| Summary: | This image is a photograph used in the book Auburn, a Pictorial History of the Loveliest Village by Mickey Logue and Jack Simms, 1st edition, 1981, depicting the history of the city and the University. From page 71: Once each year a sham battle fought between the two battalions on campus highlighted Auburn's military training. This battle was photographed in the early 1900s. "It was all made as real as possible except that each rifleman was given five blank cartridges that could be fired to his best advantage," wrote W.K. Askew, a 1917 graduate. "The battle was the crowning event and culmination of all of the constant drilling, marching, reviews, inspections, parades, and particularly the rivalry between the battalions." Such training helped make Auburn men in great demand when the United States entered World War I in 1917. Little boys watched this skirmish line charge toward Auburn's first gymnasium that was exclusively for physical training. The one-room frame building was built in 1895-96 at a cost of $1,848. Photo source: Auburn University Archives.
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