The Jefferson Barracks Military Post is located on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

Lemay, Missouri Lemay is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in south St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 16,645 at the 2010 census. History Lema ...

, south of

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. It was an important and active

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

installation from 1826 through 1946. It is the oldest operating U.S. military installation west of the Mississippi River, and it is now used as a base for the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

and

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...

. A

Veterans Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

healthcare system A health system, health care system or healthcare system is an organization of people, institutions, and resources that delivers health care services to meet the health needs of target populations. There is a wide variety of health systems aroun ...

campus is located on the southern portion of the base and is also the headquarters for the Veterans Canteen Service.

History

Army Air Forces - Postcard - Jefferson Barracks Missouri

In 1826 General

Edmund P. Gaines Edmund Pendleton Gaines (March 20, 1777 – June 6, 1849) was an American Army officer who served for nearly fifty years, and attained the rank of major general by brevet. He was one of the Army's senior commanders during its formative years ...

(Commander of the Western Department of the Army), Brig. General Henry Atkinson (commanding officer of the sixth infantry regiment), explorer

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

, and Missouri Governor John Miller spent several days searching the banks of the

for the perfect location for a new post to replace Fort Bellefontaine. A site near the city of "Vide Poche" or Carondelet, south of

, was recommended and then approved by Major General Jacob J. Brown, Commanding General of the Army. On July 10, 1826, two days after the deed to the land was signed, the first military troops—six officers and 245 enlisted men of Companies A, B, H and I of the 1st Infantry Regiment, commanded by Brevet Major Stephen Watts Kearny—arrived at the new post and started building temporary quarters that they named Cantonment Miller in honor of Governor Miller. In 1827 the military post was formally named Jefferson Barracks in honor of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

who had died the year before. Even William Clark's son, Meriwether Lewis Clark Sr., would join the ranks of Jefferson Barracks. It was also designated the first "Infantry School of Practice." The first conflict that the men of Jefferson Barracks were involved with was the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

in 1832. Troops were deployed from Jefferson Barracks to push "hostile Indians" back into their village in present-day

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Chief Black Hawk Mahkatêwe-meshi-kêhkêhkwa, known in English as Black Hawk (c. 1767 – October 3, 1838), was a Sauk leader and warrior who lived in what is now the Midwestern United States. Although he had inherited an important historic sacred bundle from ...

was captured and brought back to Jefferson Barracks. In 1832, the United States Regiment of

Dragoons Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

were formed and stationed at Jefferson Barracks. The dragoons, trained to fight mounted or dismounted, were the first unit of permanent

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and were later called the 1st U.S. Dragoons.

Mexican–American War

Jefferson Barracks became a major military post during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

(1846–1848) when it served as a rest and supply station for most U.S. troops deploying to Mexico. Jefferson Barracks was the recruiting center for outfitting and training most of the regiments organized for the Mexican War in 1846, and upon the return of the triumphant U.S. forces in 1848, many were deployed to Jefferson Barracks due to its strategic location and healthful situation. In 1853, newly elected

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

, who had served as a brigadier general during the Mexican War, appointed Jefferson Davis as his

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

. At Jefferson Barracks, in 1855, Davis soon organized the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and Second Regiments of Cavalry, known derisively as "Jeff Davis's Pets," because the commissioned personnel assigned to them were the best in the

Albert Sidney Johnston General officer, General Albert Sidney Johnston (February 2, 1803 – April 6, 1862) was an American military officer who served as a general officer in three different armies: the Texian Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States ...

served as colonel and

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

as lieutenant colonel of the Second Regiment of Cavalry. A list of the officers of the Second Regiment of Cavalry includes some of the ablest commanders of the U.S. Civil War. The Second Regiment of Cavalry was redesignated as the Fifth Regiment of Cavalry in 1861. The 2d U.S. Dragoons were redesignated as the 2d Regiment of Cavalry in 1861 when the War Department discontinued the use of Dragoons as a unit designation.

Civil War

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

(1861–1865), Jefferson Barracks served as a military hospital for both sides and a recruitment depot for the North. In 1862 construction of the Western Sanitary Commission's hospital facilities began at Jefferson Barracks. By the time that the hospital complex was complete, it could hold 3,000 patients. By the end of the first year of the war, over 5,000 sick and wounded had been admitted and, by the end of the war, well over 18,000 soldiers had been treated at Jefferson Barracks Hospital. In 2002, The Missouri Civil War Museum was founded, which finished restoration in 2013. It is now located in the old 1905 Post Exchange and Gymnasium Building.

Spanish–American War

With the declaration of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

in 1898, many regular army and volunteer regiments were, once again, formed and outfitted at Jefferson Barracks. Jefferson Barracks was permanently designated as a recruiting depot in 1906; it had been used intermittently as such through generations.

World War I

On March 1, 1912, Jefferson Barracks became the main base for the first experiments in aviation parachuting. Albert Berry became the first person to successfully parachute from an airplane, which was being flown by Anthony Jannus over the field. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Jefferson Barracks served as a training and recruitment station for soldiers heading to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Jefferson Barracks was included in the

Sixth Corps Area Sixth Corps Area was a Corps area, effectively a military district, of the United States Army from 1921 to the 1940s. The headquarters was established at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, in August 1920, from portions of the former Central Department, but ...

from 1920 to 1940. During the 1930s, the Citizens Military Training Camp or CMTC was held at Jefferson Barracks. Young men could spend one month a year at the post being trained as a soldier, and after three years they could enter the military. Also during that time the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

(WPA) had camps at Jefferson Barracks.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Jefferson Barracks was a major reception center for U.S. troops being drafted into the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

. It also served as an important

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...

site for the Army, then later was the first Army Air Corps Training Site. Elements of the Central (later Eastern) Technical Training Command were stationed at the barracks. During World War II, Jefferson Barracks had a peak area of , and had billeting space for 16 officers and 1,500 enlisted persons. Jefferson Barracks was decommissioned as a military post in 1946 with the end of World War II.

