| 90th Anniversary Commemorative Issue |
| 1920s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | ||||||
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A chronicle of our past: 1909 - 1999 |
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The
following information is designed to provide readers with a synopsis
of each of the 90 years Fort McCoy has served America's armed forces. The
information was obtained from the records at the installation's
history center, and by reviewing archived copies of the installation's
newspapers and the local community publications. Using the historical records available, every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. The
idea of using the land east of Sparta, Wis., as an artillery range was
conceived by Robert B. McCoy. He
had the foresight to recognize that future conflicts were inevitable,
weapons would be improved upon, and training had to be emphasized. Upon
returning from the Spanish-American War, he envisioned an artillery
camp, suitable for training soldiers, situated in the low pastures and
wooded hills surrounding Sparta.
He started by buying small tracts of land, which he rented for
grazing to finance additional land purchases.
Eventually, he acquired 4,000 acres. Maj.
Samuel Allen, commander of the 7th Field Artillery, Fort Snelling,
Minn., also admired the terrain of the Sparta area for its training
value. In September 1905,
Robert B. McCoy invited Allen's unit, along with an Army board of
reviewing officers, to put the land to the test during 16 days of
training on his family's ranch. In
1906, William Howard Taft, then Secretary of War, advocated building
four large maneuver camps across the nation to be used jointly
by the Regular Army and National Guard.
Part of the package included a $150,000 appropriation to buy
land near the state military reservation at Camp Douglas, Wis. When
local landowners around Camp Douglas heard this news, land prices
skyrocketed from about $3 an acre to $30 an acre.
Because of this, the McCoy property between Sparta and Tunnel
City came under closer scrutiny.
The increase, coupled with the recommendations from Maj. Allen
and the board of reviewing officers, led to the purchase of the McCoy
property and additional land around it for a total of more than 14,000
acres. 1909
Negotiations
were concluded, and the Sparta Maneuver Tract became a reality in 1909
on what is known today as "south post." The total parcel was
divided approximately in half by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and
Pacific railroad. Situated
north of the tracks was a maneuver camp named Camp Emory Upton.
An artillery camp known as Camp Robinson went up to the south
of the tracks (named for Col. William W. Robinson, a Sparta resident
who commanded a regiment of Wisconsin volunteers during the Civil
War).
Temporary
galvanized buildings were constructed, and training began.
The railroad provided an unloading sidetrack near the artillery
camp and ran a spur into the maneuver camp. Camp
Robinson prepared to receive its first "campers" under the
command of Capt. William M. Cruikshank, the first official
installation commander. The
first unit to arrive was a medical unit from Fort Russell, Wyo. During
the summer, the first telegraph (wireless) message dispatched from
Camp Robinson was sent to the city of St. Paul. 1910 Congress
appropriated $40,000 for additional improvements. Construction was aimed at making the site permanent.
A large, elevated steel tank was erected and pipes laid for the
distribution of water at Camp Robinson. The
camp was named Camp Bruce E. McCoy in honor of Capt. McCoy (Robert
Bruce McCoy's father), who was a captain in the Civil War and for
years was the owner of the old La Fayette mill property and the land
on which the maneuver camp was located. On
May 5, 1910, the War Department issued Order No. 79, providing for
military training on the reservation during the summer, including
maneuvers on an extended scale. This
order required that Ten
thousand troops arrived in August for training at Camp McCoy. 1911 Improvements
were made to the camp's rifle ranges, office buildings and a
storehouse. From
1911 to 1915, during the months of June through October, the camp was
occupied by some units of the 5th Field Artillery and was the training
center for National Guard units from the north-central United States. 1912 A
rifle range was constructed with the intention of holding the National
Rifle Matches. Due to
unforeseen circumstances, the matches were never held. With
the establishment of the reservation, the question of roads leading to
it was an important consideration.
Through the efforts of Col. Robert B. McCoy, the town board of
the Town of Angelo laid out a road, which considerably shortened the
distance from the camp to the city.
The road was completed in 1912. Camp
size was increased to accommodate an additional regiment at its Emory
Upton site. 1913 Battery
D, an artillery unit from Fort Snelling, Minn., marched through Sparta
on its way to the artillery camp.
