One Hundred Years Ago at Camp Hancock

On July 4, 1917 Edward Shenton started drawing in one of his canvas-bound sketchbooks. He had joined Company B, 103rd Engineers some months earlier in Philadelphia and this was his first day of training camp. Over the next two years, he would sketch what he saw almost every day. Once he returned home he put his wartime drawings away and went on with his career as a major illustrator of books and magazines. His sketchbooks were forgotten for more than ninety years when they were found in the attic by his son. The Lost Sketchbooks: A Young Artist in The Great War is Ed Shenton's story, illustrated with 150 of his own drawings.

The day-by-day documenting of an individual soldiers life with images is unique and a very valuable resource. I will be publishing Ed's drawings from one hundred years ago frequently. In October of 1917 he was training at Camp Hancock in Georgia; learning to build trenches and bridges, and to fight with rifle and bayonet, drawing everything he saw. From time to time I will include some images from July and August, when he was at Camp Meade and earlier drawings from Camp Hancock. I hope you will enjoy walking side by side with an American Doughboy.

Undated.

Along with learning how to build trenches, the engineers also had to learn how to fight as infantry. Camp Hancock was where they learned the craft of war.

You can view an excerpt of Ed Shenton's story, The Lost Sketchbooks: A Young Artist in The Great War, at www.thelostsketchbooks.com