Lieut Gen Sir George Tom Molesworth Bridges Speaks at Washington Barracks

General Tom Bridges Speaks at Washington Barracks

Lieutenant General Sir George Tom Molesworth Bridges (1871-1939), also known as Sir Tom Bridges, served as an officer in the British Army and as Governor of South Australia.

It was in front of then the United States Army War College or Roosevelt Hall (It has now become the National War College) where Tom Bridges Speaks at Washington Barracks in 1916 to a crowd of Washingtonians about World War I.

Sir George Tom Molesworth Bridges KCB KCMG DSO

KCB Knight Commander of Bath

KCMG Knight Commander (of the Order) of St Michael and St George

DSO Distinguished Service Order

Knight Grand Cross KGC

At the beginning of World War I, Major George Tom Molesworth Bridges commanded C Squadron 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards which had the distinction of being the first unit of WW1 to go into action against the Germans, on the Soignes road, on 22nd Aug 1914.

READ MORE HERE

His Memoirs

Alarms and Excursions:

Reminiscences of a Soldier

Obituary

HOVE, England, Nov. 26 (UP)– Lieut. Gen. Sir George Tom Molesworth Bridges, who used a tin whistle and a toy drum to rally the British troops retreating from Mons during the World War, died today in a nursing home here after a long illness. His age was 68.

READ MORE HERE

OVER 200 HISTORICAL IMAGES, MAPS & ILLUSTRATIONS

The book, Images of America – Fort Lesley J. McNair contains over two hundred historical photographs, images, and illustrations that chronicle the two hundred plus years of history among the acres of this US Army Post.

The book “Images of America – Fort Lesley J McNair”  is “a walk down memory lane” as one reader called it after he turned the last page.  Go beyond

Throwback Thursday 15 OCT 2020 GRADUATING EXERCISES-CLASS 1920

Major General James W McAndrew addressing students. General Staff College, Washington Barracks, D.C

GRADUATING EXERCISES-CLASS 1920-General Staff College-Major General James W McAndrew addressing students. General Staff College, Washington Barracks, D.C on the steps of Roosevelt Hall

Major General James W McAndrew

Major General James W McAndrew (U.S.M.A., 1888) was commandant of the General Staff College at Washington Barracks, Washington, D.C. As a captain, he had been an honor student at the School of the Line (A college was established in 1881 by William Tecumseh Sherman as the School of Application for Infantry and Cavalry – later simply the Infantry and Cavalry School-,a training school for infantry and cavalry officers. In 1907 it changed its title to the School of the Line. The curriculum expanded throughout World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War and continues to adapt to include lessons learned from current conflicts) in 1909-10 when George C Marshall was an instructor. He traveled to France in 1917 as a colonel assigned to the First Division’s Eighteenth Infantry. Later he was promoted to major general; and he established and was made commandant of the A.E.F.’s General Staff School at Langres, France. In May 1918, he replaced James G. Harbord as General John J. Pershing’s chief of staff. In 1919 he returned to the United States and to the General Staff College.

Major General James W McAndrew served as Pershing’s Chief of Staff in World War I

In the Company of Generals:

The World War I Diary of

Pierpont L. Stackpole 

Hardcover – November 1, 2009

OVER 200 HISTORICAL IMAGES, MAPS & ILLUSTRATIONS

The book, Images of America – Fort Lesley J. McNair contains over two hundred historical photographs, images, and illustrations that chronicle the two hundred plus years of history among the acres of this US Army Post.

The book “Images of America – Fort Lesley J McNair”  is “a walk down memory lane” as one reader called it after he turned the last page.  Go beyond

Where in the World is Freddy?

Who’s Freddy? And why is he so important… Frederick the Great!

The Army War College Begins with a New Building

The College was founded by Secretary of War Elihu Root and U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and formally established by General Order 155 on 27 November 1901. When they conceived of the Army War College their plan included an elegant building on the peninsula in Washington, DC that has become Fort Lesley J McNair.  That building became Roosevelt Hall designed by the architects of the day: McKim, Mead & White.

