The 302nd
ENGINEERS
by,
Gilbert H. Crawford
Thomas H. Ellett
John J. Hyland
CHAPTER 1.
THE BEGINNING

Colonel Sherill
IT MAY BE said that
the history of our Regiment dates from 14th May, 1917. On
that day, there gathered together at Plattsburgh, N. Y.,
the hundred or more men who, under the command of Captain
William H. Sage, Jr.* (Corps of Engineers U. S. A.),
formed the 15th N. Y. Company (Engineers) of the first
officers' training camp. By the middle of June, 1917,
this Company had increased in strength to 150 men-most of
them experienced engineers, but without previous military
training. The Company then moved to Washington, D. C.
(American University Camp), and about three weeks later
to Belvoir Va. (afterwards called Camp A. A. Humphreys),
where it remained and continued its training under
Captain Sage until 14th August, 1917. Practically all the
men of the Company were then commissioned in the Engineer
Officers' Reserve Corps, ranking from Second Lieutenants
to and including Majors, and the official existence of
the 15th N. Y. Company came to an end.
The purpose of the camps at Washington and Belvoir, as
well as at Plattsburgh, was to train civilians to be
officers. Many of the candidates for commissions in the
Engineer Officers' Reserve Corps had had no previous
military experience. At the American University Camp and
at Belvoir, special stress was laid upon the mastery of
war-time engineering problems and the technique of an
engineer regiment. Many subjects were taught intensively
and all candidates were earnest in their work and eager
to learn quickly and thoroughly.
When the first officers' training camps were organized by
the War Department, in the Spring -of 1917, it was
decided that the successful candidates, who had been
trained together in a single company, should be assigned
as officers of a particular regiment of the National
Army, holding all ranks below the grade of
Lieutenant-Colonel. In accordance with this plan, Special
Order No. 186, War Department, 1917, dated 11th August,
1917, ordered certain officers from the 15th N. Y.
Company to report for duty to the Commanding Officer,
302nd Engineers, at Camp Upton, N. Y., on 27th August,
1917.
On 25th August, 1917, Colonel Clarence 0. Sherrill, Corps
of Engineers, U. S. A., reported as Commanding Officer,
302nd Engineers, to the then Commanding General, 77th
Division, Major-General J. Franklin Bell, at Camp Upton.
This was the first official act in the history of the
Regiment. On 27th of August the officers selected from
the 15th N. Y. Company reported to Colonel Sherrill at
Barracks J-1, Camp Upton. He greeted them with a few
words, significant for their optimism and for their
insistence upon united effort and wholesouled
cooperation. It was instantly apparent to every man
present that in Colonel Sherrill the 302nd Engineers had
a commanding officer in every sense of the word. It would
be difficult to overestimate the importance of this first
meeting -this first formal "roll call" of the
Regiment.
The remainder of August and early September, 1917, at
Camp Upton passed quietly until the drafts of men began
to arrive. During this period of comparative inactivity,
the officers of the Regiment spent their time in studying
the numerous complicated problems with which modern
warfare abounds, and endeavored in every way to increase
their military and technical knowledge, both in practice
and theory.
On 15th September, 1917, the first draft of men was
received by the Regiment. These recruits were assigned in
a body to Company "B", and included many men
with previous military experience, a considerable number
of whom were later commissioned. There were one hundred
men in this first draft~ all drawn from the first two
thousand recruits assigned to Camp Upton-the first
contribution of New York City to the great National Army.
The formation of other companies followed in the order
shown below:
Company "B", 15th September, 1917, commanded by
Captain ,Frederick S. Greene.
Company"D" 22d September, 1917, commanded by
Captain Edward B. Simmons.
Company "E", 23d Septernber, 1917, commanded by
Captain Harry La Fetra.
Company "A", 24th September, 1917, commanded by
Captain Thomas J. Scully.
Company "C", 25th September, 1917, commanded by
Captain Stratford St. J. Bushman.
Company "F", 1st October, 1917, commanded by
Captain Albert R. Ullrich.
Headquarters Company, lst October, 1917, commanded by
Captain Harry B. Per-Lee.
302Dd Engineer Train, 1st October, 191.7, commanded by
Captain Harry B. Per-Lee.
A medical detachment, officered by First Lieutenant
Brantly F. Parker, First Lieutenant John G. Gordon, and
First Lieutenant William R. Edwards, was organized early
in September, 1917, and a number of non-commissioned
officers from the Regular Army also reported to Colonel
Sherrill during this month.
