On August 9th, 1912 the U.S. Army began arriving in Stratford, at the railroad station to setup Camp Lee at Paradise Green. The Army conducted the first war game exercises to include aircraft. The encampment remained from August 9th through August 19th. (Click on any image below to enlarge). To the extent any explanatory information was included with the photos, the explanatory information has been posted below its respective photo. All photos, below, have been generously shared with us by the Stratford Historical Society.
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| Of the U.S. Army's War Games in Stratford in 1912, Lewis Knapp wrote in 1989, "In August 1912 Stratford was invaded. War was far from the people's minds when the special trains pulled into the railroad sidings and disgorged whole trainloads of mule-drawn supply wagons, troops, and vehicles. Army trucks towed wood and fabric aeroplanes up Main Street to the pasturelands east of Paradise Green. The U.S. Army and the National Guard were conducting war games to defend New York, and the Housatonic was the barrier. Twenty thousand troops were involved, in a scenario that assumed that an enemy force had captured Boston and was heading for New York. The Blue army set up tents in Stratford, Shelton (then named Huntington), and Monroe to defend the river crossings. The Red army disgorged fifty carloads of troops and supplies in Derby and spread out from New Haven to Danbury to attack the defenders.
In Stratford, the Blues pitched camp on Wilcoxson's dairy farm at Paradise Green. Their biplanes flew from meadows down on Ox Pasture Lane (Wilcoxson Avenue), in the army's first use of aircraft for observation of battle. The mules and horses were watered at Brewster's Pond. Brigadier General Tasker Bliss's staff set up its headquarters in the fields, complete with mess and telegraph station.
For a week the two forces maneuvered through the countryside. Troops bivouacked in the wooded hills along the river. Secretary of War Stimson and his staff (and several German army officers) came to observe, and most of Stratford wandered through the campsites as well. Finally, although the referees declared the Red invaders winners, the troops withdrew well satisfied with the exercise. The town felt comfortable with its protection, too."
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Wright-Astra bi-plane |
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Peeling potatoes |
Airplanes and 1911 Packard license plate number NY 6217 |
Army mule train on the west side of Stratford Center |
Three airplanes |
Tents and WL Byrnes truck |
Modern warfare |
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Encampment at Brewster's Pond |
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Newspaper Articles
- Bridgeport Post August 9th, 1912
- Bridgeport Post August 10th, 1912
- Bridgeport Post August 12th, 1912
- Bridgeport Post August 13th, 1912
- Bridgeport Post August 14th, 1912
- Bridgeport Post August 15th, 1912
- Bridgeport Post August 16th, 1912
- Bridgeport Post August 17th, 1912
- Bridgeport Post August 19th, 1912
- Bridgeport Post August 20th, 1912
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Map of War Games Area |
Camp Lee War Manoeuvers, Paradise Green, Stratford, August 9 to 19, 1912 |
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Army truck from the New York National Guard |
Mules and supply wagons |
Encampment on Wilcoxson's farm |
Company at assembly |
Tent rows |
Mules grazing |
Tents and chuck wagon |
Soldiers posing; mules in background |
Tents |
Men on horseback at Paradise Green |
Local Civilians' touring camp |
Army mules |
West side of Main Street at Stratford Center |
Tents have blue and white circular insignia |
Western Union telegraph office |
Western Union telegraph office |
Tents |
Men on horseback at Paradise Green |
Tents |
Paradise Green - Brewster's Pond |
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Army arrives at the Stratford Railroad Station for encampment and exercises |
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Unloading wagons from flat cars at the depot |
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Unloading wagons from flat cars at the depot |
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Unloading wagons from flat cars at the depot |
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Supply wagons at the railroad depot |