Fort Myer
Fort Myer Historic District | |
Location | Arlington County, Virginia |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°52′49″N 77°04′47″W / 38.880343°N 77.079735°W |
Built | 1861 |
Architect | US Army |
Architectural style | Late Victorian |
NRHP reference No. | 72001380 |
VLR No. | 000-0004 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | November 28, 1972[2] |
Designated NHLD | November 28, 1972[3] |
Designated VLR | June 19, 1973[1] |
Fort Myer is the previous name used for a
History
In 1861, the land that Fort Myer would eventually occupy was part of the Arlington estate, which
Fort Cass
Shortly after the Union Army's rout at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) in late July 1861, the Army constructed in August 1861 a lunette (Fort Ramsay) on the future grounds of Fort Myer. One of the first fortifications built on the Arlington Line, the lunette was located at and near the present post's Forest Circle.[7] Later renamed to Fort Cass, the lunette had a perimeter of 288 yards (263 m) and emplacements for 12 guns.[7]
A May 17, 1864, report from the Union Army's Inspector of Artillery (see Union Army artillery organization) noted the following:
Fort Cass, Maj. N. Shatswell commanding.–Garrison, two companies First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery—8 commissioned officers, 1 ordnance-sergeant, 220 men. Armament, three 6-pounder field guns (smooth), five 20-pounder Parrotts (rifled), three 24-pounder siege guns (smooth), one 24-pounder F. D. howitzer (smooth), one 24-pounder Coehorn mortar. Magazines, two; dry and in good condition. Ammunition, full supply, well packed and in serviceable condition. Implements, complete and serviceable. Drill in artillery, fair. Drill in infantry, fair. Discipline, fair. Garrison sufficient for the work.[8]
Although the Army abandoned the lunette in 1865 at the end of the Civil War, the United States War Department continued to control its property.
Fort Whipple
Following the Union Army's defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) in August 1862, the Army constructed Fort Whipple on the grounds of the former Arlington estate during the spring of 1863. The fort was located a short distance southeast of Fort Cass. The Army named the fort after Brevet Major General Amiel Weeks Whipple, who died in May 1863 of wounds received during the Battle of Chancellorsville.[9] The fort was considered to be one of the strongest fortifications erected for the defense of Washington during the Civil War.[9][10] It had a perimeter of 658 yards and places for 43 guns.[10][11]
The May 17, 1864, report from the Union Army's Inspector of Artillery noted the following:
Fort Whipple, Major Rolfe commanding.–Garrison, three companies First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery– l major, 13 commissioned officers, 1 ordnance-sergeant, 414 men. Armament, six 12-pounder field guns (smooth), four 12-pounder field howitzers (smooth), eight 12-pounder James guns (rifled), eleven 4.5-inch ordnance Magazines, four; two not in a serviceable condition. Ammunition, full supply; good condition. Implements, complete and serviceable. Drill in artillery, fair. Drill in infantry, fair. Discipline, fair. Garrison sufficient; interior work.[12]
The Civil War ended in 1865. Fort Whipple, with its fortifications abandoned, then became the home of the Signal School of Instruction for Army and Navy Officers, established in 1869.[13]
Fort Myer
On February 4, 1881, the Army post containing Fort Whipple was renamed Fort Myer as an honor to
The National Weather Service was originated there by General Albert J. Myer in 1870.[14]
Fort Myer was the site of the first flight of an aircraft at a military installation. Several exhibition flights by
Quarters One on Fort Myer, which was originally built as the garrison commander's quarters, has been the home of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army since 1908 when Major General J. Franklin Bell took up residence. It has been the home of every succeeding Chief of Staff, except for General John J. Pershing.
The United States Navy established the nation's first radio telecommunications station, NAA, near Fort Myer in 1913. In 1915, the station's radio towers, "The Three Sisters", transmitted to Paris the first wireless communication that crossed the Atlantic Ocean.[16]
During
General George S. Patton Jr., who was posted at Fort Myer four different times, started the charitable "Society Circus" after World War I.[17] He ultimately was Post Commander and commanded the 3rd Cavalry Regiment that was stationed at Fort Myer from the 1920s to 1942 when the regiment was sent to Georgia to get mechanized.[18]
In late 2001, troops, deployed in response to the
Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall
As a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission initiative to create more efficiency of efforts, the Army's Fort Myer and the Marines' Henderson Hall became the first Joint Base in the Department of Defense. Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall (JBMHH) consists of military installations at Fort Myer, Henderson Hall, The Pentagon, and Fort Lesley J. McNair. These installations and departments serve over 150,000 active duty, DoD civilian, and retired military personnel in the region.[21]
Commemorative
The fort was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972, for its well-preserved concentration of cavalry facilities and officers' quarters, and for its importance in military aviation history.[22] On September 1, 1970, the United States Postal Service issued its first day cover of a postcard celebrating the 100th anniversary of Weather Services at Fort Myer.
