Description of Camp Logan

From: William Joseph Showalter, "America's New Soldier Cities," The National Geographic Magazine, volume 32 (November-December 1917): 473.

CAMP LOGAN

Five miles west of Houston, Tex., is the Illinois Guardsmen's Camp Logan.

This location has the highest average annual temperature of any National Guard encampment, 69 degrees, the mercury's highest record being 102 degrees and the lowest 15 degrees above zero. The sun shines here about 256 days a year, of which 120 days are partly cloudy.

Houston is a city of 94,000 inhabitants. It is a railroad center of importance and has direct water communication with the Gulf at Galveston, about 50 miles to the southeast, by way of the Houston Ship Channel. The city is a prosperous distributing market for cotton and lumber, and exports cotton-seed oil, rice, and sugar in large quantities.

The city is named for Sam Houston, soldier and leader in the early history of Texas, second president of the Republic, and later governor and senator from the State. It was founded in the year of Texas independence, 1836, and was the capital of the Republic in 1837-39 and 1842.

Camp Logan commemorates an Illinois military leader. John Alexander Logan was a member of Congress at the outbreak of the Civil War and resigned his seat to enter the army as colonel of the 31st Illinois Volunteers. He distinguished himself in the Vicksburg campaign as a division commander, and was the military governor of the city after its capture. After the war he was again elected to Congress, serving one term in the House and two in the Senate. He was the Republican vice-presidential candidate on the ticket with James G. Blaine, and was reelected to the Senate by Illinois after the Democratic presidential victory.