When the Soldiers Came to Town: Spartanburg's Camp Wadsworth (1917-19) & Camp Croft (1941-45)

During World War I and World War II, more than 350,000 men on their way to battlefields abroad came to Spartanburg to learn to be soldiers at the training camps of Wadsworth and Croft. The story of how wartime preparation changed them, and how they in turn changed Spartanburg, is the focus of Hub City’s When the Soldiers Came to Town, a lively, illustrated history edited by Susan Turpin, Carolyn Creal, Ron Crawley, and James Crocker. Few traces remain of the 2,000-acre Wadsworth training facility and the 20,000-acre Croft complex. Many of the soldiers who trained there are gone as well.

Parris Island: "The Cradle of the Corps": A History of the United States Marine Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina, 1562-2015

For nearly a century, Parris Island has forged raw recruits into United States Marines through grueling physical and mental trials. In this compelling firsthand account, former drill instructor Eugene Alvarez captures the essence of Marine training. Through vivid recollections from recruits themselves, this book reveals a world that is by turns humorous, heartbreaking, and harrowing. The result: a Marine instilled with unshakable discipline and a legacy of honor carried into both war and peace.
 

Historical Sketch and Roster of the South Carolina 26th Infantry Regiment

The South Carolina 26th Infantry Regiment was formed in Charleston in September 1862 from the remnants of the 6th and 9th Infantry Battalions, both devastated during early fighting in Virginia. The regiment later served in the siege of Jackson, Mississippi, the defense of Charleston, and finally returned to Virginia to fight in the Petersburg Siege and the Appomattox Campaign.