Monuments, Memorials & Historic Sites

Established July 1917, Camp Gordon was constructed as one of sixteen National Army Training Camps prepared for U.S. entry into World War I.  The camp was built on 2,400 acres and came to have 1,600 buildings with a capacity of 47,000 troops and an eventual cost of $ 11,900,000.  Camp Gordon served as the training camp for the 82^nd Infantry Division, organized in August 1917, which began deployment to Europe in April 1918.  While in Europe the 82nd had 8,300 casualties.  Camp Gordon was ordered abandoned in 1920 and disposed of in September 1921, and is now the site of Peachtree-DeKalb Airport.  A state marker is on a small plaza at the airport. 

Camp Greenleaf was a medical officer training camp created at Chickamauga National Battlefield Park as part of Fort Oglethorpe during World War I, under a program that utilized national park and battlefield land for military training installations.  Camp Greenleaf was authorized in May 1917 and began training the next month to prepare medical officers for work with motor field units, mule-drawn units, evacuation hospitals and base hospitals, additionally including veterinary and dental training.  In only 18 months of operation, being decommissioned in December 1918, Camp Greenleaf trained 6,640 officers and 31,138 enlisted men. 

Camp Hancock existed only from 1917-1919.  It was one of sixteen U.S. Army National Guard Mobilization and Training Camps established in 1917 to train and integrate National Guard units for service in a U.S. Army division. The site contained some 1,777 acres on a reservation of 13,811. The camp was to have a capacity of about 50,000 officers and enlisted men that would become the 28^th U.S. Infantry Division.  Formed originally in August 1917 from Pennsylvania National Guard units, the Division began departing for France in April 1918. The 28th distinguished itself in combat, fighting sometimes hand to hand. The 28th suffered heavy casualties, including 2,531 killed, 13,746 wounded and 726 captured. At the end of the war the camp became a demobilization center until it was abandoned in March 1919.  No signs of the camp remain at the site along Wrightsboro Road across from the Forest Hills Golf Course. 

Camp Jesup was built next to Fort McPherson during World War I, constructed by local civilians and German prisoners of war to serve as a major center for repairing, overhauling, and reconstructing vehicles, and as a storage area for transport supplies. Jesup's facilities included living quarters, mess halls, and administrative buildings. During the peak of war activity, nearly 4,000 civilian and 2,100 military personnel were employed at the camp. Jesup remained active after the war as a motor transport school, a general depot, and a quartermaster intermediate storage depot. Camp Jesup was deactivated on August 23, 1927.

Camp Warden McLean was yet a third camp at the Fort Oglethorpe site, being dedicated to reserve officers training.  With a barracks capacity of 1,500, its facilities ceased to be used for that purpose at it was turned over to Camp Greenleaf in November 1917 to house motor field units.

One of sixteen U.S. Army National Guard Mobilization and Training Camps established in 1917 to train and integrate National Guard units for service in a U.S. Army division, Camp Wheeler occupied a site of some 21,480 acres along what today is Riggins Mill Road at Joe Tamplin Industrial Boulevard in Macon. The camp was to have a capacity of about 43,000 officers and enlisted men that would become the 31^st U.S. Infantry Division.  Formed in October 1917, the 31^st departed for France in October 1918, returned to the U.S. and was demobilized in December 1918. When the 31st arrived in France its members were dispersed as replacements for other units, and thus did not see combat as a unit. At the end of the war, Camp Wheeler became a demobilization center until it was abandoned in April 1919. Reactivated in 1940 on the original site, it was used through World War II as a training camp and prisoner of war camp until 1945. A 1,000 bed hospital was constructed for returning wounded soldiers. The camp was abandoned as surplus property in January 1946 and the leased land returned to its owners. Today only a historical marker denotes the site.

“Dedicated to the memory of those who died in defense of freedom”

“Nov. 29, 1933 - Charlie Rabun Chapter No. 14 - D.A.V of W.W. - In Memory of Our Deceased Comrades”.  “A Message to Future Generations.”  Inscribed with thirteen names.

Description:  Granite  memorial - Inscription:  “Dedicated to the memory of the men of Catoosa County, GA, who gave their lives and to all who served in World Wars I & II.  Erected 1950 by VFW Post No. 7675 of Ringgold, Georgia.”

This memorial contains the names of six soldiers from Catoosa County who died in WW1.  The backside of this memorial is dedicated to those that served in subsequent wars.