Fort Douglas, Utah
Encyclopedia
Camp Douglas was established in October 1862 as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah
, for the purpose of protecting the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route
. In 1878, the post was renamed Fort Douglas. The fort was officially closed in 1991 and most of the buildings turned over to the University of Utah
. A small section of the original fort is used by the Army Reserve and includes the Fort Douglas Military Museum.
The increasing threat of violence was caused by the withdrawal of Federal troops from the West for action against the Confederacy
in the Civil War
. Colonel Patrick Connor
was selected to establish a military presence in the Utah Territory
and selected a site east of Salt Lake City, where Camp Douglas (named after Stephen A. Douglas
by Abraham Lincoln) was officially established on October 26, 1862. And Colonel Connor had brought volunteer troops from California and Nevada to Camp Douglas. During the Civil War, the post served as the headquarters of the District of Utah
in the Department of the Pacific
.
. The Fort's importance grew when the Union Pacific and Central Pacific
railroads joined rails at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869, completing the Transcontinental Railroad
.
, Fort Douglas became a regimental post.
, and took refuge from the Japanese at Guam
in December to refuel and take on provisions. Denied the fuel and provisions they requested, the Germans submitted to detention rather than return to sea. They became prisoners of war and were shipped to Fort Douglas when the U.S. declared war on Germany in 1917.
. The 38th remained at Fort Douglas until August 1940.
, when fears of a Japanese attack of the U.S. mainland caused the 9th Service Command Headquarters to be moved to Fort Douglas from the Presidio
in San Francisco. The most famous person to be stationed there was probably Samuel Moore Walton, founder of Walmart who served his military career there from 1943 to 1945.
, the Army began a slow divestiture of its lands at Fort Douglas to the University of Utah
, which is located directly adjacent to the Fort. However, the Fort maintained busy Reserve functions for several more decades, notably with the 96th ARCOM under the command of Maj. Gen. Michael B. Kauffman, who had spent much of his Army career at the Fort and was instrumental in keeping the Fort alive well past its announced closing in the 1970s. The Military Museum at Fort Douglas is housed in a building named after General Kauffman, who founded the Museum and built it into one of the United States' premier military museums featuring exhibits from all branches of the Armed Services.
On October 26, 1991, Fort Douglas officially closed, though the Utah National Guard
maintained control of the Military Museum and the 96th ARCOM received the parts of the Fort which were not deeded to the University of Utah.
During the 2002 Winter Olympics
in Salt Lake City, much of Fort Douglas was used as part of the Olympic Village
for the participating athletes.
A cemetery was established in 1862 about a mile south of the original parade grounds. In 1864, the soldiers at the post significantly improved the cemetery. They erected a monument in the center dedicated to the memory of the men killed at Bear River. They also constructed a red sandstone wall around the cemetery, with a steel gate located at the north end. The following year, a smaller monument was added for Utah Governor James D. Doty following his death and burial in the cemetery. Later, the cemetery was expanded to accommodate a larger number of burials, not only from Fort Douglas but also from Fort Cameron following its closure. A special section of the cemetery was also added for the German prisoners of war who died here during World War I.
The Fort Douglas Cemetery continues to be an active federal military cemetery, actively maintained. A list of cemetery burials is available through the Utah History Research Center's cemetery database.
in 1975.
Through the efforts of Maj. Gen. Michael B. Kauffman, a museum was established in 1976 inside one of the old stone barracks. Today, the Fort Douglas Military Museum is administered by the Utah National Guard and supported by the Fort Douglas Foundation, endeavoring to tell the story of the post, and Utah military history in general, through artifacts and photographs.
In June 2008, the museum is amidst a $4.3 million expansion.
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, for the purpose of protecting the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route
Central Overland Route
The Central Overland Route was a transportation route from Salt Lake City, Utah south of the Great Salt Lake through the mountains of central Nevada and the Basin and Range Province to Carson City, Nevada...
. In 1878, the post was renamed Fort Douglas. The fort was officially closed in 1991 and most of the buildings turned over to the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
. A small section of the original fort is used by the Army Reserve and includes the Fort Douglas Military Museum.
Establishment
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
in the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Colonel Patrick Connor
Patrick Edward Connor
Patrick Edward Connor was a Union General during the American Civil War. He was most famous for his campaigns against Native Americans in the American Old West.-Early life and career:...
was selected to establish a military presence in the Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
and selected a site east of Salt Lake City, where Camp Douglas (named after Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
by Abraham Lincoln) was officially established on October 26, 1862. And Colonel Connor had brought volunteer troops from California and Nevada to Camp Douglas. During the Civil War, the post served as the headquarters of the District of Utah
District of Utah
During the American Civil War, the District of Utah was a subordinate district of the Army's Department of the Pacific.On August 6, 1862, the Department of the Pacific absorbed the District of Utah, the territory of the former Department of Utah which had been discontinued on July 3, 1861; the...
in the Department of the Pacific
Department of the Pacific
The Department of the Pacific was a major command of the United States Army during the 19th century.-Formation:The Department of the Pacific was first organized on October 31, 1853, at San Francisco, California, taking over from the previous Pacific Division. The department reported directly to...
