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

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