Camp Sevier

Camp Sevier was a U.S. Army World War I National Guard Mobilization and Training Camp. The 1,900-acre facility was established near Taylors, SC, Greenville County, under General Order #95, dated July 18, 1917. The camp was completed in November 1917 at an eventual cost of $6,500,000 and was named Camp Sevier in honor of Brigadier General John Sevier who had served in the North Carolina Militia during the Revolutionary War. The camp was abandoned in 1919. The camp had a capacity of about 46,000 officers and enlisted men.

This first group of guardsmen was formed into the Thirtieth, or “Old Hickory,” Division, which trained at the camp until May 1918 and was followed by the Eighty-first Division and the Twentieth Division. In all, an estimated 100,000 men underwent vital training at Camp Sevier by the spring of 1919. With the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918, the camp was designated as a demobilization center on December 3 and was closed as a military training facility on April 8, 1919.

The first commander of the camp was Major General John F. Morrison (Cullum 2904) who formed the 30th U.S. Infantry Division and initiated the training facility. The 30th arrived in France in August 1917 and departed for in May 1918. The 30th distinguished itself in combat and sustained heavy losses, including 1,652 killed, 9,429 wounded and 77 captured. The 30th returned to the U.S. and was demobilized on 7 May 1919.