Camp Colt: The Tank Corps

Camp Colt: The Tank Corps. . , Camp Colt, established during World War I, was named after the 1800s weapon designer, Samuel Colt. It was the first US post to train soldiers for the newly established Tank Corps. The 192-acre training camp stretched across the fields in front of you. Captain Dwight D. Eisenhower, given command om March 25, 1918, embraced the assignment. writing, “There were no precedents… and I was the only officer in the command.” Eisenhower initially had no tanks, so he improvised by bolting machine guns to flatbed trucks., When three French Renault tanks finally arrived, they had no weapons. Eisenhower reported, “Again we improvised.” By mid-summer, approximately 11,000 soldiers and personnel, were on post., In 1950 Eisenhower purchased a 190-acre farm adjacent to Gettysburg Battlefield. In 1969 the Eisenhower home and farm was donated to the National Perk Service. Eisenhower National Historical Site opened in 1980. , Main photo caption: Camp Colt, March 1918-August 1919, included firing ranges, workshops, and barracks for 10,000 enlisted men and 600 officers. The Pennsylvania Memorial, as well as Little and Big Round Top, are visible from the camp.