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Ike’s “Road to Gettysburg”

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The Eisenhower Farm Story

Richard D. L. Fulton

Dwight ”Ike”  D. Eisenhower was born on October 14, in Denison, Texas, the son of David D. and Elizabeth Eisenhower (the spelling of Eisenhower was changed from its original spelling of Eisenhauer, which had been the last name of his great-grandfather).

Eisenhower married Mary “Mamie” in 1914 and would remain with her until his death at the  Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, DC, in 1968.  The couple had two sons: Doud “Ikky” Dwight Eisenhower (1917-1921) and John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower (1922-2013).

Eisenhower is probably best known as the World War II commander of the Allied forces in Europe, and as the two-term president of the United States from 1953 to 1961.

He may be somewhat lesser known for his command of Camp Colt, a training ground for the United States Army’s first armored tank crews, which sprawled in and around the Gettysburg battlefield in 1918—40 years before he and his wife would see and find a permanent home in Cumberland Township, just outside of the Gettysburg Borough (see “Gettysburg’s Camp Colt Birthplace of American Armor,” by Richard D. L. Fulton, January 2024 Catoctin Banner).

Regardless of the farm’s actual geographic location, it was generally always referred to as Eisenhower’s Gettysburg farm, and/or Eisenhower’s Gettysburg home.

Buying the farm was actually the idea of Eisenhower’s wife, Mamie.  In a story written, entitled “Mamie Eisenhower Says Gettysburg is Her Home,” by the Associated Press staff, and published in the September 5, 1952, edition of The Gettysburg Times, she (Mamie Eisenhower) stated in an interview that “buying the house (farm) was her idea.” 

The writer of the article stated that she said, “when she told her husband she liked that place, he had replied, ‘OK, go ahead and buy it’.”

Apparently, it did not require a lot of persistence for his wife to convince him to purchase the property. The Gettysburg Times stated in their November 20, 1950, edition, “The General was a frequent visitor… and has expressed a sentimental as well as a patriotic attachment to the Gettysburg region,” and later noted in a 1952 story that the general had (recently) stated, “I hope to rock out my last days on a comfortable porch here (in Gettysburg).”

The farm in question had been, prior to its sale to the Eisenhowers, known as the Redding Farm, owned by Allen Redding and his wife. The farm consisted of some 189 acres (also reported as 179 acres, and then again, as 188 acres), and the Eisenhowers had paid $40,000 for the farm, according to The Gettysburg Times.

The Reddings had purchased the farm from Mary Alice Hemler, wife of the deceased George Hemler, in 1934, during the Great Depression, for $15,000.

The Times reported on November 20, 1950, “Attorney Richard A. Brown said that he and John C. Bream, real estate dealer, had closed the deal (with the Eisenhowers) on November 1. And he had described the farm as a dairy farm “located on the road (Pumping Station Road) leading to the Gettysburg water works, adjoining West Confederate Avenue.” The old driveway still exists but is posted for National Park staff use only. Tourists now access the farm from Old Emmitsburg Road.

The farmhouse itself was described as a nine-room brick house. Mamie Eisenhower told the Associated Press, “Some of my friends are trying to persuade me to build a new place on one of the (farm’s) hills, but I fell in love with the old house first,” adding, “The house is mine and I love it. and all the trees around it.”

As to its proposed furnishing, she stated, “I can hardly wait to get my hands on that house and fix it up.” In response to someone suggesting that she should furnish it in Early American style, she had responded, “No, Early Eisenhower. We have picked things up wherever we have lived, and we (already) have furniture from all over the world.”

An article published in the January 1, 1951, issue of The Gettysburg Times, entitled “General ‘Ike’ goes to Europe,” noted that, according to a condition of sale, the Reddings would be permitted to remain on the farm until April 2, 1951,” adding, “It seems likely the General and Mrs. Eisenhower will eventually take up residence on the Redding farm.”

Additionally, The Times article noted that business in Europe had required the general’s attendance, to which his wife was not necessarily pleased, as it had postponed the move-in date to the farmhouse. She told the press she was disappointed at not going to the farm, that she thought she and the general were “old enough now to settle down.”

By November 1952, the Eisenhowers had still not relocated their primary residence to the farm.  The Eisenhowers’ property manager (retired Brigadier General Arthur S. Nevins, one of Eisenhower’s war-time staff officers) had described the condition of the farmhouse to The Gettysburg Times as “being in need of ‘considerable work’… before it could qualify as a presidential residence.”