The engineer barracks at Camp Upton were somewhat
detached from the other groups of barracks, being on the
slopes and crest of a little ridge. This elevation of our
training quarters was accepted as an index to our aim.
Colonel Sherrill insisted from the first that the
Regiment must be the best, and the will to do never
slackened in officers or men. Our start was most
fortunate.
Many and varied problems immediately confronted the
Regiment. Not only was it necessary to clothe and equip
our recruits and instruct them in the rudiments of
military science required of every unit in the Division,
but it was also necessary to assume at once
responsibility for a large part of the engineering work
of the entire camp. Thanks to the foresight and energy of
Colonel Sherrill, this latter work was coordinated with
and became the most valuable part of our training as
engineer soldiers. For instance, it was necessary to
clear drill grounds of stumps and underbrush. he
engineers not only cleared their own splendid parade, but
supervised the work for all other units in the Division.
The drudgery of stump-pulling in the early days of
October, 1917, seemed foreign to the work of soldiers.
But the "wilderness of Camp Upton" was a
fitting prelude to No Man's Land on the Vesle and the
dense thickets of the Argonne Forest. On such hard work,
done faithfully and under difficulties, was laid the
foundation of our future success.
So, too, was the work "on the hill." The
building of the road to Division Headquarters, on a
height near the center of Camp Upton, presented many
practical problems in timber construction, crib work and
bridge-building. This task was undertaken by the
engineers and carried on to successful completion, in
spite of the bitter cold and cutting winds of the late
Fall and Winter. Long will the men who worked there
remember the hardships of that task, hardships actually
greater than any they experienced later in France.

Bridge near division headquarters.
Instruction in all branches of military tactics continued
at the same time as the special work. Every minute was
occupied from early morning till late at night. No
weather was too inclement for the training. The men, as
well as the officers, were progressively trained in
discipline and command, not only by actual work on the
drill ground and by special engineering assignments, but
by lectures and demonstrations which formed the
theoretical basis of the practical work.
During this period,
several British and French officers gave us the benefit
of their experience and knowledge of actual warfare.
Notable among these splendid officers was Lieutenant
Poire of the French Army, whose lectures on field
fortification and the organization of the ground were of
inestimable value. Looking back now at our special
training at Camp Upton, one is struck with the great
difference between the war as it had been up to that
time, and the war that the Regiment actually experienced.
Many of the specialties that were practiced at Camp Upton
were entirely abandoned during the following months in
Europe. Fortunately, in our training, the fundamentals of
military science were not overlooked. Later, when
actually in the field, the Regiment never failed to meet
a situation squarely, and always solved its problems-on
time.
Under Lieutenant-Colonel Pettis great stress was laid on
rifle training, with the result that no regiment at Upton
was better trained in rifle fire. The figures, so far as
they were compiled, showed that the marksmanship of the
Engineers on the rifle range was superior to that of any
other unit in the Division. In order to facilitate our
rifle training, an underground rifle range was
constructed in the side of "Engineer Hill", and
thousands of rounds of ammunition were fired with the old
Krag rifles, with which the Regiment was at first equipped. This
underground range, for which Captain H. W. Wilson, the Adjutant of the
Second Battalion, was largely responsible, is an example of the
regimental resourcefulness. The Engineers were thus enabled to fire
-service ammunition weeks before it would otherwise have
been possible.
The development of "esprit de corps" was the
constant desire of Colonel Sherill and all the officers.
No opportunity was allowed to pass. Each man soon came to
understand that pride of regiment is the keystone in the
arch of military success. Early was this pride manifest
within our Regiment, and it has never ceased to grow. The
Engineers were always trying to be the best, and seldom
were they disappointed. Even our football team, under
Lieutenants Dyer, Ryan, and Darrin, was unquestionably
the best in the Division, beating all teams, and
experiencing defeat only once (a return game) from the
306th Infantry. This record is all the more remarkable
when one considers that our Regiment was only half the
size of any of the infantry regiments.
It is to be noted, also, that early in March, 1918, the
regimental basket ball team won the divisional
championship. The Regiment attended all the games en
masse, and the team knew it had the enthusiastic and
unanimous support of every company. Company "A"
had previously won the regimental championship, Company
"E" being the "runner up".
An evidence of the fine spirit pervading the Regiment,
even early in its history, was shown when, late in
October, the second draft of men was assigned to the
Engineers. The men who had been at Upton for a few weeks
took hold of the new recruits and themselves became
teachers. In an incredibly short time, the recruits
absorbed the spirit of the Regiment and were admitted to
full membership.
