Southwest Waterfront in Southwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Military Education at Fort McNair
River Farms to Urban Towers
| — | Southwest Heritage Trail | — |
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, June 27, 2009
1. Military Education at Fort McNair Marker
Fort Leslie J. McNair, to your right, honors the commander, Army Ground Forces during World War II who died in battle. It is the U.S. Army’s third oldest installation (after West Point and Carlisle Barracks).
The fort dates back to 1791. Washington City planner Pierre L’Enfant selected this site, where the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers meet, as ideal for a military installation. At first it was known as the Arsenal at Greenleaf’s Point, where the Army stored and distributed weapons. During the War of 1812, according to a contemporary newspaper report, a dozen British redcoats were killed when they accidentally set off gunpowder hidden down a dry well by a retreating American commander. In 1826 a U.S. penitentiary was added. In 1865, four of eight prisoners charged with conspiracy in President Lincoln’s assassination were hanged in its courtyard.
After the Civil War, the fort’s importance in the capital’s defenses declined. In 1881, the arsenal was closed and the fort stored Army uniforms and supplies. From 1893 until his death in 1902, yellow fever pioneer researcher, Dr. Walter Reed studied infectious diseases here in a small post hospital. In 1904 the Army War College was founded, opening the era of higher education for senior military personnel. In 2004 the eight divisions of the National Defense University include the National War College which opened in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. Fort McNair also is home to the Inter-American Defense College, established at the height of the Cold War to safeguard the Western Hemisphere.
Erected by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 13.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • War of 1812 • War, US Civil • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #16 Abraham Lincoln,
this page online
Location. Marker is missing. It was located near 38° 52.325′ N, 77° 1.02′ W. Marker was in Southwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It was in Southwest Waterfront. It was on P Street Southwest east of 4th Street Southwest, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 15 3rd Ave, Washington DC 20024, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker was in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It was also in the American Northeast, in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it was in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Linking the "Island" to the City (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Housing Reform and the Syphax School (about 400 feet away); Harbour Square (about 600 feet away); Walter Reed (about 600 feet away); Walter Reed 1851 - 1902
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, June 27, 2009
2. Military Education at Fort McNair Marker - photo on reverse
Two Civil War guns guard the waterfront where the Anacostia meets the Potomac at Washington Arsenal, now Fort McNair, 1862. (Library of Congress)
More about this marker. On the upper left is a photo of Cannon and rolling equipment of several batteries of the Excelsior Brigade of New York assembled inside the Arsenal Grounds, 1862.
To the right is a photo of Dr. Walter Reed was a professor and researcher at the Army Medical School here. A photo of a monument at the Congressional Cemetery is captioned During the Civil War, 21 women who made rifle cartridges lost their lives during an accidental explosion at the Arsenal. The event is memorialize in the Arsenal Monument at Congressional Cemetery on Capitol Hill. And below that On July 7, 1865, a crowd gathers in front of the gallows where four Lincoln assassination conspirators would soon be executed.
On the bottom is a photo of
The Neoclassical style Theodore Roosevelt Hall, designed by McKim, Mead, and White, is home to the National War College. Also a photo of Officers housing known as General’s Row lines the Ft. McNair parade
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, June 27, 2009
3. Military Education at Fort McNair Marker
across P Street from Fort McNair's northwest gate.
Also see . . .
1. Fort McNair. (Submitted on June 30, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
2. Lesley J. McNair. (Submitted on June 30, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
Photographed by J. Makali Bruton, April 19, 2025
4. Military Education at Fort McNair Marker
The marker has been removed and is missing.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 21, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 30, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 2,898 times since then and 32 times this year. Last updated on March 8, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 30, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 4. submitted on April 19, 2025, by J. Makali Bruton of Washington, District of Columbia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
