Camp Sherman, Ohio

Camp Sherman Joint Training Center
Chillicothe, Ohio
Portrait of President Woodrow Wilson formed by 21,000 military officers and men at Camp Sherman in 1918
Site information
Type	Military Base
Owner	Ohio Army National Guard
Location
Coordinates	39°22′05″N 83°00′03″W / 39.3680556°N 83.0008333°W / 39.3680556; -83.0008333
Site history
Built	1917 (1917)

Camp Sherman is an American military training site near Chillicothe, Ohio. It was established in 1917 after the United States entered World War I. It now serves as a training site for the Ohio Army National Guard.^[1]

History

Buffalo Soldiers at Camp Sherman^[2]

Between June and September 1917, the United States Army constructed more than 1,300 buildings at the Camp Sherman site; over 40,000 soldiers passed through the facility during World War I.^[1] The garrison included the 158th Depot Brigade, which was commanded for part of the war by Brigadier general Tyree R. Rivers.^[3][a]

Soldiers trained at Camp Sherman during World War I included the 95th Division, which was commanded by Brigadier General Mathew C. Smith.^[4] Construction work affected "Mound City Group", an enclosure and collection of earthworks left by the native Hopewell culture, as some ancient earthworks were damaged or destroyed.^[5][6]

The 1918 flu pandemic, colloquially known as the Spanish flu, affected over 5,500 soldiers at Camp Sherman, resulting in over 1,700 deaths.^[7]

In 2009, the remaining National Guard facility was renamed Camp Sherman Joint Training Center.^[8]

Unioto High School, which serves Union Township and Scioto Township, is located on former grounds of Camp Sherman.

Notes

1. Depot brigades located at several posts throughout the United States were responsible during the war for receiving, equipping, and training recruits prior to their departure for the front lines. After the war, depot brigades carried out demobilization activities for returning soldiers prior to discharging them.

References

1. "Celebrating 100 years of service at Camp Sherman" (PDF) (Press release). Ohio Adjutant General's Department. July 7, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2023 – via Ohio.gov.
2. "The Buffalo Soldiers in WWI". NPS.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
3. Cullum, George W. (22 February 2017). "Tyree R. Rivers in Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., Volumes III to VII". Bill Thayer's Web Site. Chicago: Bill Thayer. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
4. Illinois In the World War. Vol. One. States Publication Society: States Publications Society. 1920. p. 407 – via Internet Archive.
5. "Before Camp Sherman". NPS.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
6. "Camp Sherman, Ohio's WWI Soldier Factory". NPS.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
7. "The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 at Camp Sherman". NPS.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
8. "Ohio Training Center Name Changes" (PDF). The Ohio National Guard Alumni Newsletter. Vol. 1, no. 3. March 13, 2009 – via ng.ohio.gov.

Further reading

• Stories of Camp Sherman at NPS.gov