In fact, after having been elected as president, and while living in the White House, the old farmhouse they would be calling “home” proved as having been a larger challenge than they had envisioned. 

According to the National Park Service, “Once Dwight and Mamie were in the White House, it was discovered that most of their Gettysburg home was in dire straits due to its advanced age and the deteriorating condition of the wooden interior,” further noting that the Eisenhowers were advised “to raze the home to the ground and start fresh.  However, Mrs. Eisenhower wished to save as much of the original home as possible, so she implemented a new plan that saved a portion of the 1800s structure.”

Presently, the effort to save that which could be saved is reflected in what tourists may see today. “That part of the home today contains the kitchen and butler’s pantry downstairs and the maid’s room upstairs. The older brick section has a rougher exterior appearance from the newer brick and is easily visible from outside the house. Because the older and newer bricks did not match, the house was painted white.” Construction began in the spring of 1953 and was finished in the spring of 1955. 

During Eisenhower’s two terms, the home was primarily used as a presidential retreat, and for meeting with and entertaining various world leaders. After leaving the White House at the end of the president’s second term, the Eisenhowers were finally able to move into their farmhouse in January 1961. The Gettysburg Times reported on January 12, 1961, “When the Eisenhowers come here on Friday (they actually didn’t arrive until January 20), they will go to their farm to rest after an arduous last day in the White House.”

On January 21, a reception and dinner were held at the Hotel Gettysburg. A “welcome home” rostrum was erected at the Town Square for general public reception, accompanied by music and a “brief welcome address,” The Times reported.

On that same morning, Eisenhower met with Oren H. Wilson, president of the board of trustees of the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church, to discuss matters relating to the local church. At the conclusion of their meeting, Eisenhower stepped outside, along with Wilson, and found himself confronted by reporters and photographers.

The Times reported that Eisenhower had asked the group why the people were still so interested in him. One reporter replied, because “We still like you.”

Following Eisenhower’s demise in 1969, the former president was laid to rest on the grounds of the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas.

Former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower died in 1979, and was buried next to her husband.

As an aside, the Eisenhower property continued to function as an operating farm, primarily as a dairy farm, during the duration of their ownership. But, that alone, is yet another story…

For additional information, visit the National Park Service’s Eisenhower National Historic Site website at nps.gov/eise.

Dwight D. Eisenhower and wife Mamie at their Gettysburg farm home.

British General Bernard Montgomery and Dwight D. Eisenhower touring the Gettysburg Battlefield in 1957.

Gettysburg’s Camp Colt

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Birthplace of American Armor

Richard D. L. Fulton

“No tank is to be surrendered or abandoned to the enemy. If you are left alone in the midst of the enemy, keep shooting. If your gun is disabled, use your pistols and squash the enemy with your tracks… You must establish the fact that American Tanks do not surrender.”  —Captain George S. Patton, September 1918

From World War II to Desert Storm to the Ukraine-Russian and Israeli-Hamas wars, armored tanks have been the mainstay of the ground wars and were used en masse to break through enemy positions in supporting infantry maneuvers.

However, that has not always been the case. The “modern” tanks had been initially introduced during World War I, and not everyone in the military was entirely smitten with their creation and introduction into combat.

The first tanks of World War I tended to be cumbersome, unwieldy beasts, and were used initially simply to tear down barbed wire defenses and other obstacles that stood in the way of planned infantry charges.

The Rise of Armored Warfare

According to the History Channel, the first tank was produced by England in 1914 during World War I by the British military. The project was considered so top-secret that workers producing the weapons were told that they were actually intended to be tracked vehicles to be employed in transporting water to the troops on the front… resulting in the armored vehicles being called tanks.

The British tanks made their first appearance at the First Battle of the Somme on September 15, 1916, but it was their performance during the British tank-facilitated breakthrough of German positions during the Battle of Cambrai.

After the British introduced tanks into combat at the Somme, the Germans began to develop their own tanks, but never manufactured them in the numbers they would come to be known for going into World War II. In fact, the Germans only built 20 tanks, according to the Australian War Memorial website.

The French developed their first tanks and sent them into combat in April 1917. Not then known for their tank designs and performances, by the end of the war, of the 800 French tanks sent into battle, only 200 survived the war. Some 308 had been destroyed by enemy fire, and hundreds had been pulled out of service due to mechanical issues, according to tankmuseum.org.

