Back to top

Officers’ Training Camps At Fort Snelling, 1917

Creator: 
  • Cite
  • Share
  • Correct
  • Print
Black and white photograph of officers-in-training building a trench at Fort Snelling, 1917.

Officers-in-training build a trench at Fort Snelling, 1917.

At camps held around the country during World War I, the U.S. Army quickly trained the officers it needed to grow from a small defensive force into one of millions, ready to step onto the world stage. Fort Snelling hosted two such camps in 1917: one between May 11 and August 15 and another between August 28 and November 27.

When America entered the war in 1917 it had only 200,000 soldiers. The country needed millions of troops to send “over there” to Europe. It also needed officers to lead the new recruits and show them how to hold a rifle, flank a machine gun position, and peel a potato.

One site selected to train these new officers was Fort Snelling. Six thousand men applied for the two officers' training camps; four thousand were accepted. Candidates submitted evidence and testimonials attesting to their character, loyalty, education, and business experience. In line with Army policy, the camp accepted whites only; African Americans trained at a camp in Iowa.

Candidates came from all over Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, and the National Guard. They were trained in infantry, artillery, and engineer skills in three-month courses. The career officers derided them as “ninety-day wonders” because they didn’t have the depth of experience of an officer who had been in the Army for decades.

The first camp got underway on May 11, 1917. Candidates reported for training, went through a physical examination, marched off to the quartermaster’s department for a uniform and equipment, and joined squads based on height.

From there, drill and training started in earnest. Reveille sounded at 5:15 AM and candidates were kept on the go until lights-out at 11 PM. In between, they did drills in the morning and received instruction in the afternoon. Thirty minutes of physical activity were followed by breakfast and drills. The afternoon was spent in more instruction and the evenings in studying the next day’s material.

On Saturday mornings, all participants turned out for inspection. Candidates who passed were given leave for the remainder of the weekend. Many spent their precious off-hours studying, including three candidates who rented a hotel room in Minneapolis and spread maps out on the floor as they worked out tactical problems. Although alcohol was forbidden to officers-in-training, they drank beer as they worked. When an officer discovered them, he arrested them and made a report to the commanding general.

Several days a week were devoted to marches, which developed into mock battles against a fictitious enemy. The men deployed in skirmish lines, sent out scouts, and dug into defensive positions against stiff resistance from their invisible enemy. There were several Battles of Pilot Knob across the river from the fort. The men took a ferry across the Mississippi River (the Mendota Bridge wasn’t built until 1926), then fought uphill in the heat, humidity, and bugs of a steamy Minnesota summer.

Towards the end of this phase of the training, the men marched down to Bloomington, which was then a rural community of just over a thousand people. The next day they “fought” their way back to the fort, digging in against a tough enemy just south of the post along Bloomington Road. This heralded the next phase of the training, which moved from open or skirmish warfare to trench warfare training. Candidates learned how to dig in, assault, defend a trench line, and mount patrols into no-man’s land, among other exercises.

The following Monday, on August 13, 1,551 commissions were granted. By the evening of August 15, the new officers went on their way to their assignments.

The second officers’ training camp ran from August 28 to November 27. Because of the impending winter as well as a shift in instructional focus, less emphasis was placed on skirmish warfare and more on trench tactics. These included assaulting and defending a trench, grenade throwing, and bayonet drill.

Of the 1500 candidates who started the camp, just 971 received commissions. Those who were assigned to the Signal Corps were given their commissions a couple of days early so they could leave the camp in secrecy and head overseas.

By November 27, all of the newly minted officers had left Fort Snelling and the 36th Infantry Regiment moved into the barracks.

  • Cite
  • Share
  • Correct
  • Print
© Minnesota Historical Society
  • Bibliography
  • Related Resources

Holbrook, Franklin F., and Livia Appel. Minnesota in the War With Germany. 2 vols. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1932.

Related Images

Black and white photograph of officers-in-training building a trench at Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of officers-in-training building a trench at Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of of cantonments at Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of of cantonments at Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of cantonments at Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of cantonments at Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of Captain L. W. Caffey, infantry instructor, at Fort Snelling, ca. 1917.
Black and white photograph of Captain L. W. Caffey, infantry instructor, at Fort Snelling, ca. 1917.
Black and white photograph of Officers’ training camp barracks at Fort Snelling, ca. 1917.
Black and white photograph of Officers’ training camp barracks at Fort Snelling, ca. 1917.
Colorized postcard depicting rifle training, ca. 1917.
Colorized postcard depicting rifle training, ca. 1917.
Black and white photograph of the administration building at Fort Snelling, ca. 1917.
Black and white photograph of the administration building at Fort Snelling, ca. 1917.
Black and white stereoview of officers-in-training at Fort Snelling, ca. 1917.
Black and white stereoview of officers-in-training at Fort Snelling, ca. 1917.
Black and white stereoview of officers-in-training in a trench during a drill at Fort Snelling, ca. 1917.
Black and white stereoview of officers-in-training in a trench during a drill at Fort Snelling, ca. 1917.
Black and white photograph of officer candidates advancing during military maneuvers, 1917.
Black and white photograph of officer candidates advancing during military maneuvers, 1917.
Black and white photograph of bayonet drill at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of bayonet drill at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of officer candidates overlooking encampment at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of officer candidates overlooking encampment at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of mock explosions during war maneuvers at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of mock explosions during war maneuvers at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of artillery maneuvers at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of artillery maneuvers at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of mock warfare at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of mock warfare at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of bayonet training at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of bayonet training at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of candidates in the field at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of candidates in the field at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of Candidates looking over United States Army kit at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of Candidates looking over United States Army kit at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of candidates in entrenchments at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of candidates in entrenchments at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of candidates marching in formation at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of candidates marching in formation at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of candidates jumping over an entrenchment at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.
Black and white photograph of candidates jumping over an entrenchment at the Officers’ Training Camp, Fort Snelling, 1917.

Turning Point

On May 11, 1917, candidates report to Fort Snelling for training as military officers, and the first of two camps at the post begins.

Chronology

April 6, 1917

The United States enters World War I.

April 23, 1917

Enrollment for the first officers’ training camp begins. Fort Snelling prepares for the arrival of officer candidates.

April 27, 1917

Colonel William H. Sage of the Twelfth U.S. Infantry is appointed commanding officer of the first officers' training camp.

May 11, 1917

The first officers’ training camp at Fort Snelling begins.

May 13, 1917

Medical staff inoculate officer candidates against smallpox, typhoid fever, and paratyphoid fever.

June 15, 1917

Instruction shifts from military science to special training for specific branches of the military.

August 8–9, 1917

The entire camp participates in military maneuvers and mock trench warfare. Local citizens come to Fort Snelling to watch.

August 15, 1917

The first camp ends; the Army awards commissions to 1,551 candidates.

August 28, 1917

The second camp begins.

November 22, 1917

Officer candidates spend a night in Fort Snelling trenches.

November 25, 1917

The Army awards Signal Corps commissions ahead of schedule to give officers time to leave camp in secrecy and travel to Europe.

November 27, 1917

The second camp ends; the Army awards commissions to 971 candidates.