“Go With the Home Boys,” “It’s Best to Go With Those You Know in Tennessee’s Only Mounted Regiment,” “Join Chattanooga’s Own Volunteer Battery.”
These were slogans used to entice volunteers to sign up with Battery B of the 114th Field Artillery Regiment. Organized by U.S. Sen. Luke Lea, the regiment included recruits from all parts of the state as was the custom with previous Tennessee volunteer units.
Chattanooga was assigned Battery B. Its enlistment headquarters was in the old Armory at Market and Fourth streets.
The recruits had spirit but for months lacked any regular army trappings. Khaki pants, olive shirts and campaign hats formed the semblance of a uniform. When the University of Chattanooga closed for the summer, the Battery moved its headquarters to the school’s gymnasium and used Chamberlain Field for drill instruction. The soldiers made do with army cots and marched to restaurants on Oak Street for meals three times a day.
In September 1917, Battery B traveled to Camp Sevier in South Carolina. Two shacks in the heavily forested region, one with a latrine, the other with a kitchen, greeted soldiers. They spent three months clearing the forest and building streets, officers’ quarters, showers, kitchens, latrines and floors for tents. Rough conditions, poor food and bad weather gave the nickname “Camp Severe.”