As for the United States, many in the military were dubious of the employment and usefulness of tanks in warfare. Armyhistory.org noted, “These massive, intimidating, metal hulks debuted to mixed results, as they were prone to mechanical malfunctions and were easily impeded by rough terrain.” However, General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in Europe during World War I after America had entered the fray, was not ready to dismiss the usefulness of the tank as a viable weapon, and “approached the weapon with an open mind.”

Camp Colt

To make a long story short, Pershing gained the pertinent approvals from the military and established the United States Army Tank Corps.

Of the several Tank Corps’ training camps established overseas and in the United States, one of the most noteworthy camps was established on, and adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield and was commanded by future president, 27-year-old Captain Dwight D. Eisenhower. The camp was named after Samuel Colt, the inventor of the Colt revolver.

As an aside, the Gettysburg Battlefield Military Park fell under the authority of the War Department until it was transferred to the National Park Service, via the Department of the Interior, in 1933.

Upon assuming command of Camp Colt, Eisenhower was immediately confronted with a rather unique challenge. The camp had not yet received any tanks, but it did have flat-bed trucks. According to the Army Historical Foundation, “ Initially lacking tanks, Eisenhower had to make-do by training his men to drive on trucks. For machine-gun training, he had machine guns bolted to the beds of trucks…”

The National Park Service noted that “men trained on a variety of car chassis made to look like tanks that were built by two innovative Brooklyn soldiers.”

In March 1918, a thousand trainees (which included 250 officers) arrived at the camp, with more arriving during July and August. The first tank, a Renault FT17, which was a 7.4-ton light tank manned by a crew of two arrived in June. Eisenhower was then faced with having to figure out how to operate the tank himself in order to be able to teach his trainees how to operate it. A second Renault FT17 subsequently arrived.

One of the quirky attributes of the FT17 was described in Dale E. Wilson’s book on WW1 TANKS, entitled Treat ’em Rough! when he wrote: “(FT17) Tank commanders were required to transmit commands to their drivers by kicking them (the commander was seated above the driver in the small tanks). This was the only means of internal communication, as the Renaults lacked a radio intercom system and were too noisy for voice commands to be heard. To get the driver to move forward, the commander kicked him in the back. Similarly, a kick to either shoulder signaled a turn in the direction of the shoulder kicked. The signal to stop was a kick to the driver’s head, while repeated kicks to the head meant the driver should back up…”

The National Park Service described the 192-acre camp as “a bustling installation of barracks, shops, mess halls and offices… horse barns from the infantry camp were converted into barracks to house additional troops.” Ultimately, the camp consisted of nearly 100 wooden structures, as well as a hospital.

The camp encompassed an area of the old battlefield from the Round Tops to the entire location of the housing development now known as Colt Park.

By the end of the war, as many as 10,000 trainees, support personnel, and officers had occupied Camp Colt during its existence.

Pandemic and the Closure of Camp Colt

Camp Colt staff and trainees experienced very few deaths and injuries during its days of existence. However, a hammer blow struck the camp in the form of a pandemic, specifically the Spanish Flu, which by mid-October had infected nearly one-third of the force at the camp at that particular time.

The pandemic began to subside by the end of October, but by the end of the first week of November, some 150 soldiers at Camp Colt had perished from the flu.

According to the National Park Service, Camp Colt officially closed in March 1919, further noting that “by the end of the year, the barracks, shops, offices, and tents were gone with only some of the training trenches and unfilled pits remaining.”

Eisenhower was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the Army for “his exemplary leadership displayed at Camp Colt and during this virus outbreak,” according to battlefields.org.

The Army Tank Corps had existed for only a short period of time before the end of world War I, when an armistice was signed between the warring parties on November 11, 1918.

However, they did have an opportunity to establish their battlefield worthiness beginning with the Meuse-Argonne offensive in September 1918 until the end of hostilities.

Oddly enough, interest in maintaining a tank corps seemed to have waned in the wake of the war. The Army Historical Foundation wrote (on their website) that by July 1919, the Army Tank Corps, which had peaked at 20,212 officers and enlisted men in November 1918, “had shrunk to eighty-one officers and 213 enlisted men. By this time the very existence of the Tank Corps had come into question.”