Chicago’s Fort Sheridan: Training the American Military
World War I was unlike any other war before it terms of combat. The Total Warfare experienced in Europe brought cities to ruins and soldiers and civilians into experiences never encountered during war times. Use of gas, mass bombing, machine guns, and other weapons ripped through both the Allies and the Central Power’s soldiers. When war came knocking on America’s door and the country joined the fray in 1917, the Army had multiple problems. One, the Army was exceedingly small, two, the military had never trained such a large fighting force before. The process of conscription and training the Army began across the nation, multiple forts and training sites were enacted across the nation. By September 28, 1918, over 13 million men had participated in Wilson’s Selective Service Act. [1]
Calvary at Fort Sheridan. c. 1915. Courtesy of Chicago History Museum. [15]
One such fort and training camp was Fort Sheridan. Fort Sheridan’s military history did not start with the Great War. In fact, it was first used in 1890 after the Battle of Wounded Knee when a group of captured Lakota was impounded there. In 1894, soldiers were deployed out of the fort to put help put down the violence that sprouted from the Pullman Company Strike. Then again, the Fort was used as a deployment area for troops in the Spanish American war in 1898.[2] Still, during the First World War, the purpose of the Fort changed, as it gained a much more prominent role within the American military.
For World War I, the Fort was used as an officer training camp for the military’s higher command. [3] The Fort did not just accept anyone into the high-class training camp. One of the camp’s participants, Lloyd Bronston’s application was one of 4,000 accepted out of the 20,000 who applied. The applicants were selected “‘on a basis of merit only’” and included men such as “‘congressmen, bankers and brokers, business leaders, clergymen,’” etc. [4] These men all did have one thing in common though in joining Fort Sheridan’s training camp, their willingness to fight, which led to a greater feeling of friendship in the ranks. While many shared different occupations, they learned a lot from each other. Accounts at the time explain how men with entirely different occupations, such as carpenters and businessmen, would share trade secrets, and create stronger bonds within the camp. [5]
These men were then put through the ringer. Participants were trained in combat in the most real ways possible. Men would stay in a trench in the camp for stretches of 36 hours at a time to get assimilated to the trench warfare on the front. To make even more life-like, the artillery units at the camp were told to fire over the heads of the men, and the fake “no man’s land” was lit up with flares and small fires to simulate more accurately the battlefield. [6] Trenches were sometimes even half-filled with water. On multiple occasions, the Fort would have troops participate in mock battles were different groups (often divided by barrack numbers or home states of soldiers) to simulate the battles the troops would face in Europe.[7] Still, soldiers were determined to show their best side. Deep bonds with their fellow soldiers created a “wholesome atmosphere” and encouraged soldiers to do their best in training. [8]
Soldiers practice crawling used in trench warfare. 1917. Courtesy of Chicago History Museum. [16]
Though the training at the camp was brutal, it did well prepare the troops for battle. The achievements of the camp were recognized by the city of Chicago as well as the nation. The Chicago Daily Tribune was one source that highly regarded the training of the camp. The training and soldiers that came out of Fort Sheridan were not only regarded nationally but internationally as well. British Colonel T.H. Goodwin was also impressed with the Fort’s troops and regarded the training methods “‘as good as the system of instruction we are now using in the British and French training camps’”. [9] While this might sound like a backhanded comment, it was a rather notable compliment. The British and French Armies were considered two of the best in the world in the early 20th century. Not to mention the fact that they had already been fighting this war for three years at this point and knew how to train soldiers well for this type of combat. [10]
