The young men of the State began at once to offer their services in
the national guard, in the regular army and in the navy. There were
more than 18,000 of these volunteers. Within a few weeks Congress
passed the Compulsory Service Act, under the provisions of which
approximately 42,000 Kansas men were called into service during the
war. The National Guard, numbering about 10,000 men, was soon called.
Altogether there were fully 70,000 Kansans in the forces of the United
States. These men were sent to practically every organization in the
army, though the greater portion of them were in the 89th National
Army Division, the 10th Regular Army Division, the 35th National Guard
Division, and the 117th Ammunition Train of the 42d Division. All of
these except the 10th Division, which had not yet completed its
training when the armistice was signed, were sent to France, where
they took part in important engagements and bore themselves bravely,
notably the Rainbow Division in the last battle of the Marne, the 89th
at St. Mihiel and the Argonne, and the 35th Division in the Argonne
drive. Many of our young men went into special branches of service,
such as the Air Service, Railway Engineering, Signal Corps,
Quartermasters Corps and Ordnance Corps. The Federal Government
established two Officers’ Training Camps in Kansas, one at Fort Riley
and one at Fort Leavenworth. Many Kansas men attended these camps and
received commissions.
Hundreds of Kansas young women rendered skilled and devoted service as
nurses, both in the training camps and overseas.
The people of the State took an active part in various kinds of war
work and subscribed more than their quota to all appeals for funds and
to all bond issues.
Altogether, Kansas played its part in the war with its accustomed
loyalty and spirit.
=The Period Since the Civil War.= In the present chapter we have
touched only in a general way upon the State’s progress, but growth
has been in many directions and each activity has a history of its
own. In order that we may better understand the advancement that has
been made we will study more fully three of the most important phases
of the State’s progress and development――industry, transportation, and
education.
SUMMARY
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