Camp Wadsworth - WWI Info

One of the members of my metal detecting club sent me a fascinating email about Camp Wadsworth and the shelling practice that took place around Hogback and Glassy Mountain in our local area. I found one of the old shells (check out post WWII Bomb Shell Casing Found! ).

His email is very informative and there are some great links and pictures to great military stuff! Here is an excerpt from his email:

The United States' declaration of war against Germany on 6 April 1917 resulted in the federalization of National Guard units across the county. Most National Guard units were mobilized for organization and training at newly established tent camps across the Southeast. An intense lobbying effort resulted in Spartanburg receiving one of these facilities in July 1917. Named after a famous Civil War general from New York, Camp Wadsworth occupied over 1300 acres on Spartanburg's Westside. The area is now occupied by West Gate Mall, the Dorman Center, and Vanderbilt Hills. Camp Wadsworth was selected as the mobilization and training camp for the New York National Guard. Troops arrived at the camp from August to October 1917 and were reorganized into the 27th Infantry Division.

The New York National Guard was among the largest and best equipped militia organizations in the country. It was one of only four National Guard units large enough to be organized into a single, homogeneous division. This fact can be better appreciated when it is realized that each American division had an approximate strength of 30,000 men. Additionally, the New York National Guard was one of only two guard organizations to enter the war with a fully equipped artillery brigade. An artillery brigade consisted of two light artillery regiments armed with 3" field guns and one heavy artillery regiment with 4.7" howitzers. A trench mortar battery was organized and added to the brigade shortly after its arrival at Camp Wadsworth. In the 27th Division, these units were known as the 104th Field Artillery Regiment (light), the 105th Field Artillery Regiment (light), the 106th Field Artillery Regiment (heavy), and the 102nd Trench Mortar Battery.

The War Department decided to purchased an additional 14,000 acre tract of land in Northeastern Greenville County to serve as Camp Wadsworth's artillery and rifle range. This was done for the following reasons.

1) Spartanburg County was too densely populated for live fire artillery instruction.
2) The 33 mile hike from Camp Wadsworth to the firing range would provide excellent physical conditioning for both infantry and artillery regiments.
3) The vast acreage would provide enough room for combined artillery, infantry, and machine gun maneuvers.

Engineer troops began preliminary survey and construction work in late September 1917. Final property releases were secured in October, with the entire transaction being covered by a blanket lease negotiated by the Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce. Infantry and artillery units moved into the mountains from mid November to late December 1917 to perform heavy construction work. They labored under the engineers to build firing trenches, gun pits, and target areas. Artillery camps were established at Oak Grove Church and a site off Highway 414. Supplies were brought into the mountains from supply depots at Campobello and Landrum. Conditions became increasingly appalling with the onset of winter. Temperatures routinely dropped below zero and the roads were reduced to quagmires. Amazingly, the 105th Artillery Regiment maintained a constant presence at the range during this entire period. This regiment completed its period of fire instruction in late January 1918. The 104th and 106th artillery regiments occupied the range in February and completed their period of instruction in April. April also witnessed combined arms maneuvers with the 27th Division's infantry and artillery troops. Each infantry division marched to the range and advanced behind a rolling barrage of shrapnel shells fired by the 104th and 105th artillery. This is generally regarded as the most advanced infantry/artillery maneuver held in the United States up to that date. The 27th Division began moving overseas at the end of April 1918. No artillery instruction took place at the range after this date. The property was released back to the original owners in early 1919.

You might be interested in the following links:

http://www.historicreproductions.com/

Click on "Restorations" and select the Model 1902 3" Field Gun. This is the type of gun that was used by the 104th and 105th Artillery. It is also the type of gun that fired the shell you found.

https://www.infantry.army.mil/museum/outside_tour/guns/1906.htm

This link will ask you to accept a temporary security certificate. It will give you a picture and information on the gun used by the 106th Artillery.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/panoramic_photo/

Enter "Camp Wadsworth" in the search box. This should return a panoramic image of the 54th Infantry Brigade rifle range at Glassy Mt.

Readers ID The Shell Casing As WWI NOT II

NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH!

Thank goodness there are people out there who know something about war stuff! Special thanks go out to two members of my metal detecting club who sent me emails with GREAT information about the bomb shell casing that I found and have a pictured in an earlier post WWII Bomb Shell Casing Found! . Here are a couple of their comments:

...I think your shell is older than you think. I might be wrong but I think it could be WW1 instead of WWII. If troops came from Wadsworth it was WW1 or Camp Croft it would be WWII...

...That should be a WWI shell that you found. That area was an artillery practice site for Camp Wadsworth which was a WWI training camp...

Two id's! It's WWI not II. GREAT! If you have more info, please let me know! treasureholic@gmail.com

Happy Hunting!

WWII Bomb Shell Casing Found!

It's 'Da Bomb here in South Carolina!

A neighbor of mine, who has some property right down the road, gave me permission to do a little metal detecting on his land.

During World War II, there was a training facility in the general area. Over the years, I have heard about the training facility, the shelling and have been told many interesting things about the military operation that was housed there.

A couple of years ago, a friend who grew up in this area, showed me very old pictures of US soldiers who were in bunkers going through military training on the site. I have asked for permission to post those pictures and it was granted so check back! I will be picking them up in a couple of days and will be posting them here on the blog.

From what I have been told by locals, there were several military sites where rounds were consistently fired at Hogback Mountain. (I took this picture two weeks ago when the Peach trees were glorious and in full bloom - BTW - SC is second in peach production AHEAD OF GEORGIA but behind CA!) At the time, the area was uninhabited and the mountain was a perfect backdrop for shelling.

If you ask the older folks about the operation, stories abound about live shells, bomb bullets and bits of shrapnel and brass littering the area. One of my pals told me that he would go over to the mountain with his Dad during the Depression, pick up the shells and sell the brass and metal to bring in additional income for the family. He told me that lots of folks did that during the weekends hoping to find something that they could sell when times were hard.

I started treasure hunting today in the "mule pasture". Dora, the mule followed me the entire time and watched me swing the "stick with the funny round end" back in forth over her fescue. With Dora's help, I found four bomb bullets. I'm sure there has to be an official name for these lead bullets. If you know what it is, I would welcome the information! In addition, if you have details about the military operation at Hogback Mountain in South Carolina, I would love to hear about it! Please email me!

Bomb bullets are round lead pellets that are bigger than a musket ball. The large rounds that were fired toward the mountain were full of them. When the shells exploded, the bomb bullets would fly and disperse like shrapnel. There are many of them scattered about in the general area. The bullets are made out of lead.

Funny, it seems as if most people who have lived in these parts are familiar with bomb bullets and they still have the ones that they picked up years ago. What's funnier still are the uses that they have found for these lead bullets. Someone told me today that his son drills holes in them and still uses them as fishing sinkers.

As Dora and I checked out her field, my metal detector alerted to a rather large target. The target was long and relatively thin. I dug down about 12 inches and found a tubular object. I was hoping to find a shell casing. I opened the size of the hole and sure enough, it appeared to be a shell.

I was very careful to hand dig around it with my small spade until I determined that the mortar round was missing and it was empty. At that point, I finished digging it out and took my spade and cleaned out the inside of the shell casing. I was thrilled to find the casing, packed it up carefully, thanked Dora and headed for the gate!