The spirit of friendly rivalry between the companies has
always been noteworthy. Above all, the rivalry has been
fair. Never has the Regiment been torn by internal
dissension. Each company has tried to excel, but no
company has ever monopolized the honors.
During the stay at Camp Upton, the Regiment was doubly
fortunate in having for voluntary chaplains, Dr. C. D.
Trexler, of Brooklyn, and later, Dr. William T. Manning,*
Rector of Trinity Church, New York City. It would be hard
to overestimate the good influence of these two
gentlemen. Dr. Trexler later became an Army Chaplain and
served in France with the 82nd Division. After the
departure of the Regiment over-seas, Dr. Manning acted as
its Honorary Chaplain in the United States, and as
President of the 302nd Engineers Home Association, and of
the 77th Division Home Association. His efforts on behalf
of the Regiment and the Division have been unceasing and
tireless. The Regiment has always felt highly honored by
this association with Dr. Manning, who is known
throughout the English-speaking world, as well as in
France, as a most fearless and- forceful champion of
freedom and justice. It was largely due to Dr. Manning's
good offices and determined efforts that the Division was
permitted to pass in review before its families and
friends in New York City on 6th May, 1919.

Co. E Sergeants
An important factor
in the growth of the regimental spirit was the formation
of the Engineer Band. At the beginning of the war no
provision was made for bands in engineer regiments.
Colonel Sherrill determined to have an informal band,
because he appreciated its importance in building up
esprit de corps. In his monthly report to the Chief of
Engineers for October 1917, Colonel Sherrill said:
"We have an informal band that adds considerably to
the esprit de corps of the Regiment. It is recommended
that action be taken before Congress to secure a band for
each pioneer regiment, as its influence on the discipline
and cohesion of the command is great." ** Despite
many difficulties, the Engineer Band came into existence
in October, 1917. Instruments were procured here and
there; musicians practiced in addition to their other
duties. From small beginnings, the Band grew and
developed into a splendid organization. In the only
interband competition within the Division (March, 1919)
the Engineer Band was awarded second place.
It would be difficult to overestimate the value of a band
to a regiment. Without one, all parades, reviews, and
other ceremonies necessarily are incomplete.
It was interesting to note how well the bandsmen
performed their military duties during active operations.
They were well forward, employed on fatigue work. Music
was forgotten in the work of the front. The men justified
their existence as soldiers, working hard and faithfully,
and putting the same enthusiasm into the rough tasks of
battle as they had in their early musical training at
Camp Upton.
During the Fall and Winter of 1917 many men were
transferred from the Regiment to other divisions. A large
number were sent to Camp Gordon, Ga. The night before
such transfers, blue barrack bags were issued to the men
to carry their extra clothing. As may be surmised, no one
wanted to leave the Regiment, and the "blue
bag" became a bogey. The first sergeants were
supposed to list in "blue bag" books everyone
who broke the rules of the camp, for the purpose of
transferring the offenders when the next call came. These
transfers interfered seriously with the training and
cohesive strength of the Regiment, but they were required
by the military situation and nothing could be done to
prevent them.
Similar transfers took place (December, 1917) to a
provisional battalion of the 11th Engineers. This
battalion was formed at Camp Upton for the purpose of
supplying replacements to the 11th Engineers (Railway),
then in France. The battalion was trained and equipped
under Colonel Sherrill's supervision, and commanded for
some time by Major James P. Leaf, attached to the 302nd
Engineers.
In spite of transfers, and many other handicaps, the
development of the Regiment continued rapidly. In
January, 1918, although each line company numbered but
150 men, the Regiment was ready for service. The officers
and men were well trained for any duty that they might be
called upon to perform.
On 17th January, 1918, about 700 members of the American
Society of Civil Engineers visited Camp Upton, were
entertained by the Regiment, and inspected the engineer
camp and activities. At the invitation of the Commanding
General they reviewed the Regiment, and by courtesy of
the 307th Infantry, they witnessed an exhibition infantry
attack. This review and inspection showed clearly that
officers and men were trained and equipped as thoroughly
as they could be in the United States, and Colonel
Sherrill endeavored to have the Regiment sent to France
at once for the final training in the field.
Unfortunately, this 1could not be arranged.
On the 20th January, 1918, a theatre party was held in
New York City for the benefit of the regimental fund '
Thanks largely to the assistance of Mrs. Irene Harris, of
New York, this affair was a great success, the net
proceeds amounting to over $1,700.00. The fund was later
enlarged by gifts made through Dr. Manning, and has ever
since been adequate for the needs of the Regiment.
