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

Fort McNair’s 140-year-old building slated for renovation

By Leah Rubalcaba

Bldg. 17, located on the Fort McNair portion of the base, is one of the three oldest Bldgs. on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall and is slated for a well-deserved renovation this year.

This 1 ½-story brick structure was constructed in 1881 using reclaimed brick from the former Washington Penitentiary that was built between 1825 and 1831. The only part of the penitentiary Bldg. that remains today is Fort McNair’s Bldg. 20.

Bldg. 17 first served as the guardhouse of the Washington Barracks — today’s Fort McNair. Fort McNair originated as a military post in 1791, when Pierre L’Enfant designated 28 acres of what was then known as Greenleaf Point as a military post, named the Washington Arsenal. The post was transferred to Quartermaster Corps in 1878, becoming the Washington Barracks, and in 1948, the barracks was named for Lt. Gen. Lesley J. McNair.

The Washington Arsenal Explosion:

Civil War Disaster in the Capital

 Paperback

The only Washington Barracks buildings that exist on Fort McNair today include Bldgs. 17 and 20, along with Bldg. 21, known as the Model Arsenal, built in 1832.

From its beginnings as a guardhouse, Bldg. 17 was converted to housing around 1900 and served as officers’ quarters.

After Fort McNair opened a 9-hole golf course in 1972 in the field just north of Roosevelt Hall, between C and D Streets, Bldg. 17 housed the golf pro-shop for many years. According to Andy Finnerty, a recreation specialist with Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, when he arrived at Fort McNair in 1995 to serve as the golf course manager, Bldg. 17 still housed the pro-shop and included a deli that was frequented by golfers and National Defense University students alike. The golf course eventually closed in 2003.

The Africa Center for Strategic Studies moved to Fort McNair in 2004 as a regional center affiliated with NDU. Some of the center’s personnel were housed in Bldg. 17 and, in April 2009, the building came to be known as the Africa Center for Strategic Studies Annex.

The nearly $3 million design-build contract for the Bldg. 17 renovation was awarded to XL Construction LLC.

According to project engineer Elihu Hirsch, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, interior demolition work has already begun to expose the original ceiling of the building.

“The 1 ½ story of the building is based on the fact that, historically, the building had an exposed structure that allowed for natural interior lighting through the use of clerestory windows,” said Hirsch.

In architecture, a clerestory is a high section of the wall that contains windows above eye level to admit light and fresh air.

“We are planning on restoring the interior of the building, much as it looked originally, by removing much of the interior ceiling to expose the building roof structure and benefit from natural light from the three arched windows,” said Hirsch. “We are now above a drywall ceiling.”

Hirsch added that while the original windows will remain, damaged wood trim at the windows will be replaced. The floor and wall finishes will be updated, with the finishes inside the building restored to the way they existed in the 1800s.

Renovation work will also replace the building’s HVAC and electrical systems, including lighting. Bldg. 17 will benefit from a new access ramp installed at its entrance, as well as an Americans with Disability Act of the 1990-accessible restroom and a secure room for classified communication.

“We will also be removing a non-historic addition on the east side of the building that is being used for a storage room,” said Hirsch.

When asked if he had any reservations about working on the 140-year-old building, Hirsch replied, “We do not anticipate any issues with historical preservation. We are working closely with Kelly Whitton (cultural resources manager for Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall), and it is our intent to provide minimal exterior changes and restore the interior to look like it did historically.”

The anticipated completion date is Jan. 23, 2022.

NOTE: Leah Rubalcaba  is the  Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Community Relations Officer

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

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