Throwback Thursday 26 SEP 2019 Washington Barracks Site Plan – 1893

The 4th Artillery Has Plans

Two Lieutenants of the 4th Artillery did their work and developed a WASHINGTON BARRACKS SITE PLAN.

What began as twenty-eight acres when designated by Pierre Charles L’Enfant as reservation #5, has had a storied history full of events and plans.

An arsenal first occupied the site in 1801 and it served the union effort during the Civil War. The arsenal was closed in 1881, and the post was transferred to the Quartermaster Corps. It was known by the name Washington Barracks.  It then served as a place of discovery by MAJ Walter Reed.

An Enlarged Version of the Key to the Buildings

The Best-laid Plans of Mice and Men* and the 4th Artillery Too

THE WASHINGTON BARRACKS SITE PLAN

It never happened!

Despite the well thought out plan directed by First Lieutenant  C.P. Townsley and Second Lieutenant Wirt Robinson, there were bigger plans or the acreage that soon would be revealed when Secretary of War Elihu Root and President Theodore Roosevelt combined with the noted architectural of McKim, Mead, & White took over the future of the acreage.

Major General Clarence P.Townsley

Clarence P.Townsley would ultimately retire as a Major General, was appointed from Iowa to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in July 1877, graduating 14th out of 53 in his USMA cadet class. On graduation in 1881, Townsley entered the 4th Artillery regiment, and the artillery corps is where he would spend his entire career. Townsley commanded several artillery garrisons before returning to the academy to occupy the superintendent’s billet in 1912. Townsley was in command of the USMA during the outbreak of World War I and continued to serve in this capacity until July 1916, when he was promoted to brigadier general and returned to garrison duty.

Colonel Wirt Robinson

Wirt Robinson would go on to serving 45 years in the United States Army. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1887. First Lieutenant of Artillery, 4th Artillery, Aug. 1, 1893, at Washington Barracks, D. C., with the regiment, to July 1894. He joined the faculty at West Point and was a professor of chemistry, mining, and geology from 1911 until his retirement. On October 16, 1928, he retired from the United States Army due to age requirements after 45 years, most of which was at West Point.

*The saying is adapted from a line in “To a Mouse,” by Robert Burns: “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.”

My Heart’s in the Highlands (Illustrated):

Selected Poems of Robert Burns Paperback

– January 13, 2019

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