Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-04-12
Army Will Abandon
Fort Washington
As Military Post
Third Battalion of
18th Infantry to Be
Housed in Arlington

Inc Army soon Will abandon his
toric Fort Washington, on the Poto-
mac River below the District line
and transfer its garrison. the Sd
Battalion, 18th Infantry, into an
entirely new local Army post to be
constructed Immediately near the
site Of the old c. c. c. camp on the
Arlington Experimental Farm, near
Arlington Memorial Boulevard, the
War Department announced today.
The office of the quartermaster
general is expected to award a con-
tract today for the construction OF
temporary barracks, of the e. c. c.
type, on the site to house the Is
officers and 464 men Of the battalion
Restricted space at Fort Myer pre-
vented quartering the Sd Battalion
there, Secretary of War Woodring
explained. The use of temporary
buildings of the C. c. C. type has
been decided upon pending approval
OF plans for more permanent hous-
ing of the battalion. Mr.. Woodring
said. The battalion is commanded
by 1t. Col. William F. Lee.
Construction of IS portable build
ings will be required to house the
battalion and provide sufficient stor-
age space for its equipment, the
quartermaster generals Office an
nounced. Construction of the build
ings necessary to house the troops
will require about 20 days and the
battalion is expected to be in its
new post soon after May /.
To Be Part of Park.
The fort, constructed during the
Revolutionary War on a bluff COM
handing the water approach to
Alexandria, Va, will be turned over
to the National Park Service and
eventually is to become part
of the George Washington Memorial
Parkway. as will Fort Hunt, directly
across the river on the Virginia
shore.
Fort Washington was a coast ar
tillery post until 1921. when it was
turned over to the infantry.
The Sd Battalion. 18th Infantry
stationed at Fort Washington, is a
part of the normal garrison of the
National Capital. The headquarters
of the regiment is at Fort George G.
Meade. Md.
Relocation of the battalion post is
expected to make the detachment
more convenient to Washington for
ceremonies. The battalion is re-
garded as one of the Army's crack
infantry outfits. It has developed a
silent exhibition drill, for which it
is famous, and participates regular
ly in exhibitions and ceremonies
here.
Point of Vantage.
The bank on which Fort Wash
lngton stands was recognized for
its military advantages by the early
colonists and by the Indians before
them. Gov. Leonard Calvert and
his English colonists found the
blum manned by Indians in war
paint when he anchored in nearby
Piscataway Creek in 1884. In 1645
a fort was established there for de-
tense of the provinces, according
to early Colonial records.
George Washington personally Sc
lected the site for a fort in 1894
after a canoe trip along the river
and obtained land for the post from
his friend, Thomas Digges. The
original fort was named Warbur-
ton, after the Digges estate, known
as Warburton Manor.
During the Civil War Fort WASH
ington was garrisoned by 40 Marines
under command of Capt. A. S. Tay-
lor. 1t was reconstructed in 1896,
when three new-type disappearing
guns were mounted there to replace
the old smooth bore cannon. These
guns were fired for the last time
when Col Charles A. Lindbergh
came. up the Potomac after his
fight to Paris and were removed q
few months later and sent to Aber-
deem Proving Grounds, Nd, for
storage.