Fort Leavenworth History

HISTORY:

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is the oldest continuously active military reservation in the United States west of Washington D.C.  From its position on the Missouri River, the fort has stood guard on the nation’s frontiers since 1827.  Fort Leavenworth initially stood on the frontiers of exploration and physical defense, but today it pushes the frontiers of military thought, training, and education. 

Situated on the high bluffs overlooking the Missouri River, Native American tribes favored the land for thousands of years.  They used the river as a trade route, gathered food in the river valley, and hunted bison on the plains to the west.  Archeological evidence suggests that people have periodically inhabited the area for approximately 10,000 years.  In the modern era, 18^th century French fur traders are thought to be the first Europeans to explore the region.  In 1744, the French established Fort de Cavaginal in the area as a trading post and base for exploration.  The French abandoned the fort in 1764, after ceding the territory to the Spanish.

Captains Meriweather Lewis and William Clark passed the remains of Fort de Cavignial on July 2, 1804, as they led the Army’s Corps of Discovery to explore the Louisiana Purchase.  The expedition camped overnight on islands near the fort on their way west, and again in September 1806, during their return journey.  The U.S. military returned to the area in 1827, when Colonel Henry Leavenworth led a contingent of officers and men of the 3rd Infantry Regiment from Jefferson Barracks near Saint Louis, Missouri.  The post Colonel Leavenworth established became one of the half-dozen forts guarding the western frontier and serving as a base of operations.  The first soldiers at Fort Leavenworth spent much of their time policing the inhabitants of the settled tribal areas and trying to maintain the peace.  Other soldiers escorted travelers along the recently opened Santa Fe Trail or expelled squatters from Native American lands.

The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) marked a turning point for Fort Leavenworth.  The post outfitted and equipped Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny’s Army of the West, which captured Santa Fe and Sacramento.  After the war, the post became a major depot, supplying forts, posts, and military camps of the west – some as far away as the Pacific Ocean.  As the Kansas Territory was organized in 1854, Governor Andrew Reeder set up his offices on post and lived for a short time in The Rookery, the oldest building on post. Meanwhile, the soldiers on Fort Leavenworth became heavily involved in the border conflict that became known as “Bleeding Kansas.”

During the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), the U.S. Government established Camp Lincoln on Fort Leavenworth as a reception and training station for volunteers.  Soldiers also established Fort Sully, a series of earthen artillery emplacements overlooking what is now the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery.  In 1864, the troops on Fort Leavenworth readied Fort Sully’s emplacements, as Confederate General Sterling Price raided across Missouri.  Price’s force, however, never reached Fort Leavenworth, having met defeat at Westport, Missouri.

Following the Civil War in 1866, the U.S. Congress authorized the formation of several Black Army regiments.  One of these units, the 10th Cavalry Regiment, was formed on Fort Leavenworth under the command of Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson.  Along with the 9th Cavalry Regiment, the 24th Infantry Regiment, and the 25th Infantry Regiment, these formations have come to be known as the Buffalo Soldiers.  Today, a Fort Leavenworth monument stands in tribute to the Buffalo Soldiers.  The Buffalo Soldier Monument was dedicated by General Colin Powell in 1992, and has expanded into the Buffalo Soldier Monument Park, which honors the service and accomplishments of several African-American units and individuals.

 From 1870 to 1883, Leavenworth served as Headquarters, Department of the Missouri.  This Headquarters controlled Army activities in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and portions of Texas and Wyoming.  For Fort Leavenworth, this meant a return to its missions of supplying the Army in the west and trying to control Native American tribes on the western plains.  The late 19^th century also saw the construction of some of today’s post landmarks.  Number 1 Scott Avenue, built in 1861 as the residence of the arsenal commander, still serves as designated quarters for the Combined Arms Center Commander.  The Army also established the United States Military Prison at Fort Leavenworth in 1874 on land once occupied by the quartermaster depot, and the wooden stockade was eventually replaced by high stone walls.  The first Catholic church was built in 1871, and in 1889 Saint Ignatius Chapel replaced the original structure.  In 1878, a protestant chapel, Memorial Chapel, was also built using prison labor and stone quarried on post.

