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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



all of those from Virginia and West Vir- 

 ginia, is, with the single exception of 

 Camp Lewis, the largest of all the Na- 

 tional Army cantonments. It accommo- 

 dates 46,400 men, which makes it the 

 third municipality in point of size in the 

 Old Dominion. Only Richmond, the capi- 

 tal, and Norfolk, the chief seaport, are 

 larger. It is twice the size of Newport 

 News, which is doing so much in forging 

 America's answer to submarine losses. 

 The climate is fairly equable, the average 

 annual temperature being 58 degrees, as 

 compared with 47 at Camp Devens, 51 

 at Camp Upton, and 54 at Camp Dix. 

 About 139 days of the year are clear and 

 118 partly cloudy (see page 421). 



The geography of the Petersburg re- 

 gion made it important in the history of 

 the nation. Situated on the Appomat- 

 tox River, 20 miles from its confluence 

 with the James, it is the converging point 

 of all the main highways and railroads 

 from the south, the southeast, and the 

 west. Its strategic value gave it a role 

 in Revolutionary operations and made it 

 in many ways the key to the Confederacy. 



The region in which Camp Lee is lo- 

 cated is richly historic. Twenty miles 

 north is Richmond, capital of the Con- 

 federacy. Less than forty miles away, is 

 Jamestown Island, scene of the first per- 

 manent English settlement in America. 

 A few miles farther will bring the pil- 

 grim to Williamsburg, where met the 

 first elected legislative body in America. 

 Fifty miles to the east is Yorktown. 

 where the French threw the weight of 

 their arms heavily in the balance and 

 helped America achieve her independ- 

 ence. Only 60 miles away is Newport 

 News, with its big embarkation camp 

 from which the men who are now training 

 will sail for France and the fighting front. 



Camp Lee was named for General 

 Robert E. Lee. the brilliant chieftain of 

 the Southern Confederacy, who, born in 

 1807, the son of "Light Horse Harry" 

 Lee of the Revolutionary Army, lived to 

 become universally acknowledged one of 

 the great captains of military history. 



CAMP JACKSOX 



Located in the heart of South Carolina, 

 with its southwestern corner only four 

 miles from Columbia, the State capital, 



Camp Jackson, where the National Army 

 troops from the two Carolinas will train, 

 has a mild climate, with an average tem- 

 perature of 63. The weather conditions 

 are similar to those on that part of the 

 French front where it is expected Amer- 

 ican troops will be sent. The camp site 

 is drained by Gill Creek, and Wildcat 

 Road had to be closed for more than 

 two miles to permit the building of the 

 cantonment. 



Camp Jackson is within 100 miles of 

 the National Guard Mobilization Camps 

 at Charlotte, N. C, Spartanburg, S. C, 

 Greenville, S. C, and Augusta, Ga. 



Columbia is South Carolina's railroad 

 as well as geographic and political center. 

 It is located on the east bank of the Con- 

 garee River, at the head of navigation, 

 and is on the dividing line between what 

 is known as the red and sand hills re- 

 gion and the piedmont district. It is in 

 a section noted for its sanitariums and 

 winter resorts. 



Camp Jackson is named in honor of 

 Andrew Jackson, seventh President of 

 the United States. North and South 

 Carolina both claim to be the State of 

 his birth. North Carolina says he was 

 born in the Waxhaw settlement, in Union 

 County, N. C, while South Carolinians 

 claim that distinction for a spot near 

 Waxhaw Creek, in Lancaster County, 

 S. C. Jackson always gave the latter as his 

 birthplace, and his most thorough biogra- 

 pher thinks that the weight of evidence 

 favors his South Carolina origin. His 

 father died in Union County a few days 

 before his birth, and his mother went to 

 live with her sister in Lancaster County. 

 The controversy hangs on the issue of 

 whether he was born before or after the 

 mother went to her sister's home. 



CAMP GORDO X 



Camp Gordon, where the National 

 Army forces from Georgia, Tennessee, 

 and southeastern Alabama are being 

 trained, is situated 93/2 miles north of the 

 heart of Atlanta, Ga., on the main line of 

 the Southern Railway from Washington. 

 In the extreme northwest part of the 

 camp is Silver Lake, one of the most 

 beautiful bodies of water in the South. 

 At the gate of Camp Gordon are Ogle- 

 thorpe University and Humphries Park. 



