Upon declaring war against Germany on April 6, 1917, the United States Congress and federal government knew it could not win an overseas war based solely upon its small volunteer army and the individual state militias.
Therefore, on May 18, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson approved the Selective Service Act, requiring all eligible men, ages 21 to 30, to register for the draft by June 5th.
Federal military installations already were in operation across New Jersey, and officials were quick to establish training camps for the thousands of newly recruited troops.
Among those eager to serve were New Jerseyans from all classes, races, and ethnicities, which is reflected in World War I enlistment and draft records. As war preparations ramped up during the summer of 1917, recruits said their goodbyes to loved ones and boarded trains for boot camp.
Camp Dix opened in July 1917 in Burlington County, and trained men from New York, New Jersey and Delaware. Many African Americans trained at Fort Dix and went on to join the first black regiment to serve with the American Expeditionary Force.
The coastal Camp Sea Girt station comprised nearly all of New Jersey’s National Guard, the former state militia that was federalized for deployment.
While undergoing training, these citizen soldiers achieved new skills as soldiers, officers, military medical staff, engineers, Transport Corps troops, military pilots, Army Signal Corps and long-distance operators. Camp Merritt was situated about ten miles from New York City, and its location allowed soldiers to embark from Hoboken Piers to directly to Europe.
Battery F, first field artillery, National Guard of New Jersey, was Morristown’s volunteer battalion and was also known as the “Gillespie Battery.”
Grinnell Willis and Samuel Gillespie were the principal organizers of the battalion. Willis was one of Morristown’s most prominent and wealthy citizens, but was content with his rank of private and drilled regularly with the men.
Gillespie was active in bringing electricity to Morristown and served as an officer of the New York National Guard. The seventh son of varnish industry titan Charles Gillespie, Samuel later served during World War II as a consultant with the war department in Washington.
Willis and Gillespie acquired control of the old burned Library and Lyceum property on South Street and remodeled it into an armory. The Armory served as the battalion’s home, hosting hundreds of Morristown men, as well as those from the immediate vicinity.
Battery F was quickly known as a unit of strength and efficiency, and supplied its five full companies with drill space while providing the men with training in the latest modern weaponry.
The July 24, 1917, edition of The Daily Record described the send-off of Battery F at the Morristown Green:
“Never in the history of this municipality was there such a patriotic demonstration as was this one. Morristown will never forget the tribute it paid on the eve of departure to Sea Girt preparatory to the trip to France to participate in the grim maelstrom of war. The people gathered seemed somehow to be imbued with the solemn possibility that perhaps some of these youths might sacrifice themselves for our common cause upon the field of glory… With little applause Morris County paid more of a silent homage to its brave volunteer defenders. ”
New Jersey’s African American troops served in segregated units during World War I, and while many had volunteered as a means of proving their patriotism, institutional racism within the armed forces kept many serving in support roles.
However, the 92nd Division, National Army, was organized in November 1917, from black servicemen from the United States at large. The various units were assembled and received their preliminary training at Fort Dix and other Midwestern, New York, and Maryland camps.
The division was brought to full strength in May 1918. According to the Jerseyman, “Morristown had the distinction of having had the largest number of men in the 350th regiment from any one city in the country. The Morristown men were in Battery D., the crack battery of the brigade.”
Approximately 116,500 Americans lost their lives in World War I, but more died from influenza than from battle. Influenza spread in the crowded military camps in both the United States and in the trenches of the Western Front in Europe.
The virus traveled with military personnel to Europe, and at the height of America’s military involvement in the war, influenza and pneumonia struck down nearly half of the Army and Navy forces.
Adding to the tragedy, high death rates interfered with training schedules and reduced the military’s effectiveness. During the American campaign at Meuse-Argonne, the epidemic took urgently needed resources for combat support and redirected them to caring for the sick and the dead.
Like much of the nation, Morristown was eager to memorialize the lives of those who served to fight tyranny and protect democracy at home. Funds were collected to construct a stone cenotaph (Latin for “empty tomb”) on the grounds of Town Hall, which is now located in front of Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen.
Since Congress initially deemed it too expensive to repatriate the remains of the fallen, the cenotaph provided grieving loved ones and citizens alike with a space to mourn and express their gratitude.
Complementing the cenotaph is a series of 25 brass panels that memorialize the names of those soldiers from Morristown and Morris Township who served in World War I.
Created by noted Philadelphia metal worker, Samuel Yellin, the panels permanently honor those whose names once graced the entrance to the Armory and they include a dedicatory proclamation; the panels were installed in the Morristown Library upon the building’s completion in 1917.
Additional information on the contributions of Morris County’s men and women to the war effort, at home and abroad, can be found in the North Jersey History and Genealogy Center.
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