Why is it called Camp Johnson?

Story by: Maj. William R. McKern
Printed in Green Mountain Guard, March 2009

Photo of General Johnson on file at Vermont General Services Administration, Public Records Division.
Copy on display at Green Mountain Armory, Camp Johnson, Colchester.

General Johnson's grave at Bradford Town Cemetery. Photos by Maj. William R. McKern.

Why is the Vermont National Guard’s headquarters in Colchester called Camp Johnson?  Because it’s named for Vermont’s longest-tenured adjutant general.

Herbert Thomas Johnson was born in Bradford on January 27, 1872.  He was educated in Bradford and then became a farmer, eventually owning a dairying operation called Stonecliff Farms.  Johnson also became involved in cattle breeding and was an organizer of the Guernsey Breeders Association, of which he served as president.

In 1889, while still in high school, he enlisted in Company G, First Vermont Infantry Regiment. Johnson received his commission as a second lieutenant in January 1894, was promoted to captain in 1896, and mustered into service for the Spanish-American War in May of 1898.  The war ended before his unit left the United States, and after returning to Vermont he was promoted to major in 1899 and lieutenant colonel in 1910.  In 1914 he was named commander of the Vermont National Guard’s First Infantry Regiment with the rank of colonel.

After the First Vermont Infantry was activated for World War I Johnson was named colonel and commander of the Vermont Volunteer Militia, the organization formed to take on the National Guard’s state responsibilities.  He became acting adjutant general in 1917 when incumbent Lee Tillotson resigned to join the regular Army for the war.

Johnson was named adjutant general in his own right in 1919.  As the head of the Vermont National Guard, he oversaw the construction of 12 new armories and the modernizing and reorganizing of the Vermont National Guard after World War I.  An advocate of improved relations between the regular Army and the National Guard, he demonstrated his personal commitment to standardized training in 1924 when he became one of the first adjutants general in the United States to attend the Army War College.

Johnson also earned accolades for his performance during the disaster relief response after the Flood of 1927, overcoming the downing of telephone and telegraph lines by giving his subordinate commanders the ability to act on their own initiative in repairing roads and taking other necessary action.  He was also praised for his personal efforts in Montpelier, including chairing meetings of state officials to coordinate their efforts, manning the only working gas station to refuel emergency vehicles, and commandeering the only open store to prevent citizens from hoarding supplies.

Active in both the National Guard Association of the United States and the Adjutants General Association of the United States, in the early to mid 1930s Johnson was praised by Army leaders including Chief of Staff Douglas MacArthur for his efforts to maintain funding for the National Guard while states and the federal government struggled with the loss of revenue caused by the Great Depression.  These efforts to preserve the Guard’s readiness and force structure were later acknowledged by historians to have played an important part in the Army’s rapid response after the US entered World War II.

General Johnson’s health began to decline in the late 1930s, and in 1941 heart trouble and a prolonged illness resulted in Colonel Murdock Campbell being recalled from Camp Blanding, Florida, where he was training to deploy overseas with the 43rd Infantry Division, to become Johnson’s assistant adjutant general.  In December 1941 Johnson retired and was succeeded by Campbell.

Johnson died of a heart attack at the State House in Montpelier on November 4, 1942 while discussing with Governor William Wills plans for the Vermont National Guard to carry out its state mission even as most of its soldiers departed the state for World War II.

In 1900 the Vermont National Guard took possession of a portion of the Army’s Fort Ethan Allen in Colchester.  This facility, christened the State Military Reservation, was used for both individual and unit training and as a staging area for mobilizations.  In 1945 the State Reservation was renamed to honor the adjutant general who led Vermont’s military during the critical period between world wars, and whose foresight during the Great Depression played a vital role in preserving the National Guard throughout the United States and ensuring that it was available to go to war when needed or respond to state emergencies.

For more information contact: Major William R. McKern, Tactical Branch Chief
3rd Battalion (Information Operations), 124th Regiment (Regional Training Institute)
Readiness and Regional Technology Center, 161 University Drive, Northfield, VT 05663
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , www.vtguard.com/io