Fort Lesley J. McNair
Fort Lesley J. McNair | |
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Part of Military District of Washington | |
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Fort Lesley J. McNair, also historically known as the Washington Arsenal, is a United States Army post located on the tip of Buzzard Point, the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. To the peninsula's west is the Washington Channel, while the Anacostia River is on its south side. The fort has been an army post for more than 200 years,[1] third in length of service, after the United States Military Academy at West Point and the Carlisle Barracks. The fort is named for General Lesley James McNair, who was killed in action by friendly fire in Normandy, France during World War II.
History
Early history
The military reservation was established in 1791, on about 28 acres (110,000 m2) at the tip of Greenleaf Point. Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant included it in his plans for Washington, the Federal City, as a significant site for the capital defense.[a] On L'Enfant's orders, Andre Villard, a French follower of Marquis de Lafayette, placed a one-gun battery on the site. In 1795, the site became one of the first two United States arsenals.[6]
An arsenal first occupied the site, and defenses were built in 1794. However, the fortifications did not halt the invasion of British forces in 1814, who burned down many public government buildings in Washington, D.C., during the War of 1812. Soldiers at the arsenal evacuated north with as much gunpowder as they could carry, hiding the rest in a well as the British soldiers came up the Potomac River after burning the Capitol. About 47 British soldiers found the powder magazines they had come to destroy were empty. Someone threw a match into the well, and "a tremendous explosion ensued," a doctor at the scene reported, "whereby the officers and about 30 of the men were killed and the rest most shockingly mangled."[7]
The remaining soldiers destroyed the arsenal buildings, but the facilities were rebuilt from 1815 to 1821. Eight buildings were arranged around a quadrangle and named the Washington Arsenal. In the early 1830s, four acres of marshland were reclaimed and added to the arsenal. A seawall and additional buildings were constructed. Between 1825 and 1831, the Washington Arsenal
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Arsenal, north front. Interior court - group of officers in foreground
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View in Arsenal Yard, general view
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U.S. Arsenal, Washington, D.C., north front, interior court
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Cannons in 1862 in the Washington Arsenal
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View from the roof of model arsenal
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Park of Wiard guns at the Arsenal
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Washington, D.C. Wiard 6-pdr. gun at the Arsenal
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Wiard 6 lb. guns, Washington arsenal. Excelsior brigade
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Arsenal Grounds
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Batteries of field pieces in the Arsenal
The Civil War
During the Civil War, women worked in an ammunition factory at the Washington Arsenal as it served the Union. Many lower-class women—including Irish immigrants—needed wages, especially after male relatives went to war. Women were believed to have nimble fingers, attention to detail, and a tendency to neatness suitable for rolling, pinching, tying, and bundling cartridges with bullets and black powder. Wounded Civil War soldiers were also treated at the Arsenal in a hospital next to the penitentiary that was built prior to the war in 1857.
Accident
On June 17, 1864, fireworks left in the sun outside a
Lincoln conspirators' trial
Following the defeat and surrender of the
The arsenal was closed in 1881, and the post was transferred to the
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An alternate view of the execution, taken from the roof of the Arsenal
Walter Reed
A general hospital, the predecessor to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, was located at the post from 1898 until 1909. Major Walter Reed found the area's marshlands an excellent site for his research on malaria. Reed's work contributed to the discovery of the cause of yellow fever. Reed died of peritonitis after an appendectomy at the post in 1902. The post dispensary and the visiting officers' quarters now occupy the buildings where Reed worked and died.[1]
20th century
From December 1901 to March 1903, Engineer officer
The
The post was renamed in 1948 to honor Lieutenant General
Proposed buffer zone
In 2020, the
January 6, 2021, United States Capitol attack
During the
Senior Senate Republicans evacuated to Fort McNair included outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senators Chuck Grassley and John Thune. House Republican leaders evacuated to Fort McNair included House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise.[17]
Videos recorded by Pelosi's daughter Alexandra Pelosi during those hours showed desperate phone calls imploring government officials to come to the defense of members of Congress were released by the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack in October 2022.[17]
Current status
Fort McNair is today part of the
Tenants
National Defense University (NDU)
The
In 1990, the
The university has several other educational programs. These include the
Inter-American Defense College (IADC)
The Inter-American Defense College is an advanced-studies institute for senior officers of the 25-member nations of the Inter-American Defense Board. Up to three students of the rank of colonel or the equivalent may be sent to the college by each member nation. The students' backgrounds must qualify them to participate in the solution of hemispheric-defense problems.
