The Fort Howard Veterans Hospital sat on the site of Fort Howard, a site that saw military action dating back to the War of 1812 when the British landed thousands of men there as the precursor to the Battle of Baltimore. In August 1940 the Veterans Administration (VA) acquired the title to the fort, and began moving operations there in January 1941. When the VA took over the site, the Medical Corps building was renovated to be the nurses’ home, infirmary, and attendants’ quarters. From 1925 to 1928 that nurses' home was the headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur. The hospital officially opened for patient care in 1943.