During the Winter of 1917 Major-General Bell, the Commanding General, became greatly interested in the
erection of a community hall for the camp. He entrusted
the entire matter to Colonel Sherrill, who was charged
not only with the design of the building, but also with
raising the necessary funds for its erection. It became
the duty of Lieutenants Thomas H. Ellett and Victor G.
Thomassen, of the 302nd Engineers, to draw the plans of
the proposed hall, which was to be very unusual and
effective. Captain Frederick S. Greene, 302nd Engineers,
assisted by several New York civilians, acted as head of
the "finance committee". A military ball was
given on the night of Washington's birthday, at the
Seventh Regiment Armory, Park Avenue, New York City. This
was a great success and the proceeds from it added
$20,000.00 to the Community Hall Fund.
The Community Hall, however, was never completed, largely
because the sailing overseas of the Regiment, in March,
1918, severed Colonel Sherrill's connection with the
project.
During several weeks of the new year (1918) the different
companies and regiments of the 77th Division had been
striving to win the prize offered for the best policed
and beautified area in camp. Weekly inspections by
different teams of inspectors rated the different
companies. The result was gratifying to the Engineers,
for their regimental area was adjudged the.second best in
the whole camp, and Company "F's" area was
given first prize of all companies in the Division.
An incident of note in our history was a stirring address
to the Regiment by Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, President
of Columbia University (20th February, 1918).
During the month of February, 1918, the Regiment was
increased to full war strength by recruits from the
second draft. These men, several hundred strong, came
from Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, and New England.
Originally, and up to that time, the Regiment consisted
almost entirely of men from New York City, but, by this
recruitment, it became a State-wide organization. Only a
few weeks were available for the training of the new men,
but they were of a splendid, hard-working type, and the
results were remarkable. As a matter of fact, when the
Regiment left Camp Upton late in March, 1918, it would
have been difficult to distinguish the new men from the
old. About this time (20th February, 1918) Lieut.-Col. C.
R. Pettis was called away to command another regiment. Lieut. Col. Lindsey C. Herkness took his place as second
in command to Colonel Sherrill. Lieutenant-Colonel
Herkness remained with the Regiment until the middle of
August, 1918, when he, too, was transferred.
The first divisional review was held at Camp Upton on
15th February, 1918. Assistant Secretary of War, Mr.
Benedict Crowell, reviewed the Division. The 302nd
Engineers led the parade.
Another memorable
event was the parade in New York City, through the heavy
snowstorm of Washington's birthday, 1918. Ten thousand
men of the Division journeyed to New York City to
participate in the march down Fifth Avenue, which was
really a farewell to New York. For this reason, and
because a few days' leave or furlough was granted to
officers and men at this time, this parade was a
milestone in our history. The Engineers again were at the
head of the column. The 69th Regiment Armory,* on 26th
Street, was the New York headquarters of the Regiment.
After the Washington birthday parade in New York City, it
became a foregone conclusion that the 77th Division would
shortly sail overseas. Efforts to complete equipment and
to finish rifle practice were doubled, with the result
that early in March, 1918, the Regiment was ready to sail
at any time.
When packing up for overseas service, it was found
necessary to adopt a symbol to be painted on the baggage.
The 77th Division chose for its symbol the Statue of
Liberty. Since then, the Division has generally been
referred to as the "Liberty Division". When,
late in 1918, the General Headquarters ordered each
division to select and wear just below the left shoulder
a divisional insignia, the 77th Division again chose as
its emblem the Statue of Liberty on a field of azure
blue. As a matter of record, it should be noted that no
divisional insignia were worn until after the Armistice.
Good-byes were said
and written several times during March, 1918, before the
final orders for leaving were received. In the middle of
the night, 28th-29th March, 1918, the 302nd Engineers
left their comfortable barracks at Camp Upton, which had
been their official home since the preceding August, and
marched quietly, almost stealthily, toward the new, the
unknown. It was a momentous occasion for most of us, the
loosening of the last material bond between the comforts
of our garrison life and the actual war-life, which we
knew to be ahead of us. Never since that time has the
Regiment remained a third as long in any one place. Camp
Upton was the scene of our regimental childhood, and fond
recollections of our experiences there will often fill
our thoughts during the years to come. Thus ends the Camp
Upton chapter of the history of the 302nd Engineers. The
writer lingers, grudgingly turns the page on this happy,
hard-working period, during which our habits of teamwork
were formed, our pride of regiment came into being. All
things end! Good-bye Camp Upton, the birthplace of the
302nd Engineers!