The officers study world alliances and the international situation, the inter-American system and its role, strategic concepts of war, and engage in a planning exercise for hemispheric defense. The college has been at Fort McNair since 1962.
United States Army Center of Military History (CMH)
In September 1998, the United States Army Center of Military History moved from rented offices in Washington, D.C., to Fort McNair in historically preserved quarters remodeled from its previous use as a commissary and before that as Fort McNair's stables. The center dated from the creation of the Army General Staff historical branch in July 1943 and the gathering of professional historians, translators, editors, and cartographers to record the history of World War II. That effort led to a monumental 79-volume series known as the "Green Books."
Today, the center operates through four divisions. The histories division is the one most involved in writing the histories and providing historical research support to the Army staff. The field program and historical services guides work done at various posts and installations, as well as the work by deployed historical detachments for Army operations, ensures historical information is comprehensive and factual.
Another division is responsible for overseeing the Army museum system and preserving artifacts and artwork that are the army's historical treasure. One such museum, The Old Guard Museum, was located at Fort Myer until it was closed.
See also
References
- Footnotes
- ^ L'Enfant identified himself as "Peter Charles L'Enfant" during most of his life while residing in the United States. He wrote this name on his "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of t(he) United States ...."[2] (Washington, D.C.) and on other legal documents. However, during the early 1900s, a French ambassador to the U.S., Jean Jules Jusserand, popularized the use of L'Enfant's birth name, "Pierre Charles L'Enfant". (See: Bowling (2002).) The National Park Service identifies L'Enfant as Major Peter Charles L'Enfant[3] and as Major Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant[4] on its website. The United States Code states in 40 U.S.C. 3309: "(a) In General.—The purposes of this chapter shall be carried out in the District of Columbia as nearly as may be practicable in harmony with the plan of Peter Charles L'Enfant."[5]
- Sources
- ^ a b c d e f g h One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "Fort McNair History". US Army. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017.
- ^ "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of t[he] United States : projected agreeable to the direction of the President of the United States, in pursuance of an act of Congress passed the sixteenth day of July, MDCCXC, "establishing the permanent seat on the bank of the Potowmac" : [Washington D.C.]". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on December 31, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ "Washington, DC Travel Itinerary". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Archived from the original on December 1, 2009. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ "Washington Monument--Presidents: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary". NPS.gov. National Park Service. Archived from the original on February 28, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ "40 U.S. Code § 3309 - Buildings and sites in the District of Columbia" (PDF). GovInfo. United States Government Publishing Office. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ a b "Fort Lesley J. McNair, National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form" (PDF). p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ "Fort McNair". U.S. Army. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
- ^ LeDoux, Julie (June 24, 2014). "The Washington arsenal explosion". United States Army. Archived from the original on October 7, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ "Fireworks, Hoopskirts—and Death: Explosion at a Union Ammunition Plant Proved Fatal for 21 Women". Prologus. 44. Spring 2012. Archived from the original on March 22, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2019 – via National Archives and Records Administration.
- ^ Carswell, Simon (June 18, 2014). "Tánaiste lobbies for immigration reform in unpredictable US political scene". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ Location of the Lincoln conspirators execution gallows within the former Washington Arsenal Penitentiary 38°51′58″N 77°01′02″W / 38.86624°N 77.0171680°W
- ^ a b Cullum, George W. (1891–1930). "Frederic V. Abbot, Entries in Cullum's Register, Volumes III to VII". Penelope.uchicago.edu. Chicago, IL: Bill Thayer. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
- ^ ISBN 1439651167
- ^ Decisions of the United States Geographic Board, Google Books
- ^ LaPorta, James (March 21, 2021). "AP sources: Iran threatens US Army post and top general". Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
- ^ "Full Committee Markup". House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. March 24, 2021. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Cohen, Marshall (October 13, 2022). "CNN Exclusive: New footage shows congressional leadership at Fort McNair on January 6, scrambling to save the US Capitol". CNN. Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
External links
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. DC-277, "Army War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, entrance on P Street between Third & Fourth Streets Southwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC"
- New International Encyclopedia. 1905. .