Camp Joseph E. Johnston (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Collection
Collection Number: M07-2
Title: Camp Joseph E. Johnston (Jacksonville, Fla.) Collection.
Dates: 1917-1921
Size: 2 linear ft. (5 boxes)
Repository: Manuscripts and Personal Papers, Thomas
G. Carpenter Library, University of North Florida
ABSTRACT
The Northeast region of Florida has an extensive and rich military history
and the area served an important military role during both World Wars.
The site now known as Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville),
was previously named Camp Joseph E. Johnston during World War 1.
It served as an Army training camp from its commissioning on October 15,
1917 until its closing on May 16, 1919. Over this nearly two year period,
the Camp developed into a major training center for Army quartermasters,
grew to a complex of over 600 buildings, and held the nation's second largest
rifle range. In 1928, the site was occupied by the Florida National Guard
and renamed Camp J. Clifford R. Foster. During World
War II (1940), it was re-commissioned as Naval Air Station Jacksonville
(NAS Jacksonville).
The collection consists primarily of the World War
1 correspondence of Wesley "Lee" Bouslog,
a soldier from Indiana who arrived at Camp Johnston in late December
1917. During his six month stay, Bouslog sent 106 letters to
his girlfriend, Opal Valentine Baker, in Indiana. The lengthy letters
provide extensive documentation on his life as a soldier in training;
the wide-ranging topics cover descriptions of maintenance tasks,
such as clearing away shrubbery from the banks of the St. John's
River, to his daily meals and the Camp's popular songs. Additional
items in the collection include a postcard, souvenir folder, and
an oversize photograph of the Camp's soldiers.
LANGUAGE English.
ACQUISITION
Majority of materials acquired via purchase.
ACCESS TO THE COLLECTION
The collection is open for research. For additional information and
to make an appointment to view the collection, contact E. Brady at
904-620-1533; email: ebrady@unf.edu
PREFERRED CITATION
Camp Joseph E. Johnston (Jacksonville, Fla.) Collection, Thomas G. Carpenter
Library, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida.
ADDITIONAL GUIDES
RELATED MATERIALS
The Florida Collection at
the Jacksonville Public Libraries holds 19 postcards of Camp Johnston.
The Florida
Peace Officers School Collection at the Special Collections Dept. of
Florida State University Libraries provides information on the history
of the site, chiefly during its post-1928 years as Camp
Foster.
Hawk, Robert. Florida's Army : Militia / State Troops / National Guard
1565-1985. Englewood, Fla. : Pineapple Press, c1986.
BIOGRAPHICAL / HISTORICAL NOTE
In May 1907, a 1,300-acre tract of land was authorized by the Florida
Legislature for a state military camp at Black Point, known as Philbrofen,
on the St. Johns River. The Florida National Guard established a base there
in 1909, and occupied it until 1917, when the federal government took it
over to establish a World War 1 training base, Camp Joseph E. Johnston
(named after Confederate general Joseph Eggleston Johnston). Construction
began on the Camp (near Yukon) in October 1917, and the first group of
enlisted men and officers arrived on November 19, 1917.
The Camp developed
into a major training center for Army quartermasters, with a complex of
over 600 buildings. On April 18, 1918, a trolley
line from Jacksonville to the Camp's front gate was completed, and soldiers
were finally able to visit the "big
city"
of Jacksonville on a regular basis. Other local
duties of Camp soldiers in 1918 included the guarding of Jacksonville's
public utilities. A major event chronicled in Bouslog's letters were the
visits of Florida Governor Sidney Johnston Catts. The Camp officially closed
on May 16, 1919, and the site was renamed Camp J. Clifford R. Foster in
1928. In 1940, it became a training camp for World War II soldiers and
was renamed as the Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville).
The principal correspondent, Wesley "Lee" Bouslog, was born on October
18, 1891 in Sulphur Springs, Indiana. His parents were Sanford M.