Here Comes Freddy and a Few “No-Shows”

What would become Roosevelt Hall, would be built in the “Beaux-Arts” style which was a specialty of the architectural firm chosen to make it happen.  All of the Washington Arsenal buildings near and on the ground where the new building would be erected were demolished and cleared.  Bricks from those buildings were salvaged and repurposed.

An open solicitation went out for statues of warriors to be placed on pedestals in front of the building. The statue of Frederick the Great donated by Emperor Wilhelm II was the first military leader to occupy a pedestal even during the demolition, clearing, and construction phases.  Invitations to procure donations of other warriors such as Caesar, Hannibal, Alexander, Suvaroff, and Wellington — ALL ended up as”No Shows”!

Frederick the Great overlooking was the first to occupy a pedestal even during the demolition, clearing, and construction phases.

Freddie Goes into Hiding

For years Freddy was the lone sentinel on his pedestal in front of Roosevelt Hall.  When World War I broke out,  someone left a suitcase of explosives at his pedestal with the intent to blow the statue up. So he went into hiding until 1927 when he was placed on his pedestal. Then someone decided he needed a vacation to the Carlisle Barracks when the Army War College reopened therein 1951.

Frederick the Great on his pedestal in front of Roosevelt Hall

Freddie at the Carlisle Barracks

Frederick the Great on the west end of Carlisle Barracks parade field

Hessian Powder Magazine also on Carlisle Barracks

Just down the street from Freddie’s statue sits the Hessian Powder Magazine.  It was built in 1777.

OVER 200 HISTORICAL IMAGES, MAPS & ILLUSTRATIONS

The book, Images of America – Fort Lesley J. McNair contains over two hundred historical photographs, images, and illustrations that chronicle the two hundred plus years of history among the acres of this US Army Post.

The book “Images of America – Fort Lesley J McNair”  is “a walk down memory lane” as one reader called it after he turned the last page.  Go beyond

A Great Foundation Deserves a Great Book

National Defense University

Marshall Hall of National Defense University

Located on historic Fort Lesley J McNair in Washington, DC – the third oldest US Army post.

Breaking News…

National Defense University Gift Shop

06 October 2016 – As of this date Images of America – Fort Lesley J. McNair is now available in Marshall Hall of the National Defense University located on Fort Lesley J. McNair.   Copies of the book which chronicles the history of the third oldest US Army post are available in the gift shop.  They are autographed by the author, John Michael, and sales benefit the National Defense University Foundation.

Images, Photographs, and Maps

The book contains over 200 images that provide insight about the military installation since its founding in 1791.  Over time it’s been an arsenal providing the ordinance for the Civil War, the site of the first federal penitentiary and where the Lincoln assassination conspirators were incarcerated, tried, and hanged.  The Army Corps of Engineers school was here while a major building effort provided the iconic Roosevelt Hall – designed by the architects McKim, Mead and White and other now historic buildings: Officers’ Club and quarters, barracks, stables, hospital, clinic …  stays by the US Army Band and the Music School.

National Defense University Gift Shop

More About Fort Lesley J. McNair

For several years Major Walter Reed practiced medicine and determined that the mosquito was the reason for  Yellow Fever while among these acres.  Up until the beginning of WW II, the Army War College occupied Roosevelt Hall until being relocated to Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.  The post also is the headquarters of the Military District of Washington. The US Army’s Center of Military History has called Fort McNair home since the 1990s.  The 3d Infantry – the Old Guard’s Alpha Company – also known as the Commander in Chief’s Guard – was garrisoned in the barracks on the post.

OVER 200 HISTORICAL IMAGES, MAPS & ILLUSTRATIONS

The book, Images of America – Fort Lesley J. McNair contains over two hundred historical photographs, images, and illustrations which chronicle the two hundred plus years of history among the acres of this US Army Post.

The book “Images of America – Fort Lesley J McNair”  is “a walk down memory lane” as one reader called it after he turned the last page.  Go beyond

the website and read more of the history with your own copy – BUY THE BOOK offers the opportunity to get either a personalized & autographed copy from the author or purchase the book from one of the major resellers or locations which carry the book (e.g. National War College).

