Camp Merritt (2)

Camp Merritt (2) (1917-1920) - A U.S. Army World War I Embarkation Camp first established in 1917 near Cresskill, Bergen County, New Jersey. Named Camp Merritt after Major General Wesley Merritt (Cullum 1868), U.S. Civil War cavalry officer. Abandoned in 1920.

Camp Merritt Panorama Left
Camp Merritt Panorama Middle
Camp Merritt Panorama Right

World War I

A U.S. Army Embarkation Camp established in 1917 to process U.S. military units for sea transport to the war front in Europe through the Hoboken Port of Embarkation. Camp Merritt was opened 1 Oct 1917 on a site of about 770 acres at a cost of about $ 10,000,000. The camp processed about one million of the four million troops sent to Europe during the war.

The embarkation process usually began at one of the 32 divisional training camps (16 for the National Army (draftees) and 16 for the National Guard) with troops riding to the Embarkation Camps by train and spending a variable amount of time at the Embarkation Camp. From the Embarkation Camp troops usually moved by rail to the Hoboken Embarkation Port and onto troop ships. Divisions were too large to move intact on single ships so it could take a division a month or two to reassemble on the European side.

At the end of the war the camp became a disembarkment center, reversing the process until it was abandoned in 1920.

In 1924 a monument to the 563 personnel who died at Camp Merritt during the 1918 influenza epidemic was placed at the former center of the Camp.

Current Status

Monument in Merritt Memorial Circle, Bergen County, New Jersey.

---

{"selectable":false,"width":"500"}

Location: Merritt Memorial Circle in Cresskill, Bergen County, New Jersey. The memorial is at the former center of Camp Merritt. Maps & Images Lat: 40.941145 Long: -73.976827 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: .....'

Sources:

• Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 512

Links:

• North American Forts - Camp Merritt
• Wikipedia - Camp Merritt
• Bergan County Historical Society - Camp Merritt
• Cresskill Monument
• Hstorical Marker Database - Camp Merritt

Visited: No

Camp Merritt (2) Picture Gallery

Click on the picture to see a larger version. Contribute additional pictures - the more the better!