Jefferson Barracks Military Post

Jefferson Barracks Military Post was open in 1826 to replace Fort Bellefontaine 1806-1826. In 1825, General Edmund P. Gaines, Commander of the Western Department of the Army, Brig. General Henry Atkinson, commanding officer of the sixth infanty regiment, William Clark, and Governor of Missouri John Miller spent several days searching the banks of the Mississippi River for the perfect location for a new post. A site near the city of "Vide Poche" or Carondelet, ten miles south of St. Louis, 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)commanded by Brevet Major Steven Watts Kearny arrived at the new post and started building temporary quarters that they names Cantonment Miller in honor of Governor John Miller. In 1827 the military post was named Jefferson Barracks in honor of Thomas Jeffersonwho had died the year before. Jefferson Barracks was the countries for "Infantry School of Practice" meaning it was the first basic training site for the Army.

The first conflict that the men of Jefferson Barracks were involved with was the "Black Hawk War" in 1832. Troops were deployed from Jefferson Barracks to push "hostile indians" back into village in present day Iowa. Black Hawk was captured and brought back to Jefferson Barracks.

In 1832, the United States Regiment of Dragoons mounted for speed, but trained to fight mounted or dismounted was the first unit of permanent calvary in the United States Army. They were formed and stationed at Jefferson Barracks.

Jefferson Barracks became a major military post during the Mexican War when it became a rest and supply station for the troops heading to Mexico.

During the Civil War Jefferson Barracks served as a military hospital for both sides and a recuitment depot for the north. In 1862 the construction of the Western Sanitary Commission's hospital facitlities 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 war over 5,000 sick and wounded had been admited and by the end of the war well over 18,000 had been at Jefferson Barracks Hospital.

On March 1, 1912 Jefferson Barracks was the site of the first parachute jump from a airplane.

During World War I, Jefferson Barracks served as a training and recruitment station for soldiers heading to Europe.

During the 1930s, the Civilian Military Training Corp or CMT was held at Jefferson Barracks. Young men could spend one month a year at the post being trained as a soldier, after three years they could enter the military. Also the WPA or Works Progress Adminstation had camps at Jefferson Barracks.

During World War II, Jefferson Barracks was a major reception center for troops being drafted into the military. It also served a a basic training site for the Army then later the first Army Air Corp Training Site.

Jefferson Barracks was decommissioned as a military post in 1946 with the end of World War II. It is now the site of a St. Louis County Park, National Reserve Base, the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and a Veterans Administation Hospital. St. Louis County Park included several museums that house artifacts and history of Jefferson Barracks while it was a active United States Military Post and the men that served there. [1]