Other militia batteries, with their horses, from several states
visited the camp during the summer months. War
Department officials announced that from 10,000 to 12,000 regulars of
the U.S. Army, depending on the Mexican border situation, would
assemble at the Sparta Reservation in 1914 for the biennial interior
maneuvers. It was noted
that an entire brigade could complete its firing in a day and a half
at the Sparta Camp, so great were the capabilities offered by the
rifle range. 1914 The
War Department announced that the gathering of the Regular Army on the
Mexican Border greatly would affect the size of anticipated maneuvers
at the Sparta Camp. Two
regiments of Minnesota National Guard soldiers arrived in Sparta by
train for 10-day maneuvers at the Sparta Camp. The
War Department announced a division shoot or rifle match (then held at
Camp Douglas) would be held at the Sparta Camp.
It was expected that states in the northern Mississippi valley
area would send their best teams.
Officials said it would not impact the normal encampment of
several state Guard units during the summer months. The
Fourth Regiment Band, South Dakota National Guard, came to town July
13 and treated the locals to a concert that the Monroe County Democrat
described as "one of the finest that all present would remember
for many a day." The
concert was held in front of the Hotel Lewis.
Landlord Mahoney of the Hotel Lewis extended the city's
compliments by way of a box of Key West cigars.
The paper added, "by the way you Sparta folks, the next
time you hear the Star Spangled Banner, don't make us ashamed of you;
men take your hats off and stand at attention, thrust your chins out
and think this thought - this music and the words that accompany it
represent our flag and what it represents.
And you women of Sparta, please be still and stand erect, don't
move around, don't visit with your neighbors and don't chew gum while
our reverent anthem is being played." 1915 Battery
A, of Fort Houston, Texas, left that city May 6 arriving at Camp
Robinson after a 1,527-mile journey.
The battery consisted of 150 men, 123 horses and 16 mules. Battery
A, of the third Field Artillery U.S. Army reached Camp Robinson
Monday, May 24 completing a 280-mile "hike" from Fort
Sheridan. Observers noted
the soldiers failed to show the slightest bit of fatigue from their
journey as they entered the camp for training. Sparta
Postmaster Rice spent July 7 at Camp Robinson assisting the postmaster
there. It was payday at
the camp, and many of the boys were sending their money home. 1916 Col.
Robert B. McCoy was the key speaker at a Jan. 25 meeting of the Sparta
Advancement Association. He addressed the urgent need for better
highway facilities between Sparta and the military reservation.
McCoy noted that the sand road between the city and the camp
was a barrier to further development of the reservation.
It also prevented Sparta business establishments from realizing
the fullest financial benefits from having so near at hand, for
several months a year, several thousand men who have demands for the
things Sparta merchants have to sell.
The colonel was of the strong opinion that the lack of an
adequate highway was the single biggest obstacle that stood in the way
of allowing the reservation to be used for more varied military
purposes. A brick road
from Angelo to the Camp would cost $7,000, macadam $4,000.
The Association said the best thing that could be done would be
to fix the existing road at a cost of $2,000.
McCoy pledged $100 himself. Ranges
were very active throughout the year.
Instruction camp opened May 21 and closed Sept. 15.
Soldiers were to arrive early unless Mexican trouble became so
serious as to require the presence of all available regular Army
troops at the border. 1917 Construction began on buildings in the area now known as "Old Camp McCoy." Buildings were primarily barracks, mess halls, and open-sided stables, in addition to storage facilities.
1918 Indications
pointed to a big encampment of soldiers at Camp Robinson/Camp McCoy.
It was stated that there would be about 35,000 men in the two
camps, 8,000 of whom would be black soldiers, and they would camp in
tents at Camp McCoy. For
several days the local post office force was swamped with a large
quantity of incoming and outgoing soldiers' mail.
A post office was established at Camp Robinson, with John P.
Doyle, Jr. in charge, assisted by a clerk from the local office. 1919 After
being deserted for several months, Camp Robinson was to be inhabited
again. Orders were
received to provide winter quarters at the camp for 300 to 600
soldiers and headquarters for 30 officers.
It was understood that the place would be used as an ammunition
storage camp for excess ammunition from the arsenals.
No hunting would be permitted in the vicinity, and training
ceased. Numerous
portable ammo storage magazines were erected all over the area and
into the range area to the south and east of the camp.
Thousands of tons of powder and Pyrex cotton (gun cotton) were
shipped in for storage in the magazines provided. The
350 soldiers at Camp Robinson were to be replaced before May 15 by
civilians, according to Lt. Karl L. Theilscher, a Camp Robinson
officer. Many young men
and boys were finding employment at Camp Robinson sealing up the
stables to provide storage space.
Uncle Sam fed them and paid 90 cents a day.
They worked eight hours a day and were making a good wage
during school vacation. |
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