Camp Bowie in World War I
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Headquarters, 36th Division, United States Army, 1917-1919. Established to train Texas National Guard and Oklahoma National Guard, after the U.S. entered World War I April 1917. Named for James Bowie (1795-1836), one of the commanders who died at the Alamo in Texas War for Independence, Camp Bowie was occupied in July 1917. First troops to arrive slept in deep Johnson grass that covered the site, an undeveloped suburb. By Nov. 1917, the 36th Division had 25,000 men here, and on July 8, 1918, they were shipped to France, to form reserve for French Armies of the Center. After nightfall, Oct. 6, the 36th occupied a segment of the fighting front; on Oct. 8 joined by elements of the U.S. 2nd Division, it captured St. Etienne-A-Arnes. It fought Oct. 10-28 in the Meuse-Argonne operation that shattered the German Army and assured victory to the Allies, bringing Armistice on Nov. 11, 1918. The 36th Division, embarking for home the next May, had all its men on U.S. soil by June 11, 1919. Soon demobilized, it saw its "Home" at Camp Bowie revert to civilian uses between July 1919 and Aug. 1920. When the Texas National Guard entered World War II its new camp at Brownwood was also named Bowie. (1973)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Camp Bowie rose on an undeveloped Fort Worth suburb to train the 36th Division—Texas and Oklahoma National Guardsmen—named for Alamo commander James Bowie. By November 1917 some 25,000 men drilled here, and in July 1918 they shipped to France, where they helped capture St. Etienne-A-Arnes and fought in the Meuse-Argonne offensive that broke the German line. The division returned home by mid-1919, and the camp reverted to civilian use.
Why it matters
Camp Bowie shows how a nation mobilized ordinary citizen-soldiers almost overnight to fight the First World War in Europe.
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Related people
- · James Bowie
Related events
- · Meuse-Argonne Offensive
- · Capture of St. Etienne-A-Arnes
- · Armistice of November 11, 1918
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Camp Bowie Boulevard
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In 1917-18 this avenue—then Arlington Heights Boulevard—was the main artery through Camp Bowie, a sprawling World War I training center, its asphalt strips flanking streetcar tracks. After the war, development spread in, the street was renamed Camp Bowie Boulevard in 1919, and in 1927-28 it was paved with the durable Thurber bricks that still evoke the era.
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