With a history that spans over 250 years, Carlisle Barracks is the second oldest active military installation in the United States. The Post had its beginnings on May 30, 1757, when Colonel John Stanwix established a bulwark for the British Army. Its purpose was to defend the eastern portions of the Pennsylvania colony, and project military forces westward. During the War for Independence, the Post became an arsenal for the newly formed Continental Army. The location was extremely important because the Town of Carlisle was a prominent junction point for travel through the eastern portion of the continent, and a gateway to the western frontier. The mission of educating members of the Armed Forces began very early in the history of the Post. In 1778, Captain Isaac Coren established a school for Artillerists. This is believed to be the U.S. Army’s first educational institution. By 1794, President George Washington was already making recommendations to locate a new Federal Military Academy at the arsenal. Although this distinction eventually went to West Point, New York, the Barracks still continued on with many other educational missions during its history. By 1838, the School of Calvary Practice began, and remained for the next 33 years until its eventual relocation to the western frontier in 1871. During the first half of the Civil War, the Barracks came under Confederate control. On July 1, 1863, battle for control of the Barracks escalated, and eventually most of the buildings at the Barracks were burned by the Confederacy. When the Barracks were rebuilt after the Civil War, its mission of receiving, training, and forwarding recruits gradually ended, as these functions moved farther west to address the needs of the Indian-fighting Army. By 1879, the Barracks were transferred to the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to begin an experimental institution known as the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. The purpose of the school was to educate and assimilate Native American children into European culture. The Indian Industrial School remained until 1918, when the War Department reclaimed the Installation after World War I to set up General Hospital No. 31. It became a pioneering rehabilitation center for troops returning from the war front. By 1920, Carlisle Barracks became home to the Medical Field Service School, which remained until 1946. By the time WWII ended, the Army initiated six new schools at Carlisle Barracks, which included the School for the Government of Occupied Areas, the Adjutant General School, the Chaplain School, the Military Police School, the Army Security Agency School, and the Armed Forces Information School. By 1951, these six schools were disbanded or dispersed to other Army Installations. It was during this year that Carlisle Barracks became home to the USAWC, to which it has remained to the present day. The college was relocated to Carlisle Barracks in 1951, in what is now Upton Hall. The college eventually expanded into Root Hall in 1967, and has slowly been expanding its institutional facilities into the present day. The U.S. Army Heritage Education Center opened in Ridgway Hall in 2004. Ridgway Hall houses the collection of the U.S. Army Military History Institute as well as an educational exhibit gallery. It is the Army’s premier archive and heritage facility dedicated to telling the stories of the American Soldier.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 00:19:20 +0000
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