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Re: Doyle: Camp Bragg
In Response To: Re: Doyle: Camp Bragg ()

Doyle and Bryan,

Camp(s) Bragg was the 1863-4 winter encampments of the Arkansas and Missouri infantry divisions and was actually a series of regimental or brigade camps spread over a fairly good size area. Reguardless of how far the camps were from each other they were all part of Camp Bragg. Separation was more condusive to the health of the men. White Sulphur Springs, Camp Sumter, Camp Mitchell and Camp Lee were set up in a similair manner.

The 33rd was there. It was at camp Bragg that the men voted in Robert Shaver as brigade commander ridding themselves of the "devil" Shaler.

Camp locations were usually selected for either tactical or logistical reasons. Winter camps were mostly chosen for logistical reasons as the large number of men required a constant stream of supplies and the horses and mules required a huge amount of grazing land. Division and brigade commanders would commandeer churches, schools or abandoned houses for headquarters (Price's headquarters at Camp Bragg were in the house of a man that died the previous year). Buildings were appropriated or built for Quartermaster departments, hospitals, blacksmith shops, etc. In essence it was a small community.

When the infantry left Camp Bragg for Camp Sumpter one of the regimental camps was chosen as a hospital for the men unable to travel, and Polignac's division spent a few weeks there in the fall of 1864 traveling from Camden to Shreveport. While I can't recall anything in my notes concerning the use of the site between these two occupations it's entirely possible various departments could have availed themselves of the facilities for a number of reasons.

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