 overseas, he only would have commanded about 150 men in the trenches, but at Gettysburg, he commanded thousands. “I think his experience at Camp Colt taught him a lot about management and a lot about political issues. He had to juggle these different headaches at different times while getting his troops ready to go off to war, and he did it successfully,” says Weaver.
For example, the War Department empowered Eisenhower to shut down any establishment within five miles of the camp that was serving alcohol to the troops. One hotel owner defied the repeated warnings, but Eisenhower diplomatically and firmly dealt with the proprietor until he succumbed to the rules.
“His experience here helped prepare him for what would come later. His experience as a general in the army helped make him a great president, and his experience at Camp Colt helped make him a great general,” says Weaver. “You can draw a linear connection from Capt. Eisenhower in 1918 to President Eisenhower in 1960.”