|
The 49er Battalion's history can be traced to its creation
at Davidson College, where it was know then as the "Carolina
Foothills" ROTC Battalion. In 1917, the year the United States
entered World War Ι, Captain J. W.
Lea, a temporary military instructor from the The Citadel, was
assigned to Davidson College with the mission of organizing,
drilling, and training infantry tactics to a group of student
volunteers. This organization took a more formal structure in
October 1918 when the Student Army Training Corps (SATC) was
officially inaugurated. With
the first world conflict coming to a close, the Davidson College
Board of Trustees decided to permanently integrate Military
Science into the institution's curriculum with the establishment
of a Reserve Officer's Training Corps program. On 1 April 1919 LTC
A.H. Mueller, the battalion's first professor of military science,
officially opened the program, offering classes on military
tactics to Davidson students.
In the 1920's the ROTC program
grew rapidly, reaching more than four hundred cadets in the Basic
Course alone. A strong showing of student support, combined with a
series of national accolades, convinced the Board of Trustees to
keep ROTC in the curriculum, despite growing sentiment among the
faculty and alumni that the military principles taught in ROTC
conflicted with the Christian ideals espoused by the school. In
1968 the Board of trustees made the mandatory Basic Course a
voluntary elective-a change which cut the military science
enrollment to a fraction of its previous size.
In 1996, The "Carolina Foothills"
Battalion relocated to its current location at the University of
North Carolina a Charlotte, in order to more effectively reach
the growing consortium collegiate market in the Piedmont region.
In 2002, the "Carolina Foothills" ROTC Battalion formally changed
its name to the "49er Battalion". The name change was one of several
leadership initiatives taken to firmly establish the battalion's
new home and enhance the working relationship with the university.
The UNCC "49er Battalion" is host to satellite programs in eight
colleges and universities in a 100+ square mile area of the
Piedmont. The 49er Battalion consists of the following schools: UNCC,
Belmont Abbey College, Davidson College, Johnson & Wales University, Winthrop University,
Gardner-Webb University, and Central Piedmont Community College.
Main Page
|
