Student Army Training Corps (S.A.T.C.) records
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Scope and Content
The records contains material and records of the Student Army Training Corps of 1918-1919. According to "Bowdoin in the World War," the S.A.T.C. was an idea of the United States Government in which all college students were enlisted into the United States Army. The men were under military discipline at all times and provided proper military attire and paid as privates in the U.S. Army. With the armistice on November 11, 1918, the government no longer had any use for the S.A.T.C., therefore the entire unit was demobilized by the end of December. There is correspondence of the Student Army Training Corps from September 1918 to January 25, 1919. Correspondence mostly deals with the letters of first lieutenant William Hawley Wright who was in charge of the Bowdoin S.A.T.C. as well as being a professor at the College. The bulk of the letters are to or from Wright to the men of the Bowdoin S.A.T.C. or to other military officers discussing S.A.T.C. issues. Also included are some administrative papers as well as some clippings related to the Bowdoin S.A.T.C.
Dates
- Creation: 1918 - 1919
Creator
- Bowdoin College (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions.
Biographical / Historical
Established by the U.S. War Department in 1918, the Student Army Training Corps (SATC) was a nationwide program designed to accelerate military training during World War I while allowing students to pursue college coursework. Bowdoin College was among the approximately 600 institutions that participated in this effort, utilizing its faculty, facilities, and curriculum to support the war effort.
Enrolled students were considered active-duty members of the U.S. Army, living in barracks under strict military discipline. Their daily routines combined academic instruction with military drills, preparing them for service as officers and technical specialists. Like their counterparts at other institutions, Bowdoin SATC students experienced regimented living conditions and were required to apply for passes to leave campus on weekends.
The program was short-lived, disbanding with the end of the war in late 1918. However, it marked a significant moment in Bowdoin’s history, reflecting the College’s role in national military training efforts.
Extent
0.5 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Program established by the U.S. War Department during World War I where male college students could simultaneously attend classes and receive military training on campus.
Arrangement
Correspondence arranged chronologically.
- Title
- Guide to the Student Army Training Corps (S.A.T.C.) Records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Emma Barton-Norris
- Date
- 2025
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine 04011 Repository
