Fort Drum (Jefferson County, near Watertown, New York)

Jefferson County, near Watertown · New York · World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War

Quick BriefFort Drum began as Pine Camp, formally opened June 11, 1908, when Brigadier General Frederick Dent Grant led 2,000 Regular Army soldiers and 8,000 militia to the Pine Plains area north of Black River in northern New York. During World War II the camp served as a cantonment center and field exercise area for multiple armored and infantry divisions, later housing a prisoner of war camp for German and Italian soldiers.

Active base today

History & Significance

Opening formally on June 11, 1908, as Pine Camp, the installation was established under the leadership of Brigadier General Frederick Dent Grant, son of President Ulysses S. Grant, who brought 2,000 Regular Army soldiers and 8,000 militia from the Northeast to the Pine Plains area. The camp gained national prominence in 1935 when the largest peacetime maneuvers in American military history were conducted on the Pine Plains and surrounding farmland.

During World War II, a small city of eight hundred buildings was constructed during the winter of 1941–1942, with the camp serving as a cantonment and training area for the 4th Armored Division, 45th Infantry Division, and 5th Armored Division. The post also functioned as a prisoner of war camp for captured German and Italian troops, with some allowed to work on area farms during their internment; one Italian and six Germans are buried in the Sheepfold Cemetery near Remington Pond.

In 1951, Pine Camp was renamed Camp Drum in honor of Lieutenant General Hugh A. Drum, who commanded the First Army in World War I. The installation was not formally designated Fort Drum until 1974, when it became home to the 76th Engineer Battalion. The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) was officially reactivated at Fort Drum on February 13, 1985, marking the first division of any kind formed by the Army since 1975 and the first based in the Northeast since World War II.