Bouslog and mother, Mary J. Yost. Little information is available
on Wesley Bouslog, other than his World War 1 draft registration
listing as a "mailcarrier on a rural route." He was twenty-six
years old in 1917, at the time of this correspondence. In one of
the last letters in the series, he discusses his assignment overseas,
and lists in detail his embarkation clothing. Bouslog was sent
to France in June 1918 with Army Supply Company 311. Opal Valentine
Baker Bouslog, his girlfriend (later wife) and the recipient of the
letters, was born on February 14, 1901, and died in September 1966. No
other information is known about her.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The collection consists primarily of the correspondence of Wesley
"Lee" Bouslog, with 106 letters and envelopes dated from
December 31, 1917 to May 21, 1918. The first letter describes his arrival
at the Camp, and thereafter, the often lengthy letters detail Bouslog's
life as a soldier, including descriptions of his daily meals and routines,
and maintenance tasks. The letters
provide a glimpse into camp life, with Bouslog relating that more than
twenty states were represented in his Barracks, as well as several
different nationalities, including Irish, Scottish, and Jewish.
According to the letters, soldiers enjoyed entertainment, including
films and concerts at the Camp theater, and also received educational
benefits on-base such as schooling. Due to a lack of initial transportation
for the early soldiers on base, there are few references to visits
to the City of Jacksonville and vicinity. As
a result, many activities took place in the YMCA building on Camp grounds.
Letterhead on Bouslog's stationery includes:
"With the Colors" YMCA; National War Work Council, Army and
Navy, Young Men's Christian Associations; and Camp Joseph E. Johnston
Jacksonville, Florida.
Printed materials in the collection
consist of one postcard, one souvenir folder (depicting 22 views of
the Camp), and an oversize photograph of the Camp's soldiers. The
collection provides printed and visual documentation of the Camp's
activities and development from 1917 to 1918, which signal the beginning
of a significant military presence in the Jacksonville region.
ARRANGEMENT
Arranged by series; chronological within folder.
INDEX TERMS
The following terms have been used to index the description of
this collection in the Library's online catalog:
Camp Johnston (Jacksonville, Fla.) -- History.
Camp Johnston (Jacksonville, Fla.) -- Pictorial works.
Military training camps -- Florida -- Camp Johnston -- History.
Military bases -- Florida.
United States. Army. Camp Johnston, Fla.
World War, 1914-1918 -- Florida.
Bouslog, Wesley, b. 1891.
Bouslog, Opal Valentine Baker, 1901-1966.
CONTAINER LIST
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Folder |
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Description |
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CORRESPONDENCE |
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| 1 |
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1-32 |
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Letters of Wesley Bouslog to
Opal Valentine Baker. December 31, 1917 - January 31,
1918.
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| 2 |
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33-74 |
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Letters of Wesley Bouslog to
Opal Valentine Baker. February 1, 1918 - March 31,
1918. |
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| 3 |
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75-106 |
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Letters of Wesley Bouslog to
Opal Valentine Baker. April 1, 1918 - May 21,
1918. |
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| 3 |
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107 |
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Letter from Daniel O'Brien, Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Addressed
to: Dear unknown friend (Opal?). Dated December
6, 1918. |
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PRINTED MATERIALS |
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| 4 |
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108 |
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Postcard. Caption
on front: St. John's River in front of Camp. Three miles wide here.
Camp Johnston, Fla. Card addressed to Mr. E. C. Lawton, C Smith Granite
Co., Westerly, R. I. Postmarked October 29, 1921. Full image available. |
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| 4 |
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109 |
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Souvenir folder. Caption on front: Souvenir folder
of Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Jacksonville, Florida. [Detroit, Mich.?
: National Art Co.?, 1918?] 1 postcard folder (22 views on 1 folded
sheet) : double sides, b & w ; 10 x 15 cm. Each view
is 9.5 x 14.5 cm. on sheet 104 x 14.5 cm. Full image available through
Florida Heritage. |
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PHOTOGRAPH
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110 |
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Photograph.
In script on front: General Repair Shop, Camp Joseph E. Johnston,
Jacksonville, Florida, Sept. 2, 1918. In script on left of photo:
E. G.? Herrick, Toledo, Ohio. Neg. no. 35. In script on right of
photo: Lieut. E. I. Lapierre Com'D'G, Lieut. H. H. Bailey. b & w
; 20 x 121 cm.
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