Post-World War II

After Jefferson Barracks was decommissioned, portions of the grounds were sold off for construction of houses. Some of the

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

were acquired by the St. Louis County Housing Authority as temporary low-cost housing. Those were demolished in the 1960s and replaced by the current Jefferson Townhomes development. Bishop DuBourg High School was located on the Jefferson Barracks property for several years in the early 1950s. The former Jefferson Barracks School is now used for storage and maintenance; and the former theater is St. Bernadette Catholic Church. It is now the site of two St. Louis County Parks (Jefferson Barracks County Park and Sylvan Springs County Park), a National Guard Base (Army and Air), the

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery is an American military cemetery located in St. Louis County, Missouri, just on the banks of the Mississippi River. The cemetery was established after the American Civil War in an attempt to put together a fo ...

and the

Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

St. Louis Health Care System - Jefferson Barracks Division. Part of the hospital grounds were donated to the Mehlville School District in the 1960s to build Charles S. Beasley Elementary School. Today, the 135-acre National Guard post at Jefferson Barracks is home to the 70th Troop Command, the Missouri Army National Guard's largest brigade. The post is also headquarters for the Region 7 Homeland Response Force; the Missouri Air National Guard's 157th Air Operations Group and the 10th Psychological Operations Battalion of the U.S. Army Reserve. During the 1960s and 1970s, portions of Jefferson Barracks County Park were used as a landfill. During the 1980s, an annual balloon race was held in the park. Today, because of its large size, high school cross country races are often held in the park in the fall months, most notably the Hancock Invitational.

Museums

Jefferson Barracks Museums

Jefferson Barracks County Park includes the several museums, museums that house artifacts and history of Jefferson Barracks while it was an active United States Military Post. The Powder Magazine Museum focuses on the history of Jefferson Barracks from its inception in 1826 until its closure in 1946. The Old Ordnance Room, also once a powder magazine, features temporary exhibits with military themes. The Laborer's House Museum shows a typical mid 1800s family residence.

Missouri Civil War Museum

The Missouri Civil War Museum opened in the park in June 2013 after an eleven-year historic renovation of the 1905 Post Exchange and Gymnasium Building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum is the largest Civil War museum in the state of Missouri with over 22,000 square feet and two floors of exhibits. Displays focus on the state's role during the

and exhibit hundreds of remarkable artifacts from the Civil War. Additional galleries in the museum focus on the history of Jefferson Barracks, veterans organizations, and the Civil War in pop culture. The museum has also renovated the adjacent 1918 Post Exchange Building, which is used for museum educational and public programs.

Jefferson Barracks Telephone Museum

Besides its extensive collection of telephones manufactured from the 1900s through the 2000s, the Jefferson Barracks Telephone Museum also contains a working Central Office Step Switch, military telephones from World War II through the Vietnam War, hundreds of pieces of telephone-related equipment and tools, a telephone pole complete with climbing equipment, hundreds of pieces of telephone-related memorabilia from the 1880s through the 2000s, a large variety of novelty telephones, a special portable switchboard set up when U.S. Presidents Carter, Ford, Nixon and Johnson were visiting St. Louis and a sculpture of Alexander Graham Bell and history of the invention of the telephone. The building housing the museum was constructed as a two-story duplex by Richard Deutman and Son architects and is one of two remaining structures that was part of Officers’ Row located on the north side of the former parade grounds. The self-guided, accessible museum has many hands-on, how-things-work displays.

Army Units Organized at Jefferson Barracks

# United States Regiment of Dragoons – March 4, 1833 # 2nd Regiment of Dragoons – May 23, 1836 #

Regiment of Mounted Riflemen The 3rd Cavalry Regiment, formerly 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Brave Rifles") is a regiment of the United States Army currently stationed at Fort Cavazos, Texas. The regiment has a history in the United States Army that dates back to 19 ...

– October 12, 1846 # U.S. 4th Cavalry Regiment – March 26, 1855 (Originally 1st Cavalry Regiment) # U.S. 22d Infantry Regiment – December, 1865 (Originally 3rd Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment)

Air Force Units Organized at Jefferson Barracks

# 157th Air Operations Group # 131st Tactical Fighter Group, later 131st Fighter Wing, now 131st Bomb Wing # 239th Combat Communication (CBCS) Squadron # 266 Ground Electronics Engineering Installation Agency (GEEIA) Squadron. # 218th Engineering Installation Squadron # 131st Force Support Squadron # 231st Civil Engineer Flight #131st Civil Engineer Squadron

References

Works cited

External links

Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis County Parks
{{Authority control Mexican–American War forts Forts in Missouri Buildings and structures in St. Louis County, Missouri Forts on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri American Civil War hospitals American Civil War forts Missouri in the American Civil War World War I sites in the United States World War II sites in the United States Military installations in Missouri Installations of the United States Army Air Forces Installations of the United States Army National Guard Works Progress Administration in Missouri 1826 establishments in Missouri Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri 1946 disestablishments in Missouri National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis County, Missouri American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places Tourist attractions in St. Louis