Sketch of Instruction Trenches at Gramp Grant, Ill Anderson Sector

WWI Infantry Training in Illinois.

Camp Grant was established near Rockford, Illinois in July of 1917 to serve as the headquarters and training site of the 86th Infantry ‘Black Hawk’ Division. Tens of thousands of American troops, including members of the Buffalo Soldiers (92nd Infantry), would ultimately drill there prior to debarkation for France during World War I. The site consisted of over 1,500 buildings spread across nearly 6,000 acres, but it would close permanently after World War II and much of the land is now occupied by the Chicago Rockford International Airport.

This rare training map from the early days of Camp Grant was created from a reconnaissance performed by the 311th Engineer Regiment of the 86th Infantry Division in 1917. Issued at a scale of 1:5000, the image presents a detailed overview of a large part of the camp. Clusters of buildings are named and represent different areas of the cantonment, though the emphasis is on the complex network of instruction trenches. Various features are labeled (with codenames), with additional manuscript annotations in pencil noting further locations.

Source: U.S. Army History;