners-of-war. Park service authorities suggested that the McDonald and Mullis fields, already used by the Army for a golf course and horse show ring, be considered instead so as not to damage the wooded land between Snodgrass and Dyer fields. [79] In Chattanooga, meanwhile, the War Department obtained authorization to use part of the National Cemetery property along Bailey Avenue as a 500-man rest camp designated as the Chattanooga Recreational Area. This use lasted until August, 1944. [80]

In 1942 the Third Cavalry, also a horse unit, replaced the Sixth at Fort Oglethorpe. The regiment continued using the park as had its predecessor for drill and maneuver practice and various tactical exercises. The Army in that year decided against building a prison camp on the park, eventually erecting stockade facilities at Fort Oglethorpe. Instead, construction began at Barnhardt Circle, in an area soon known as South Park, of a group of buildings to be used as a Provost Marshal General's School Center. [81] This complex was completed in July, 1942. In August the Third Cavalry was transferred from Fort Oglethorpe; the Sixteenth Cavalry, an entirely mechanized armor unit, was assigned to Fort Oglethorpe. Additional school buildings were erected along the Snodgrass-Savannah Road, and some portable CCC structures were raised on McDonald Field for the Provost Marshal General's School. [82] Warehouses and a motor pool were constructed near the railroad siding in the west section of the park. Troop use of the grounds decreased in the autumn of 1942, except for transient units that occasionally bivouacked overnight at Wilder Field. In December the Provost Marshal General's Training School closed and its personnel moved to a new facility in Michigan. [83] Early in 1943 the buildings became used for a Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) Training Center capable of housing more than 9,000 persons. The new function required the removal of the cavalry troops and medical units posted to Fort Oglethorpe. In February the Third WAAC training center officially opened with a live broadcast over the NBC Radio Network from Chickamauga Park. The WAAC center attracted much local and national notice. [84] Superintendent Dunn was grateful for the attention. "Our park is now receiving . . . much publicity. No doubt after the war is over many of the veteran WAACs will want to come back to the park and bring their relatives and friends with them. Many of the WAACs are showing an interest in the history of the area on which they are en camped." [85]

Military activity through most of 1943 was confined to WAAC training, although Wilder Field received thousands of transient troops for short-term bivouacs. Numerous general officers visited the WAAC Center, and in April, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt toured the complex and visited Lookout Mountain. In December Georgia Governor Ellis Arnall came to the park to participate in "Governor's Day" festivities which included a review of the troops and a seventeen-gun salute. [86] To aid in maintaining the Chattanooga National Cemetery German prisoners-of-war from Fort Oglethorpe were employed raking leaves, trimming trees, and landscaping, along with the regular park labor force. [87]

In June, 1945, the War Department announced its plans to close the WAC training center. According to Superintendent Dunn, the presence of the facility on park lands "has caused less material damage to the park than any of the other military uses permitted on the park since training activities for the present war began, although the WAC occupation has always been much larger than any of the other military units using the park." [88] Nearly 50,000 women had passed through the center since 1942.The complex of buildings was to be remodeled and designated a redistribution center for soldiers returning from overseas. In addition, the Chaplain's and Adjutant General's schools were to be moved to Fort Oglethorpe, and Army plans called for the post to be maintained after the war as a general administration school. [89] During Fort Oglethorpe's function as a discharge station and redistribution center, some 4,000 men passed through the post each week, partaking of such recreational activities as bowling, swimming, horseback riding, fishing, boating, and archery. A new golf course was constructed in the summer of 1945. [90]

By 1946, however, the days of military activity on park property were numbered. Early in the year the War Department launched an effort to permanently obtain the 270-acre tract called "South Post" and enlisted some support among Chattanoogans for the project. The area contemplated for acquisition embraced several historical sites, including the monuments erected by South Carolina and Minnesota, and a large number of mounted guns, interpretive markers, and shell memorials. Citing the "sacred trust" inherent in the administration of the national military parks by the National Park Service, Secretary of the Interior Julius A. Krug denied the War Department request and called for the removal of all army buildings from the concerned tract. [91] The Army, however, was slow to react. In October Secretary Krug wrote the War Department that the buildings on the park "constitute a major intrusion into the battlefield and . . . interfere with complete interpretive and commemorative use of the area." [92] The Park Service also opposed a recommendation by the Federal Public Housing Authority that the structures be converted into temporary housing for veterans. [93] Finally, in November the War Department announced that Fort Oglethorpe was to be abandoned in January, 1947, and that the reservation lands would be declared surplus. Park authorities located documents that showed the lands purchased in 1902 and 1903 belonged to Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, but the effort was to no avail. [94] On abandonment of the post all structures were turned over to the Corps of Engineers, and later, to the War Assets Administration for disposal. The Department of the Interior issued a permit allowing the Federal Public Housing Authority to convert some of the Army barracks within the park into multiple family apartment units for the use of veterans subject to removal of the buildings in 1949. [95] Those not so utilized were dismantled beginning in December, 1947, and by late 1949 most all the vacant structures had been razed. [96] In November, 1948, several of the Fort Oglethorpe dwellings were transferred to the National Park Service for employee use and within two years they were occupied by park personnel and their families. [97]

Military activity thereafter all but ceased at the park. During the 1950s there was virtually no military presence. In 1962 the park allowed 400 army vehicles enroute from South Carolina to Kentucky to use its parking facilities and bivouac in the "old south post area," a courtesy extended again in following years. [98] In 1970 an ROTC unit from the University of Tennessee conducted some mountain environment exercises at Lookout Mountain, and in 1975 and 1976 area Army reserve troops, as a bicentennial project, aided the park in cleaning monuments, resurfacing trails, and placing trail signs. [99] Clearly, the military use of the park had entered a new day.