During the French and Indian War the British Royal American Regiment was assigned to the post and during the Revolutionary War troops of the Continental Regiment of Artillery Artificers were stationed at Washingtonburg, along with officers of the Quartermaster and Ordnance Departments. From 1791 to 1815 Carlisle served as a recruiting depot. During the War of 1812 dragoon and infantry recruits were trained here. By 1815 men of the 3d, 3d and 4th Infantry Regiments occupied the fort, but from 1818 to 1838 the post was relatively inactive. Captain E.V. Sumner's 1st Dragoons established the Cavalry School here in 1838. Through the 1840's and 1850's officers and men of the Regiment of Mounted Rifles, 1st and 2d Dragoons, and 4th Artillery garrisoned Carlisle. During the Civil War it again served as a recruiting depot and was briefly occupied by Confederates (Ewell's and Stuart's corps) during the Gettysburg campaign. Stuart's troops shelled and burned the post.

Cavalry training activity ceased in 1871, and from 1879 to 1918 theDepartment of the Interior's Carlisle Indian School was located herewith Richard Henry Pratt, 10th Cavalry, superintendent. From 1918 to 1920 General Hospital #31 served a rehabilitation center for A.E.F. veterans. The Medical Field Service School resided here from 1920 to 1946. From that date until 1950, the post buildings housed half dozen Army schools until 1951 and the arrival of the Army War College.

Sources:

Asburn, P.M. "Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania." Histories of Army Posts. Gov Is, NY: US Army Recruiting Publicity Bureau, 1924. p. 28. UA26A3.

Brunhouse, Robert L. "Founding of the Carlisle Indian School." Reprinted from Pennsylvania History (April 1949): 14 p. CrsMat, Arch.

_________. "History of the Carlisle Indian School." MA thesis, U of PA, n.d. 185 p. E97.6C2B7. Carlisle Barracks Collection. Arch. Contains letters, photos, maps, and other documents covering history of Fort Washingtonburg and Carlisle Barracks.

Hay, Conran, et al. A Cultural Resource Overview and Management Plan for the United States Army Carlisle Barracks, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 2 vols. Report, Archaelogical and Historical

Consultants, Inc, Sep 1988. UA26C3H38. .kSee esp Chap 2, pp. 19-45.Lull, George F. "Carlisle Barracks 1868 and 1938." Mil Surgeon 84(Jan-Jun 1939): pp. 500-02. Per.Comparison of medical care available to garrison.

Sullivan, Charles J. Army Posts & Towns. Burlington, VT: FreePress, 1935. pp. 97-8. UA26A6S84. And other eds.

Tousey, Thomas G. Military History of Carlisle and CarlisleBarracks. Richmond, VA: Dietz, 1939. 440 p. UA26C3T6.

Wainwright, Nicholas B. The Irvine Story. Phila: Hist Soc of PA,1964. 100 p. F159I7W3.

Zuver, Paul E. A Short History of Carlisle Barracks. n.p., 1934. 155 p. UC404P4C3.

- Various pamphlets & brochures

To determine the second oldest post, one must first determine the oldest. The multifarious ramifications of that question have been examined elsewhere and we may concede that West Point, NY, is the oldest active US Army post.However, if one takes into consideration the colonial period tothe history of present Army posts, Carlisle Barracks could wellqualify as the oldest post, since Fort Marion, FL and Fort Independence, MA, are no longer active. This assumes that buildingsand entrenchments erected during the British period (1753-75),although originally near the Carlisle square and along the oppositebank of LeTort Creek, had by 1776 come to encompass the armory that had been established near the present Root and Upton Hallsin 1769.

(Bining, 59; Frontier Forts, 508-12; and Tousey, 60, 78).If one considers only the period of American history since the Declaration of Independence and neglects the "continuous service" proviso, the following analysis should be considered:

Between 1769 and 1776, the British fortification at Carlisle fell into ruin, but, when war came, the armory was brought to theattention of the Continental Congress by James Wilson (Tousey, 78.)In January-February 1776, "workmen were building the first American structure on the old British Camp which was to house the salt-petreworks..." (Zuver, 33), but it is not believed they were acting on behalf of the Continental Congress. The Congress sent an inspection committee to Carlisle in Sep 1776. (Zuver, 34.) On 27 Dec Congress resolved to erect a magazine at Carlisle. (American Archives, 1479.) Exactly when the armory was taken over by the Continental Army cannot be determined from sources here. In a letter of 16 Jan 1777, Gen Washington ordered Colonel Benjamin Flower to York, where a magazine, laboratory and foundry were, by earlier Congressional resolution, to be established. In the same letter, he assigned Captain Isaac Coren to the laboratory. The letter ends with this remark about Carlisle:

(Writings of Washington, 22.) By April 1777, construction at Carlisle had proceeded to the point that powder and stores in Baltimore were ordered to the armory.(Journal of Continental Congress, 219.) As early as May 1777,Hessian prisoners were here, as well as a quartermaster. (Tousey,83, 85.) Therefore, one can state with confidence that Carlisle Barracks was a Continental Army post in 1777.

