Lancaster County & the Great War

Though the machines and technology have changed drastically over the past century, the themes of sacrifice, loyalty, and heroism have been felt by countless generations of American soldiers. While today’s armed forces depend on the accuracy of satellites and smartbombs, the American soldier of the early twentieth century fought under much different circumstances–an era dominated by machine guns, massive artillery, gas masks, biplanes, and trench warfare. Our nation’s families, at that time, were full of patriotic pride and were more than willing to give their sons in the fight for democracy. Lancaster County, a rural community in the Palmetto State’s Upcountry, was proud to count many of its men as the first volunteers in our country’s call to arms. In Lancaster County and the Great War, you will listen to the compelling stories of many of the county’s veterans of World War I, from their trials of admission and boot camp to the nightmarish scenes in the barbed-wire-lined, bullet-ridden trenches to the victory celebrations they experienced in foreign landscapes and back at home. Complemented with period photographs, local county newspaper headlines, and wartime posters, these personal histories truly share a unique experience in South Carolina’s and our country’s past. As you read through these pages, you will feel as if you have been handed a government-issue rifle, journeyed across the East Coast to various training camps, felt the incredible fear and anxiety of battle, and paraded down Lancaster’s streets to the ovation of joyous crowds.