In 1881, Fort Leavenworth adopted a very different mission when General William T. Sherman directed the establishment of the School of Application for Infantry and Cavalry, the institution that eventually evolved into today’s Command and General Staff College.  World War I proved the wisdom of Sherman’s initiative, as the Leavenworth graduates excelled in planning complex operations in France.  American Expeditionary Force Commanding General John “Black Jack” Pershing even had a standing order that any Leavenworth graduate be sent to him upon arriving in France.  By the end of the war, Pershing had set up a Leavenworth style staff officer school in France, and Leavenworth men dominated staff positions in American formations.

Despite the value of these Leavenworth men, the school had paused all future classes in 1916.  After the experiences in World War I, the school was reopened and many of the future World War II leaders such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, and George S. Patton Jr. would be educated at Fort Leavenworth.  When World War II erupted, the staff college remained open, graduating approximately 19,000 officers to take up roles in the war effort. Additionally, by the end of 1943, commanders and staffs of 26 infantry, airborne, and cavalry divisions had completed the New Divisions Course at the Command and General Staff School. 

In 1946, the school changed its name to the current Command and General Staff College.  In 1959, the college moved to the newly built J. Franklin Bell Hall, and in 1985, the Harold K. Johnson Wing was added.  In 1994, Fort Leavenworth dedicated Eisenhower Hall, a building which would house the School for Advanced Military Studies, the School for Command Preparation, and the Combined Arms Research Library.  In 2007, the Command and General Staff College moved into the newly constructed Lewis and Clark Center.  The Lewis and Clark Center educational complex includes 96 classrooms, providing space for more than 1,500 students and 850 faculty and staff. 

In 1973, the Army went through a major reorganization establishing United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) and the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).  During this reorganization, one of TRADOC’s five major subordinate commands, the Combined Arms Center (CAC), was created on Fort Leavenworth.

A major development entailing substantial change for Fort Leavenworth occurred in 2002 when the Army split garrison functions from the senior mission commander on all installations and reorganized them under the Installation Management Agency (IMA).  IMA was intended to “streamline headquarters, create more agile and responsive staffs, reduce layers of review and approval, focus on missions, and transform the Army.” On 1 October 2006, IMA became an Army command itself, changing its name to Installation Management Command (IMCOM).  Despite the Garrison reporting to a new headquarters element, CAC and the Fort Leavenworth Garrison continue their close relationship.       

Reorganized as the Combined Arms Command in 2025, CAC is the force modernization proponent for unified land operations, combined arms operations at echelons above brigade (Division, Corps and Theater Army), mission command, airspace control, information operations, irregular warfare, knowledge management, personnel recovery, OPSEC, military deception, security force assistance, UAP interoperability, and the Army Profession. CAC is also the US Army's lead organization for lessons learned, doctrine, training, education, functional training, fielded force integration, managing the Army Leader Development Program, Army Profession Program, Army Training Support System Enterprise, Army Training and Education Management Enterprise, and the Combat Training Center Program. CAC is made up of more than 34,000 Soldiers and Army Civilian Corps employees stationed throughout the United States, Europe, Korea, and SW Asia and nine centers of excellence, 20 branch schools, and seven non-branch schools. The Combined Arms Command synchronizes 37 US Army schools through Army University educating and training more than 300,000 students annually, including nearly 5,000 students from 130 separate nations and more than 10,000 sailors, airmen, and Marines from the Joint Force.

Fort Leavenworth has a long and proud record of contributions to the peace and security of the United States and the world. It has transformed itself repeatedly to meet the shifting needs of the nation and continues its work today by building a trained and ready force for the future. Established on the frontier in 1827, Fort Leavenworth remains on the frontier of military thought and innovation as the “Intellectual Center of the Army.”