Pre-WWI, period artifacts find home at Fort McCoy's History Center

Fort McCoy's Commemorative Area has an array of artifacts and training aids from its 109-year history, including several artifacts predating World War I in 1917-18.

While the installation was not used for training or deployment specifically for World War I, it was used for training leading up to the war. The Sparta Maneuver Track, as Fort McCoy was then known, was split into two parts: Camp Emory Upton, used for maneuver training, and Camp Robinson, used for artillery training.

U.S. forces went into World War I expecting to use the types of maneuvers that were used in previous conflicts, according to Kenneth Hamburger in "Learning Lessons in the American Expeditionary Forces," available through the U.S. Army Center of Military History at https://history.army.mil/html/books/024/24-1/index.html. Artillery and maneuver training techniques taught at Fort McCoy prior to World War I would have been the same as those used in the beginning of the war, though the conditions in Europe quickly forced U.S. troops to change tactics, techniques, and procedures.

Some of the early artifacts in the Fort McCoy History Center were used by Soldiers who likely fought in World War I, such as those recovered from the 1910 occupation of Camp Emory Upton. Discovered during a 2013 dig on South Post, the artifacts include a three-in-one oil bottle, glass bottle stoppers, key openers for food cans, a milk glass cold-cream jar, and a brass uniform insignia for the 28th Infantry Regiment.

More than 10,000 artifacts were found during the dig. "A lot of what we found out (there was) personal artifacts, military effects, or food remains," said Alexander Woods, Ph.D., an archaeologist with Colorado State University's Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands under contract with Fort McCoy. Many of the artifacts were cattle bones, glass bottles and shards, and food-tin fragments.

Remnants of early training at Fort McCoy are relatively rare. Only one pre-World War I building, a storage building constructed in 1911, remains standing today. The training sites have remained in nearly continuous use throughout the past 106 years.

"(The site) shows us a lot about diet and how Soldiers were getting supplies, as well as a few fun little glimpses into their personal lives," Woods said. The cold-cream jar, which was found while archaeologists were digging up a privy, was a good example.

Woods said he thought the cold cream was used to treat saddle or marching sores. "It would be a smart thing for someone to have, but maybe a ... 'throw it in the latrine when you're done with it' kind of thing," he said.

"Archaeologists really like trash," Woods said. "It tells us a lot about people's lives, and people don't really write much about this kind of stuff. They certainly don't write about cold cream."

A number of factors helped date the site to 1910. A brass uniform insignia for the 28th Infantry Regiment was a primary clue in dating the camp, Woods said. The 28th Infantry Regiment, then based at Fort Snelling, Minn., is known to have trained at Camp Emory Upton in 1909 and 1910, according to the 1910 Unit Returns for the 28th Infantry Regiment.

Ammunition casings discovered at the site are dated between 1904 and 1908. The three-in-one oil bottles were marked with "3-IN-ONE" in raised letters and designed for cork stoppers. The lubricating oil still is used today, but this type of bottle only was manufactured from 1905-1910.

The cattle bones even helped date the site, Woods said. When the bones were examined, it was determined the 1910 "Manual for Army Cooks" was used to divvy up the meat. The previous edition, the 1896 manual, called for a very different method of preparing sides of beef, Woods said. The manual would change again in 1916.

The dig was conducted as part of a project to survey known historical sites on the installation to evaluate their eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places. Archaeological assessments are required on sites where federal funds will be used for construction, and Fort McCoy has been surveying all of its land to both protect history and aid in future maintenance and project planning.

Any artifacts spotted while on Fort McCoy or other federal properties should be left alone and reported to post officials. It is illegal to dig for or remove artifacts from federally owned land without permission.

For more information about archaeological digs or to report found artifacts at Fort McCoy, call the Directorate of Public Works Natural Resource Branch at 608-388-4793. For more information about the History Center, call the Public Affairs Office at 608-388-2407.