War Games Planned for American Lake
General Funston and the military have finalized plans for a 4,500-man summer encampment, featuring simulated hostilities between brigades near Steilacoom.
General Funston, commander of the Department of the Columbia, and his military associates have returned to Vancouver after a two days' inspection of the encampment site of the regular army and the national guardsmen at American Lake. Within a week, General Funston will furnish a program covering all the military maneuvering, camp instructions for guardsmen, and the routine for the July encampment. He said there would be about 4,500 men in the encampment. Both regulars and guardsmen will be divided into two brigades. The headquarters of General Funston, the staff officers, and the umpires will be located at Camp Murray. About two miles down American Lake, at what is known as the Huggins place, a brigade of 2,500 regulars and guardsmen will be stationed. About one mile from the Steilacoom asylum, on a beautiful plain through which meanders a creek on the road running from Tacoma to Steilacoom, the remaining 2,000 regulars and guardsmen will be stationed. One of the brigades will simulate hostility, and the country between them will be the scene of continual scouting.
“The two brigades will simulate hostility, and the country between them will be the scene of continual scouting.”
This military planning foreshadowed the massive expansion of what would become Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The area remains a site of significant military infrastructure and training to this day.
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