Fort Devens Dispatch Tuesday, May 5, 1964 Page 3
FORT DEVENS 1657 - 1964
KEY TO POWER A SHORT HISTORY
For more than three centuries the rolling, wooded hills around Fort Devens have known the tread of military boots.
As early as 1657, the countryside resounded to the martial tread of British "Regulars" and moccasin-shod militia defending the tiny "Nashoba Colony" from the forays of marauding Indians.
Major Simon Willard, a colonizer for the British Crown was ordered to this area in 1656 for the purpose of establishing a colony. This he did, settling some forty householders, and acting in the capacity of governor.
His "Manchion House" was located at the present site of Fort Devens Main gate, where a marker has been erected. In addition to being his residence, the house served as the barracks for "Willard's Dragoons", soldiers of Britain and the first organized military force west of Boston.
Following a raid by Indians during King Phillip's War(1675-77), the house was destroyed along with most of the colony. Eventually, other colonists resettled the area and the town of Groton, which was established under the original grant in 1655, grew and flourished. This town included what is now Ayer, Groton, parts of Harvard and Westford, and the New Hampshire towns of Hollis and Nashua.
A small military encampment existed for a short time during the Civil War near the present site of Fort Devens, but the site is poorly established and unmarked.
In 1917, Congress approved plans for the construction of a huge cantonment (1000 acres)near Ayer, Massachusetts. A short time after construction began, the War Department announced that the new camp would be named Camp Devens in honor of a distinguished son of Massachusetts, a Major General in the Civil War, Attorney General in President Rutherford B. Hayes' cabinet, a distinguished member of the Massachusetts bar, and a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court --Charles Devens.
This camp was destined to become the largest military installation in New England, a distinction it still holds. At its World War I peak the camp had 1,448 buildings and could accommodate up to 43,000 military personnel.
Following World War I the camp was reduced to a caretaker basis, a situation that held until the intensive efforts of Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers of Lowell, Massachusetts, were rewarded by the decision to make the installation a permanent post in November 1931.
In World War II Fort Devens again was the scene of intense activity as another period of expansion set in. A total of 1,200 new buildings were constructed ' including many of the buildings still in use. An additional 9,000 acres were added.
More than 614,000 inductees processed through this post during World War H. Units trained at Fort Devens included the First "Big Red One" Infantry Division, the 82nd "Red Arrow" Division, and the 45th "Thunderbird" Division.
When the war ended, the post again reverted to a caretaker status, remaining so until 1948. When Korea exploded in 1950, Fort Devens again was called to serve as a reception center, processing enlistees, inductees, and reservists called to meet the emergency, processing more than 85,000 recruits in the first eight months of operation.
Today, Fort Devens is the home station of the XIII US Army Corps. This unit which consolidates the functions of six former state military districts is responsible for administration f or more than 12 5y 000 New England Reservists.Other major units assigned to Fort Devens are the United States Army Security Agency Training Center and School; the STRAC (Strategic Army Corps) 2nd Brigade, 5th Infantry Division --(Mechanized); the 20th Engineer Battalion; the United States Army Hospital, Fort Devens; and other smaller units.
2nd Bde 5th lnf Div
The 2nd Brigade at Fort Devens is one of the three brigades which comprise the 5th Infantry Division (iviech) at Fort Carson, Colorado. A comparatively new unit, the 2nd Brigade has no elite history of its own, though it carries the colors of the 5th Division. On January 3, 1962, President Kennedy saw the need for a stronger national defense, and called for the immediate activation of two new divisions, the 5th Infantry Division (M) was designated to be one of the two essential divisions, under the Army's ROAD concept.
ROAD, (Reorganization Object Army Divisions) is the Army's newest idea on division reorganization and captures the basic philosophy of fitting the unit to meet the need.
During the past year the Brigade has trained at Yakima, Washington; Little Creek, Virginia; Fort Stewart, Georgia, as well as the areas surrounding Fort Devens.
At present, troops of the 2nd Brigade are deeply engaged in spring maneuvers at Camp Drum, New York. Current commander of the 2nd Brigade is Colonel Hugh F. Queenin.
