Images of America: Fort Drum

Army, Jan 2003 by Hymel, Kevin

Varied Fare

Images of America: Fort Drum. Robert E. and Jeannie I. Brennan. Arcadia. 128 pages; photographs; maps; $19.99.

Fort Drum will forever be associated with the 10th Mountain Division, but it has long been militarily important to the country.

Sackets Harbor, 23 miles southwest of the fort, housed over 4,000 troops during the War of 1812 and was later the site for Madison Barracks, which served as an outpost and training facility until the end of World War II. In 1906 Madison Barracks needed a summer training area and designated Pine Plains for the task.

Over time, Pine Plains became Camp Hughes, and then Pine Camp and then Camp Drum. In 1952 it was designated Fort Drum, after the World War IT-era First Army commander, Gen. Hugh A. Drum.

Images of America: Fort Drum is a photographic and historical tour of the area, tracing the origins of both Madison Barracks and Fort Drum. The book is divided into three chapters: Madison Barracks, Pine CampCamp Drum and Fort Drum. Each chapter's photos are mostly of soldiers training, but there are also intriguing views of the forts.

Some of the most interesting photographs are of relics from the War of 1812 and a captured bell from the Philippine Insurrection of 1899.

The pictures depict the daily life of soldiers through the 20th century there. Doughboys and GIs pose in front of tents and barracks or drill on the fields and open areas. Pictures of troops with antiquated survey equipment give way to pictures of more and more complex communications gear.

Pictures of horses and horse artillery are replaced by pictures of planes, tanks and helicopters. The artillery, of course, gets bigger and bigger as time goes on.

Included are pictures of famous dignitaries who either visited or were stationed at the fort, including Gen. Mark Clark, who was born at Madison Barracks, Gen. Frederick Grant, son of Ulysses S. Grant, and former Sen. Bob Dole, the 10th Mountain Division's most famous World War II veteran.

The book has a few flaws. Not all the photographs are in chronological order. There are pictures of soldiers in Vietnam era uniforms sandwiched between pictures of soldiers training for World War II. One photograph of soldiers transporting World War II-era M-3 Grant tanks is said to be taken in 1985. The authors include several enlisted men's names in the captions but offer no other information on them, leaving the reader to ponder their significance.

Images of America: Fort Drum is a photographic military history of northern New York. The pictures present the texture of the everyday life of an Army post in the 20th century.

-Kevin Hymel