Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1917-07-25
LETTER FROM
WARREN SOLDIER
Harry Thomas Tells in an Interesting
Manner All About Life in the
Army Training Camp.
TO My Friends at Warren-(Some
of whom have made inQuirieS.)

>of whom have made inquiries.
You wanted little History of how
things are done down here. Will say
that the little history may prove to be
quite book before get thru, but if
you have the time to read will try
to give you said history. 1t would be
both amusing and interesting had the
gift of speech to portray that which
happens from day to day.
Jefferson Barracks had its birth in
the year 1896 and received it's name in
honor of the memory of Thomas JET
ferson, who died that year.
Situated on a high plain with our
headquarters on a bluff overlooking
the river, Jefferson Barracks is an
ideal spot for recruiting depot of the
United States Army. The Government
acres On three sides lie the state of
Missouri and on the east flows the
Mississippi with the hills Of Illinois
looming up in the distance. The Bar
racks lie about ten miles from the
heart of st. Louis and are connected
with the outside world by a car line to
St. Louis and by the Iron Mountain
Railroad It's parade ground is a rec
tangular field Of about eighty acres.
The position of various buildings view
ed from the parade grounds are as
follows: On the east is Headquarters.
On the north are the Commissioned
Officers homes Ga row Of thirteen
IN, +1o o,t1 00r or G
the Street Car Station. On the west
is the Post Office, the Post Exchange
and the hospital. On the south are
the following in the order named:
Examining Barracks, 9th Company,
Receiving Barracks, Army Band
Building. 18th Company, 23rd Com
pany, Post Exchange, Guard House,
18th Company and the 10th Company.
Along to the south of the Parade
Grounds is about forty acres of build
ings. Here they have the Mess hall,
bakeries laundry, barns, swimming
pool and buildings Of all kinds for
various purposes East of head
quarters at the foor of tie bluff is the
railroad depot. This bluff is a natural
amphitheatre and every fine evening it
is dotted with soldiers. Here they
watch the departing soldiers boarding
the train for. the training stations, and
also the excursion boats, with their
joyous burdens, sailing on the river.
These grounds have seen great
many noted men. In 1882 Jefferson
Davis came down the river with Black
Hawk as a prisoner. Sherman, Han
cock, Sidney Johnson, 5es''"m J. Har-
dee, General George II. Thomas (The
Rock Of Chickamauga) General Earl
Van Dorm, General George Stoneman
and General Theodore O'Hara (author
of the "Bivouac Of the Dead"), and
many others were stationed here at
one time.
!. Robert E. Lee was the Lieutenant
Colonel of the barracks in 1866.
About the same time Ulysses S. Grant
was hauling cord wood to the barracks
from the Grant farm and selling it
about the post. The old Grant farm is
now owned by Young Busch, son of the
millionaire st. Louis brewer.
In order to get here one is first ex-
amfned at the local recruiting station
Twill not give this examination in de
tail because it is about the same as the
one given here altho they have not the
specialists and therefore are not as
thorough. I suppose their idea is tc
weed out the weakest ones and the
ones that have chance to pass they
send on. They pay the transportation
and IN case one fails to pass here, OF
of some physical defect, over
looked at the recruiting station, thu
transportation is paid back to- the poin
OF enlistment. At the local station
theysask one several questions Of de
ci1edly personal nature. I can no
9iYss them all here but will give {
couple. Here is one: "Have you eve
been in jail?" And another: "Hav'
sou been in the army or navy befor'
or Is this yopr first enlistment" II
case one says one thing at the recruit
ing sstation and says another when h
lis Questioned here they call him ,
1sFraud, and it means that he pays hi
.owr way back They tell him to ''ge
out of here.
The number of rejects have greatl.
increased since / came in. The aver
age then was about five rejects to
hundred applicants and now the n!lnl
ber has increased to about fifteen o
eighteen to a hundred. / think th
exDlanation lies in the fact that thOs
now seeking enlistment are cit
t1Wellers while those who came in ear
.lier were mostly men whose work KEEP
them in the open.
Upon our arrival (about 9:30 of a
,evening) on the Iron Mountain Raj
road, we found a soldier waiting to re
ceive us. We were formed into a lin
land marched up to the Receiving bal
$ racks. We then handed our applies
.tions to noncom. in charge, VIII
checked us off. gave us each a tOwe