A pamphlet and one book have been published about Fort Myer.[23] The book, Images of America: Fort Myer, contains a copy of a handwritten letter from Abraham Lincoln that appointed General Whipple's oldest son to the United States Military Academy at West Point.[24]
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Arlington County, Virginia
Notes
- ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ "Fort Myer Historic District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2008.
- ^ Staff of the Fort Myer Post, p. 4
- Arlington, Virginia: United States Army. Archivedfrom the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- ^ Cooling and Owen, pp. 4-7.: The Most Heavily Fortified City in North America: The First Response.
- ^ Arlington Historical Society. Archived from the original on April 20, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2018.. HMdb: The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
(3) Swain, Craig, ed. (February 3, 2008). ""Fort Cass" marker" - Official Records of the War of the Rebellion)
- ^ a b c Staff of the Fort Myer Post, p. 6
- ^ a b Cooling and Owen, pp. 101-104: Touring the Forts South of the Potomac: Fort Whipple — Forerunner to a Modern Fort.
- ^ Swain, Craig, ed. (February 3, 2008). ""Fort Whipple" marker". HMdb: The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
- Official Records of the War of the Rebellion)
- ^ "Retained Fortifications". The Civil War Defenses of Washington: Historic Resource Study: Part II, Chapter I: Silenced Guns. National Park Service. Archived from the original on July 12, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ Grice, Ed., Gary K. "THE BEGINNING OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: THE SIGNAL YEARS (1870 - 1891) AS VIEWED BY EARLY WEATHER PIONEERS; Chapter: Evolution to the Signal Service Years (1600-1891)". NOAA's National Weather Service Public Affairs Office. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
- ISBN 0940053020.
- .
- ^ Michael, John (April 20, 2011). "Society Circus on Fort Myer Virginia Between Wars". Images of America: Fort Myer. Ft. Myer, VA: historic-fortmyer.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Blumenson, Martin (1971). "The Many Faces of George S. Patton, Jr" (PDF). USAFA Harmon Memorial Lecture #14. Colorado Springs, Colorado: United States Air Force Academy. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 15, 2014.
- ^ Operation Noble Eagle
- ^ Campbell, Jeffrey. "Specialist". 144th Military Police Company. Department of Defense. Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
- ^ "Myer-Henderson Hall | The United States Army". Jbmhh.army.mil. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
- ^ "NPS nomination for Fort Myers Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
- ^ (1) Staff of the Fort Myer Post.
(2) Michael - ^ (1) Michael, p. 15.
(2) "About". Images of America: Fort Myer. historic-fortmyer.com. February 13, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
References
- Cooling III, Benjamin Franklin; Owen II, Walton H. (2010). Mr. Lincoln's Forts: A Guide to the Civil War Defenses of Washington (New ed.). Scarecrow Press. .
- Michael, John (2011). Fort Myer: Images of America. .
- Staff of the Fort Myer Post (1963). The History of Fort Myer Virginia: 100th Anniversary Issue (Special Centennial Edition Of The Fort Myer Post). Arlington, Virginia: Fort Myer Post. Digital Library.
External links
- "Joint Base Myer – Henderson Hall". Army.mil. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013.
- "Fort Myer Historic District". Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary. Washington, D.C.: National Park Service. November 18, 2003. Archived from the original on May 8, 2012.
- Images of Fort Myer in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) via Library of Congress:
- Quartermaster Workshops at Arlington Boulevard & Second Street
- Quartermaster Garage at Arlington Boulevard & Second Street
- Commissary Sergeant's Quarters on Washington Avenue between Johnson Lane & Custer Road
- First Sergeant's Quarters on Washington Avenue between Johnson Lane & Custer Road
- Noncommissioned Officers Quarters on Washington Avenue between Johnson Lane & Custer Road