Soldier making a toy tank while a nurse watches. 1919. Courtesy of Chicago History Museum [17]
During the war, even after Fort Sheridan’s troops had been deployed, the Fort was still put in use. Multiple hospitals were set up in the parade grounds of the Fort, and wounded soldiers were transported back to the camp where they would be treated and rehabilitated. [11] Part of the Fort’s rehabilitation system was making toys. One common issue with the returning war veterans in 1918 was what they would do when they got home. African Americans and women had moved into the soldier’s old jobs, so often these soldiers would come back and not have a job or had to fight for a new one. The Fort’s hospital system allowed soldiers to be rehabilitated in terms of artisanship. Ultimately, the hospitals that were erected during the First World War were torn down shortly after to make way for a golf course in their place. [12]
The Fort would be used again during World War II, this time as one of the four national Recruitment Centers for the peacetime draft. It would then be the administrative headquarters for Prisoner of War camps in Illinois that hosted over 15,000 P.O.W’s. [13] After the age of World War’s however, the Fort was never really used in the same way. Fort Sheridan was used as a stationing ground for troops and their families through the Korean and Vietnam wars. The personnel began to dwindle to a low of 1,400 men by the 1980’s. On May 28, 1993, Fort Sheridan was officially closed as a military fort.[14] Of course, the town of Fort Sheridan still hosts residents today in the old army barracks and officers’ quarters and is one of Chicago’s many suburbs. Its role in helping prepare the American Military and officers for the conflict in Europe can not be understated, and the Fort has thoroughly earned in place in American Military history.
Picture of Fort Sheridan Tower prior to WWI. 1914. Courtesy of Chicago History Museum [18]
Created by Evan Cavalier
End Notes
References:
[1] Capozzola, Christopher. Uncle Sam Wants You: World War I and the Making of the Modern American Citizen. New York, U.S.: Oxford University Press, 2008.
[2] “The Fort’s Military Activity.” fortsheridan.com. London, England: Fort Sheridan Historical Society. Accessed 4/19/18. http://www.fortsheridan.com/highland-park-highwood-il/fort-sheridan-military-activity/.
[4] Nelson, James C. The Remains of Company D: A Story of the Great War. Eastern Illinois University. London, England: Macmillan, 2009. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=S6XqmU7dzvUC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&ots=Y5fQ57vnN5&sig=pMG-CUrRjDm3oQHuIPnI0bZ3pvg#v=onepage&q=fort%20sheridan&f=false.
[5] Girton, Fred. The History and Achievements of the Fort Sheridan Officers’ Training Camps. Chicago, Illinois: The Fort Sheridan Association, c. 1920. https://archive.org/details/historyachieveme00fort.
[9] “Fort Sheridan: Training Camp.” Eastern Illinois University. Chicago, Illinois: Eastern Illinois University. Accessed 4/19/18. http://www.eiu.edu/localite/ftsheridantrg.php.
[11] Smith, Christen D. Fort Sheridan, Illinois: An Analysis of Its Significance, Its Closure, and Possible Alternative Uses. University of Pennsylvania: Penn Libraries, 1995. https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1407&context=hp_theses.
[15] Chicago Daily News, Inc. Calvary on the Parade Grounds of Fort Sheridan. 1915. Explore Chicago Connections, Chicago History Museum, Chicago, IL. http://explore.chicagocollections.org/image/chicagohistory/71/x05xp6g/
[16] Chicago Daily News, Inc. Soldiers, 5th Illinois Calvary, practicing trench warfare techniques, crawling through thick brush at Fort Sheridan. 1917. Explore Chicago Connections, Chicago History Museum, Chicago, IL. http://explore.chicagocollections.org/image/chicagohistory/71/z31p11g/
[17] Chicago Daily News, Inc. Fort Sheridan Hospital, wounded soldier making toy tank, nurse watching from behind soldier. 1919. Explore Chicago Connections, Chicago History Museum, Chicago, IL. http://explore.chicagocollections.org/image/chicagohistory/71/xg9fp80/
[18] Chicago Daily News, Inc. Fort Sheridan tower and the fort on either side of the tower. 1904. Explore Chicago Connections, Chicago History Museum, Chicago, IL. http://explore.chicagocollections.org/image/chicagohistory/71/cz32b15/