[1] Established in 1942 during World War II, the base was named for Confederate General Earl Van Dorn from Mississippi.
The US Army acquired 41,543 acres of land in Wilkinson and Amite counties, Mississippi, to construct a camp for basic and advanced divisional infantry training.
During World War II, the installation was established as a U.S. Army basic and advanced divisional infantry training camp.
Troop training included use of bayonets, mines, booby traps, bazookas, grenades, rifles, machine guns and field artillery.
In 2015 the United States Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) announced that it would be conducting a remedial investigation at the former Camp Van Dorn.