Though the face of Fort Devens changes with the times, in spirit it will always remain a symbol of the Army's role in National defense to the people of New England.
There is hardly a family in New England that during the course of the last 40 years has not sent to Fort Devens a son, brother, father, or husband, to train for battle, or that has not welcomed him home from the wars after his separation at Fort Devens.
From John B. Murphy of Fitchburg, the first man from Massachusetts to report for the 1917 draft to the most recent New England arrival, this installation has been a part of the life and times of this great region. It shall continue to be.
Each summer over 8,000 reservists and some 1800 ROTC Cadets come to Fort Devens for field training. About half of the post is occupied by firing ranges, maneuver areas, and other training facilities.
X111 US Army Corps
On December 7, 1942, the XIII US Army Corps was activated at Providence, Rhode Island.
In May, 1943, the Corps moved to Fort DuPont, Delaware to train for active theater operations and July of 1944 saw the Corps depart from New York for England.
In England the Corps underwent two months of training in Wiltshire, and on September 28, 1944 it entered the continent of Europe through the already famous "Omaha Beach."
Fighting its way across France and Germany, elements of the Corps eventually reached the Elbe River where they met parts of the 89th Russian Corps on May 2nd, 1945.
On July 9, 1945, the Corps returned to the United States. 'It was inactivated at Camp Cooke, California, on September 25,1945,
On January 2, 1958, the Corps was again activated as the XIII US Army Corps (Reserve) at Fort Devens.It exercises command control over all US Army Reserve and ROTC activities in the New England States.
In early 1960 the term "Reserve" was dropped from the Corps designation. The current commander is Major General Benjamin F. Evans, Jr., who Is also the commanding general of the US Army Garrison, Fort Devens.
USASATC&S
The United States Army Security Agency Training Center and School is a Class II activity, assigned to the Chief, US Army Security Agency, and attached to the US Army Garrison, Fort Devens.
It is responsible for providing military education and appropriate technical training to selected officers, enlisted, and civilian personnel of the various services in fields peculiar to the activities of the US Army Security Agency.
When the Army Security Agency was organized in 1945, the Chief of the Army Security Agency assumed control of the Vint Hill Farms branch of the Signal School and in 1946 it was officially designated the US Army Security Agency Training Center and School.
The police action in Korea made it apparent that the existing facilities could not meet the increasing demands for Agency trained personnel, and in November, 1950, Fort Devens was picked as the new home of the USASATC&S.
The move was completed by April 15, 1951, and without interruption of its training mission. The current commandant of the USASATC&S is Colonel Phillip B. Davidson, Jr.
ARMED FORCES DAY SATURDAY, MAY 9
THE OLD AND THE NEW ... Blending into one in spirit ... following the same proud tradition much as in Major Simon Willard's time. Major Willard, son of Richard and Margery Willard was born in Kent England in 1605, At the age of 30, in 1635, he migrated to America with his family, engaging in the fur business in Cambridge. Appointed a local magistrate, he eventually became a Major In the Colonial Forces and was sent to colonize the town of Concord. In 1653 he was sent to colonize the Nashoba Area, now comprising Groton, Harvard, Lancaster, Chelmsford, and numerous other towns in a large tract in this area. The Devens Main Gate is the site of his original home and his holdings bore the name "Nonacoicus". The name is still preserved today in the estate of Clara Endicott Sears on Prospect Hill, Harvard, which was a part of the original real estate. An arbiter as well as soldier, Willard ruled much like the feudal lords of Europe. It is known that he traveled as a surveyor, making at least one journey to the shores of Lake Winnepesaukee In New Hampshire where a stone is there that bears his initials. In 1676, when King Philip and his warriors swept down the Mohawk Trail and the Brookfields, plundering, burning and murdering as they came, Willard's Dragoons were sent to the relief of the settlements, but were unable to halt the onslaught. Major Willard's house itself was burned, and his family fled to Charlestown, Mass., where he died on April 24, at the age of 71. He was married three times and left 17 children.