.
Regular Army arrives, 1866–74
Between 1866 and 1898, Fort Douglas was part of the Department of the PlatteDepartment of the Platte
The Department of the Platte was a military administrative district established by the U.S. Army on March 5, 1866, with boundaries encompassing Iowa, Nebraska, Dakota Territory, Utah Territory and a small portion of Idaho...
. The Fort's importance grew when the Union Pacific and Central Pacific
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...
railroads joined rails at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869, completing the Transcontinental Railroad
First Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
.
1878–1898
Through the efforts of Utah's U.S. Senator Thomas KearnsThomas Kearns
Thomas Kearns was a mining, banking, railroad and newspaper magnate. He was elected United States Senator from Utah from 1901 to 1905.- Immigration and mining :...
, Fort Douglas became a regimental post.
World War I
During World War I Fort Douglas was used as an internment camp for Germans living in the U.S. and also to house German naval prisoners of war. One of the crews was from the SMS Cormoran, which set sail from Tsingtao, ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and took refuge from the Japanese at Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
in December to refuel and take on provisions. Denied the fuel and provisions they requested, the Germans submitted to detention rather than return to sea. They became prisoners of war and were shipped to Fort Douglas when the U.S. declared war on Germany in 1917.
Interwar period
In 1922, Fort Douglas became the home of the 38th Infantry38th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 38th Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry regiment.-First 38th Infantry Regiment:The 38th Infantry was first established on July 28, 1866, as part of the Regular Army, one of six segregated, all-black regiments created following the Civil War...
. The 38th remained at Fort Douglas until August 1940.
World War II
Fort Douglas then became an Army Air Field and was home to the 7th Bombardment Group (B-17s). Fort Douglas reverted to an Army base after the attack on Pearl HarborAttack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, when fears of a Japanese attack of the U.S. mainland caused the 9th Service Command Headquarters to be moved to Fort Douglas from the Presidio
Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
in San Francisco. The most famous person to be stationed there was probably Samuel Moore Walton, founder of Walmart who served his military career there from 1943 to 1945.
Final years, 1945–1991
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Army began a slow divestiture of its lands at Fort Douglas to the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
, which is located directly adjacent to the Fort. However, the Fort maintained busy Reserve functions for several more decades, notably with the 96th ARCOM under the command of Maj. Gen. Michael B. Kauffman, who had spent much of his Army career at the Fort and was instrumental in keeping the Fort alive well past its announced closing in the 1970s. The Military Museum at Fort Douglas is housed in a building named after General Kauffman, who founded the Museum and built it into one of the United States' premier military museums featuring exhibits from all branches of the Armed Services.
On October 26, 1991, Fort Douglas officially closed, though the Utah National Guard
Utah National Guard
The Utah National Guard consists of the:* Utah Army National Guard**19th Special Forces Group **85th WMD CST**97th Troop Command**115th Engineer Group **211th Aviation Group**300th MI Brigade **640th Regiment...
maintained control of the Military Museum and the 96th ARCOM received the parts of the Fort which were not deeded to the University of Utah.
During the 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
in Salt Lake City, much of Fort Douglas was used as part of the Olympic Village
Olympic Village
An Olympic Village is an accommodation centre built for an Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials, athletic trainers, and other staff. Since the Munich Massacre at the 1972...
for the participating athletes.
Cemetery
The Fort Douglas Cemetery continues to be an active federal military cemetery, actively maintained. A list of cemetery burials is available through the Utah History Research Center's cemetery database.
Preservation and Museum
A majority of the fort was designated a National Historic LandmarkNational Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1975.
Through the efforts of Maj. Gen. Michael B. Kauffman, a museum was established in 1976 inside one of the old stone barracks. Today, the Fort Douglas Military Museum is administered by the Utah National Guard and supported by the Fort Douglas Foundation, endeavoring to tell the story of the post, and Utah military history in general, through artifacts and photographs.
In June 2008, the museum is amidst a $4.3 million expansion.
Sources
- Brigham D. Madsen, The Shoshoni Frontier and the Bear River Massacre (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1985)
- Charles G. Hibbard, Fort Douglas, Utah: A Frontier Fort (Vestige Press, 1999)
External links
- Historic Fort Douglas, University of Utah.
- Fort Douglas Military Museum Association
- http://www.pixpast.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=367&sid=126b9bc4f8209cef514c64ebd6c35a40, Original WW2 color photos from Fort Douglas 1944 (Ian Spring Photographic Collection).