Henry Barracks was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

base located in

Cayey, Puerto Rico Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Sa ...

named after the 3rd Military Governor of Puerto Rico and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient Major General Guy V.Henry.

History

This base in the Central Mountain range of Puerto Rico located 25 miles (40 km) from

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

was under control of the Spanish army until

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

Troops took over the base in 1898 during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

and became a Puerto Rico Voluntary Regiment Post. 1908 became a United States Army infantry base for the

65th Infantry Regiment The 65th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "The Borinqueneers" during the Korean War for the original Taíno Indian name for Puerto Rico (Borinquen), is a Puerto Rican regiment of the United States Army. The regiment's motto is ''Honor et Fidelita ...

. In 1900 the site was renamed Henry Barracks after the 3rd Military Governor of Puerto Rico Major General

Guy Vernor Henry Guy Vernor Henry (March 9, 1839 – October 27, 1899) was an American military officer and Medal of Honor recipient who served as military governor of Puerto Rico. Biography Henry was born in Fort Smith, Indian Territory (now Arkansas), the so ...

. In the beginning the base consisted of 439.92 acres of land situated in the east side of the town of Cayey. The property was divided into three encampments: the Spanish Camp- Campamento Español also known as Hospital Hill (15 acres), the Henry Barracks main post in the northern part consisted of 372 acres and the home for the third Battalion of the 65th Infantry Regiment, and the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Cayey Naval Radio Station (67 acres).Department of the Navy (1915). Map showing boundary lines of the original Spanish Reservation and the present reservation February 7, 1903: Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Yards & Docks, Department of the Navy By 1920 Henry Barracks became a sub-post attached to

Fort Brooke Fort Brooke was a historical military post established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida in 1824. Its original purpose was to serve as a check on and trading post for the native Seminoles who had been confined ...

in San Juan where the 65th Infantry First Battalion where posted. Some units from the 65th Infantry were mobilized to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

from Henry Barracks. A large number of soldiers from the 65th Infantry were native Puerto Ricans. In 1928 Hurricane San Felipe hit Puerto Rico and destroyed many of the base wooden structures. The Navy left Cayey as a result of the damage from Hurricane San Felipe and moved to Naval Air Station Isla Grande in San Juan. All the land held by the Navy to include Magazine Hill (El Polvorin) were absorbed by the U. S. Army. In 1929 new permanent buildings were constructed at the Henry Barracks. After the Korean War the U.S. Army brought in troops not native to Puerto Rico. They were called "Continentals" by the locals from Cayey Puerto Rico. By that time the combat troops stationed at Henry Barracks consisted of an artillery battalion and a heavy mortar company.

Base Closing

In 1953, the U.S. Army reached the conclusion that Henry Barracks would be closed in the near future. A full complement of the Army phased out its presence at the post in 1965 when the base was transferred to the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

for decommission. Burials ceased at the Henry Barracks military cemetery in 1965 and the graves were moved to the

Puerto Rico National Cemetery Puerto Rico National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery located in the city of Bayamón, in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It encompasses of land, and at the end of 2005, had 44,722 interments. Until 2021, it was the only United St ...

. Most of the land and buildings were transferred to the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

and opened the

University of Puerto Rico at Cayey The University of Puerto Rico in Cayey (UPR-Cayey) is a public university in Cayey, Puerto Rico. It is part of the University of Puerto Rico System. It was initially founded as a regional school in 1967 and became a college in 1969. It was awar ...

campus in 1967 while other facilities were transferred to the municipality of Cayey, Puerto Rico. Most of the land and buildings that was transferred to the municipality of Cayey were turned into sports facilities.

National Guard

The Military keep one parcel from the Henry Barracks army base for the

Puerto Rico National Guard The Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG) – es, Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico– is the national guard of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and s ...

1st Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment Headquarters and Headquarters Company, and the 105th Forward Support Company. A

heliport A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...

, maintenance shop, administration offices and a NGX PX are some of the facilities at the National Guard post use mostly for monthly drills.

Army ROTC

The University of Puerto Rico at Cayey hosted the U.S. Army Reserve Officers Training Course ROTC program at a site in the former Herry Barracks base. The Army ROTC had an office, several classrooms, an obstacle course and a rappeling tower. After many years in operations the Army ROTC left the UPR Cayey campus in 1997.

Tribute

A monument to honor Military Veterans from Cayey stands near the Herry Barracks housing area and of the main roads of the former Army base was renamed Avenida Los Veteranos (Veterans Avenue).

References