Before the Rev War, West Point was "little else than awilderness of rugged hills and virgin forests." (Reeve, 139.)Troops began constructing fortifications on Constitution Island,across the Hudson from the West Point highland, as early as 29 Aug1775. (Reeve, 43-44.) Although West Point itself was considered as a site for fortifications in 1776 and 1777, defense of the west shorerested upon Forts Montgomery and Clinton, five or six miles to the south. (Reeve, 143, 148.) During the Saratoga campaign (Sep-Oct 1777), the British under Sir Henry Clinton occupied Forts Mongomery and Clinton and Constitution Island. At that time West Point itself "was neither garrisoned nor fortified by either the Americans or British." (Reeve, 149.)

The British success awoke General Washington to the neccessityfor improving the river's defenses. A committee under General Israel Putnam examined West Point in the period 9-14 January 1778. On 20 January 1778, as a result of that investigation, Gen Samuel Parsons' brigade crossed to the Point from the east shore fortifications and began building what has "remained an American garrison from that dayto this." (Reeve, 154; see also Palmer, 137-40.)

Since West Point military reservation now encompasses Constitution Island on the east shore of the Hudson, it can lay claim to being the oldest Army post, with Carlisle Barracks second and, probably, Fort Monroe (1819) third. Several forts older than Monroe exist, but are presently outside the Army's jurisdiction--e.g., Independence (Boston harbor) and McHenry (Baltimore harbor). Interestingly, Carlisle predates the garrison on the Point itself.

Incidentally, the earliest publication found refering to Carlisle as the second oldest Army post is dated 1940, viz: U.S. Works Projects Admin. Writers' Program. Pennsylvania, A Guide to the Keystone State. NY: Oxford UP, 1940. p. 201.F154W94.

SOURCES:

American Archives: Fifth Series. Vol III. Wash, DC, Jan 1853. E203A51. Bining, Arthur C. Pennsylvania Iron Manufacture in the Eighteenth Century. Harrisburg, PA: PA Hist Comm, 1938.

Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789. Vol VII. Wash, DC: GPO, 1907. J10A5.

Palmer, Dave R. The River and the Rock: The History of Fortress West Point, 1775-1783. NY: Greenwood, 1969. F129W7P17.

Reeve, Horace M. "West Point in the Revolution, 1778-1783." In The Centennial of the United States Military Academy at West Point,

New York, 1802-1902. Vol I. Wash, DC: GPO, 1904. U410L1A2. Report of the Commission to Locate the Site of the Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania. Vol 1. Harrisburg, PA: Ray, 1916. F152P363.

Tousey, Thomas G. Military History of Carlisle and Carlisle Barracks. Richmond, VA: Dietz, 1939. UA26C3T6.

U.S. Army. Center of Mil Hist. "The Oldest Active Military Post in the United States." Photocopied info sheet, n.d. 2 p. BibFile(Forts).

Washington, George. The Writings of George Washington.... Vol 7. Wash, DC: GPO, 1932. E312.7.

Zuver, Paul E. A Short History of Carlisle Barracks, 1757-1934. Carlisle Barracks, PA, 1934. RefOff.

The Carlisle Barracks statue of Frederick the Great is a bronze replica of a marble figure in Berlin. Kaiser Wilhelm presented it to President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904 as a personal gift. The statue was erected on the terrace of the War College building at Washington Barracks, DC (now Fort McNair), with President Roosevelt and a host of officials and dignitaries attending the dedication on 19 Nov 1904. During WWI, the statue was removed from public view (15 Apr 1918) in response to critical congressional and public comments, as well as threats to destroy it. It returned to its pedestal on 29 Nov 1927. During World War II the statue again was removed and placed in storage. After the war, the terrace location was taken by an array of guns, anchors, and bombs that symbolized the unification of the three services.

The statue remained crated until 30 Mar 1954, when it was re-erected on the old parade grounds at Carlisle Barracks, the new home of the US Army War College.

Sources:

Ball, Harry P. Of Responsible Command: A History of the U.S. Army War College. Carlisle Bks: Alumni Assoc AWC, 1983. pp. 124, 324-25. U413A1B34.

Pappas, Geo S. Prudens Futuri: The US Army War College, 1901- 1967. Carlisle Bks: Alumni Assoc AWC, 1968. pp. 45-46 & 303. U413A1P36. Parameters IV (No. 2, 1974): inside back cover. Per/BibFile.

U.S. Army War College. Course Materials File. #619.3/1. Arch.

U.S. Army War College. Course Materials File #323. Arch.

Contains the following:

"Isn't It About Time to Melt Down Our Freddy the Great?" Times Herald (23 Jul 1942).Ketcham, D.W. Memo for Chief of Staff concerning removal of the statue, 3 Apr 1918. 4 p.

Lloyd, P.J. Letter to Mr. William Skaggs, 15 Apr 1941. 3 p. Roth, Robert. "Waiting for Freddie." Phila Eve Bulletin (22 Jul 1953).

Sewell, John. Letter to BG A. Mackenzie, Wash, DC, 10 Jan 1905. 2 p. "Statue of Frederick the Great." Fact sheets, Public Info Office,Mil District of Wash, 29 Jul 1953. 4 p.Taft, William H. Letter to Mr. George C. Ellis, dated 12 Apr 1905.1 p.