Camp Mills

Camp Mills
Undetermined · Public domain · source
Name	Camp Mills
Location	Long Island, New York
Type	Military cantonment camp
Built	1917
Used	1917–1920s
Controlledby	United States Army

Camp Mills was a World War I era cantonment established on Long Island to mobilize, train, and process American Expeditionary Forces before embarkation to the Western Front. It served as a transient hub linking regional railroads, port facilities, and national mobilization networks during the First World War, interacting with prominent military departments, major ports, and key expeditionary units. The camp's operations involved coordination with transportation, medical, and supply organizations that shaped U.S. wartime deployment patterns.

History

Camp Mills was founded in 1917 amid the rapid expansion of the United States Army following the declaration of war in April 1917. The site was selected as part of a nationwide program that included other cantonments such as Camp Upton, Camp Dix, and Camp Lewis to absorb draftees from the Selective Service Act of 1917 registrants. Early construction involved contractors associated with the War Department and logistics firms linked to the United States Shipping Board. During 1917–1918 the camp processed divisions including elements from the 42nd Infantry Division and the 77th Division en route to embarkation points at the Port of New York and Brooklyn Navy Yard. After the Armistice of 11 November 1918, Camp Mills functioned in demobilization activities until its functions were reduced in the early 1920s and parcels were returned to private owners and local governments.

Location and Layout

Located on the Hempstead Plains of Long Island, Camp Mills occupied land near Garden City, New York and adjacent to the Hempstead area, positioned to take advantage of rail links to the Long Island Rail Road and highways to the New York City ports. The cantonment's rectangular parade grounds and tented encampments were arranged around administrative and medical sec­tions modeled after other contemporaneous camps like Camp Jackson and Camp Greene. Its proximity to Mitchel Field and Belmont Park influenced placement of hangars, supply depots, and riding rings for cavalry training. The layout incorporated segregated billets for officers and enlisted personnel, staff offices tied to the Adjutant General of the Army, and staging areas for embarkation convoys to terminals such as the Army Transport Service piers.

Military Role and Operations

Camp Mills operated as a reception, training, and embarkation center, integrating mobilization procedures developed by the General Staff and the Services of Supply. Units arriving from induction centers like Fort McPherson and Fort Oglethorpe underwent medical examination by personnel from the United States Army Medical Corps and training overseen by instructors from the Infantry Branch and the Field Artillery. The camp coordinated with the American Expeditionary Forces command structure and shipping organized by the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation for transatlantic transport. It also served as a staging node for convoys that assembled under naval escort from the United States Navy and allied commands, contributing to operations supporting the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and other 1918 campaigns.

Units and Personnel

A variety of infantry, artillery, engineer, and support units passed through the cantonment, including elements associated with the 42nd Division (United States), the 77th Infantry Division (United States), and regiments raised in northeastern states such as New York (state), New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Staff officers from the War Department General Staff administered quarters and embarkation manifests, while chaplains from the United States Army Chaplain Corps and physicians from the United States Army Medical Department provided spiritual care and medical treatment. Noncommissioned officers detailed from garrison posts like Fort Hamilton and Fort Totten performed training supervision, and enlisted personnel included draftees processed under the Selective Service System.

Infrastructure and Facilities

Camp Mills featured canvas tents, wooden barracks, mess halls, and an array of support facilities patterned after other World War I cantonments such as Camp Merritt. Supply chains connected to depots managed by the Quartermaster Corps furnished uniforms, rations, and equipment; the Signal Corps established telegraph and telephone networks; and motor transport sections maintained trucks procured through contracts with firms tied to the War Industries Board. A hospital complex treated influenza cases during the 1918 pandemic, coordinated with the United States Public Health Service and military medical research efforts. Training ranges, drill fields, and warehouses for ordnance storage were integral to the camp, as were railroad spurs that linked to the Long Island Rail Road and facilitated movement to the Port of Embarkation.

Legacy and Commemoration

Although the physical cantonment was dismantled, the legacy of Camp Mills continues in regional military history, memorials, and archival records held by institutions such as the New-York Historical Society and the National Archives and Records Administration. Local municipalities like Garden City, New York and Hempstead, New York preserve place names and historic markers that reference the World War I mobilization period. Scholarly treatments in journals associated with the Society for Military History and exhibits in museums including the Museum of the City of New York contextualize the camp's role within the broader mobilization of U.S. forces for the First World War. Camp Mills' operational patterns informed later mobilization doctrine adopted by the United States Army in subsequent conflicts.

Category:Military installations in New York (state) Category:United States Army cantonments