We Need Engineers

General Lesley J. McNair:

Unsung Architect of the U. S. Army

(Modern War Studies (Hardcover))

ABOUT THE BOOK:

George C. Marshall once called him “the brains of the army.” And yet General Lesley J. McNair (1883-1944), a man so instrumental to America’s military preparedness and Army modernization, remains little known today, his papers purportedly lost, destroyed by his wife in her grief at his death in Normandy. This book, the product of an abiding interest and painstaking research, restores the general Army Magazine calls one of “Marshall’s forgotten men” to his rightful place in American military history. Because McNair contributed so substantially to America’s war preparedness, this first complete account of his extensive and varied career also leads to a reevaluation of U.S. Army effectiveness during WWII.

Born halfway between the Civil War and the dawn of the twentieth century, Lesley McNair–“Whitey” by his classmates for his blond hair–graduated 11th of 124 in West Point’s class of 1904 and rose slowly through the ranks like all officers in the early twentieth century. He was 31 when World War I erupted, 34 and a junior officer when American troops prepared to join the fight. It was during this time, and in the interwar period that followed the end of World War I, that McNair’s considerable influence on Army doctrine and training, equipment development, unit organization, and combined arms fighting methods developed. By looking at the whole of McNair’s career–not just his service in WWII as chief of staff, General Headquarters, 1940-1942, and then as commander, Army Ground Forces, 1942-1944–Calhoun reassesses the evolution and extent of that influence during the war, as well as McNair’s, and the Army’s, wartime performance. This in-depth study tracks the significantly positive impact of McNair’s efforts in several critical areas: advanced officer education; modernization, military innovation, and technological development; the field-testing of doctrine; streamlining and pooling of assets for necessary efficiency; arduous and realistic combat training; combined arms tactics; and an increasingly mechanized and mobile force.

Because McNair served primarily in staff roles throughout his career and did not command combat formations during WWII, his contribution has never received the attention given to more public–and publicized–military exploits. In its detail and scope, this first full military biography reveals the unique and valuable perspective McNair’s generalship offers for the serious student of military history and leadership.

The Engineers and Washington Barracks

It was in 1901 when the engineers left Willetts Point for their new home at Washington Barracks in Washington DC.  That marked a complete revamping of the acreage of what was Washington Arsenal and Penitentiary during the Civil War.  The building included housing for officers and NCOs but most prominently the iconic Roosevelt Hall that was designed by McKim Mead & White the noted architects from New York.

Army War College – Roosevelt Hall

Here Comes World War I

World War I or the First World War, often abbreviated as WWI or WW1, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. It wasn’t until 1918 that the United States got involved in the war. The United States initially remained neutral, though even while neutral it became an important supplier of war materiel to the Allies. Eventually, after the sinking of American merchant ships by German submarines, the declaration by Germany that its navy would resume unrestricted attacks on neutral shipping, and the revelation that Germany was trying to incite Mexico to initiate war against the United States, the U.S. declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917. Trained American forces did not begin arriving at the front in large numbers until mid-1918, but the American Expeditionary Force ultimately reached some two million troops.

We Need Engineers

The involvement of the United States meant several things to the situation, primarily the building/rebuilding o the infrastructure in France… railroads, communications, roadways, camps, storage buildings, and ENGINEERS!

Recruitment began with an engineer poster like the ones below that were used to bring the talent to Washington Barracks,

The success of the engineer poster campaign helped to modernize the infrastructure in France while providing the Army a great supply of engineers.

OVER 200 HISTORICAL IMAGES, MAPS & ILLUSTRATIONS

The book, Images of America – Fort Lesley J. McNair contains over two hundred historical photographs, images, and illustrations that chronicle the two hundred plus years of history among the acres of this US Army Post.

The book “Images of America – Fort Lesley J McNair”  is “a walk down memory lane” as one reader called it after he turned the last page.  Go beyond