Fort Lesley J . McNair Fort Lesley J . McNair is a United States Army post located on the tip of Greenleaf Point , the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington , D . C . To the peninsula ' s west is the Washington Channel , while the Anacostia River is on its south side . The fort has been an army post for more than 200 years , third in length of service , after the United States Military Academy at West Point and the Carlisle Barracks . History . The military reservation was established in 1791 on about at the tip of Greenleaf Point . Major Pierre ( Peter ) Charles L ' Enfant included it in his plans for Washington , the Federal City , as a major site for the defense of the capital . An arsenal first occupied the site and defenses were built in 1794 . The fortifications did not halt the invading British in 1814 . Soldiers at the arsenal evacuated north with as much gunpowder as they could carry , hiding the rest in a well as the Redcoats came up the Potomac from burning the capitol . About 47 British soldiers found the powder magazines they ' d come to destroy empty . Someone threw a match into the well and " a tremendous explosion ensued , " a doctor at the scene reported , " whereby the officers and about 30 of the men were killed and the rest most shockingly mangled . " The remaining soldiers destroyed the arsenal buildings , but the facilities were rebuilt after the war . Land was purchased north of the arsenal in 1826 for the first federal penitentiary . The conspirators accused of assassinating president Abraham Lincoln were imprisoned there and , after being found guilty , four were hanged and the rest received prison sentences . Among those hanged was Mary Surratt , the first woman ever executed under federal orders . A hospital was built next to the penitentiary in 1857 , and Civil War wounded were treated at what then was called the Washington Arsenal . The arsenal was closed in 1881 , and the post transferred to the Quartermaster Corps . About 90 percent of the present buildings on the post ' s were built , reconstructed or remodeled by 1908 . In 1901 , with the birth of the Army War College , the post , now called Washington Barracks , became the army ' s center for the education and training of senior officers to lead and direct large numbers of troops . Its first classes were conducted in 1904 . The Army Industrial College was founded at McNair in 1924 to prepare officers for high level posts in Army supply organizations , and to study industrial mobilization . It evolved into the Industrial College of the Armed Forces . The post was renamed as Fort Humphreys in 1935 ( a name previously assigned to today ' s Fort Belvoir , VA ) . The Army War College was reorganized as the Army - Navy Staff College in 1943 , and became the National War College in 1946 . The two colleges became the National Defense University in 1976 . The post was renamed in 1948 to honor Lt . Gen . Lesley J . McNair , commander of army ground forces during World War II , who was headquartered at the post and was killed during Operation Cobra near Saint - Lô , France , 25 July 1944 in the infamous friendly fire incident . Fort McNair has been the headquarters of the U . S . Army Military District of Washington since 1966 . Current status . Fort McNair , a part of the Fort Myer Military Community , is the headquarters of the Army ' s Military District of Washington and home of the National Defense University , as well as the official residence of the US Army ' s vice chief of staff . Tenants . National Defense University . The National Defense University represents a significant concentration of the defense community ' s intellectual resources . Originally established in 1976 , the university includes the National War College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort McNair , and the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk , Virginia . These and other schools are separate entities , but their close affiliation enhances the exchange of faculty expertise and educational resources , promotes interaction among students and faculty , and reduces administrative costs . The National War College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces concentrate on preparing civilian and military professionals in areas of national security strategy , decision - making , joint and combined warfare and the resource component of national strategy . The Armed Forces Staff College , established under the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1946 , prepares selected officers for joint and combined duty . In 1990 , the Information Resources Management College was formed as the capstone institution for Defense Information Resource Management education . As such , it provides graduate - level courses in information resources management . The National Defense University also features a first - rate research capability through the Institute for National Strategic Studies . This institute , established in 1984 , conducts independent policy analyses and develops policy and strategy alternatives . It also includes a War Gaming and Simulation Center and the NDU Press . The university has several other educational programs . These include the Capstone program , for general and flag officer selectees ; the International Fellows program , which brings NDU almost 100 participants from 50 different countries ; and the Reserve Components National Security Course , which offers military education to senior officers of the armed forces . Inter - American Defense College . The Inter - American Defense College is an advanced - studies institute for senior officers of the 25 - member nations of the Inter - American Defense Board . Up to three students of the rank of colonel or the equivalent may be sent to the college by each member nation . The students ' backgrounds must qualify them to participate in the solution of hemispheric - defense problems . The officers study world alliances and the international situation ; the inter - American system and its role ; strategic concepts of war ; and engage in a planning exercise for hemispheric defense . The college has been at Fort McNair since 1962 . United States Army Center of Military History . In September 1998 , the United States Army Center of Military History moved from rented offices in Washington , D . C . , to Fort McNair in historically preserved quarters remodeled from its previous use as a commissary and before that as Fort McNair ' s stables . The center dates from the creation of the Army General Staff historical branch in July 1943 and the gathering of a team of professional historians , translators , editors and cartographers to record the history of World War II . That effort led to a monumental 79 - volume series known as the " Green Books . " Today , the center operates through four divisions , the histories division being the one most involved in writing the histories and providing historical research support to the Army staff . The field program and historical services guides work done at various posts and installations , as well as the work done by deployed historical detachments for Army operations , ensures historical information is comprehensive and factual . Another division is responsible for overseeing the Army museum system and preservation of artifacts and artwork that are the army ' s historical treasure . One such museum , The Old Guard Museum , is located at Fort Myer . The center ' s publishing division generates finished publications and assures access to the center ' s work through such media as CD - ROM and the World Wide Web .