Fort Myer Historic District | |
 Orville Wright flying at Fort Myer September 9, 1908 | |
  | |
| Location | Arlington County, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°52′49″N77°04′47″W / 38.880343°N 77.079735°W /38.880343; -77.079735 |
| 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 aU.S. Armypost next toArlington National Cemetery inArlington County, Virginia, and across thePotomac River fromWashington, D.C. Founded during theAmerican Civil War as Fort Cass and Fort Whipple, the post merged in 2005 with the neighboringMarine Corps installation, Henderson Hall, and is today namedJoint Base Myer–Henderson Hall.
In 1861, the land that Fort Myer would eventually occupy was part of the Arlington estate, whichMary Anna Custis Lee, the wife ofRobert E. Lee, owned and at which Lee resided when not stationed elsewhere (seeArlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial).[4] When theCivil War began, theCommonwealth of Virginia seceded from the United States, Lee resigned his commission, and he and his wife left the estate. TheUnited States Government then confiscated the estate and began to use it as a burial ground forUnion Army dead (seeArlington National Cemetery), to house freed slaves (Freedmen's Village),[5] and for military purposes, including theCivil War defenses of Washington (seeWashington, D.C., in the American Civil War).[6]
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Shortly after the Union Army's rout at theFirst Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) in late July 1861, the Army constructed in August 1861 alunette (Fort Ramsay) on the future grounds of Fort Myer. One of the first fortifications built on theArlington 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 (seeUnion 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, three6-pounder field guns (smooth), five20-pounder Parrotts (rifled), three24-pounder siege guns (smooth), one24-pounder F. D. howitzer (smooth), one24-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, theUnited States War Department continued to control its property.
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Following the Union Army's defeat at theSecond 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 GeneralAmiel Weeks Whipple, who died in May 1863 of wounds received during theBattle 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, six12-pounder field guns (smooth), four12-pounder field howitzers (smooth), eight12-pounder James guns (rifled), eleven4.5-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]
On February 4, 1881, the Army post containing Fort Whipple was renamed Fort Myer as an honor toBrigadier GeneralAlbert J. Myer, who had commanded the newly established Signal School of Instruction for Army and Navy Officers from 1869 until he died in August 1880.[9] Since then, the post has been aSignal Corps post, a showcase for the US Army'scavalry, and, since the 1940s, home to the Army's elite ceremonial units—TheUnited States Army Band ("Pershing's Own") and the3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard").
TheNational 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 byOrville Wright took place there in 1908. On 17 September 1908 it became the location of the first airplane fatality, asLt. Thomas Selfridge was killed when on a demonstration flight with Orville, at an altitude of about 100 feet (30 m), a propeller split, sending the aircraft out of control. Selfridge suffered a concussion in the crash and later died, the first person to die in powered fixed-wing aircraft. Orville was badly injured, suffering broken ribs and a leg.[15]
Quarters One on Fort Myer, which was originally built as the garrison commander's quarters, has been the home of theChief of Staff of the United States Army since 1908 when Major GeneralJ. Franklin Bell took up residence. It has been the home of every succeeding Chief of Staff, except for GeneralJohn J. Pershing.
TheUnited 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 toParis the first wireless communication that crossed theAtlantic Ocean.[16]
DuringWorld War I, Fort Myer was a staging area for a large number ofengineering,artillery, andchemical companies and regiments. The area of Fort Myer now occupied by Andrew Rader Health Clinic and theCommissary were made into a trench-system training grounds where French officers taught the Americans about trench warfare.
GeneralGeorge 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 theSeptember 11th attacks, were bivouacked at Fort Myer. These troops were underOperation Noble Eagle.[19] These included both active and National Guard Military Police units from around the nation. In 2005 the last remaining deployed responders were demobilized.[20]
As a result of the2005 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 theDepartment of Defense.Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall (JBMHH) consists of military installations at Fort Myer,Henderson Hall,The Pentagon, andFort Lesley J. McNair. These installations and departments serve over 150,000 active duty, DoD civilian, and retired military personnel in the region.[21]
The fort was designated aNational 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, theUnited States Postal Service issued its first day cover of apostcard 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 fromAbraham Lincoln that appointed General Whipple's oldest son to theUnited States Military Academy at West Point.[24]
