Fort Leavenworth Kansas - History and Hauntings

Fort Leavenworth - Page 2

Between 1866 and the end of the Indian Wars in the 1890s , the Frontier Army was engaged in over one thousand battles and skirmishes with Native Americans. The Indians wanted to maintain their lands and freedom, and the United States government wanted to place the Indians on reservations. With the constant breaking of treaties and an inability to send the Indians promised supplies, the Indians did not feel compelled to keep treaties on their own end. Fort Leavenworth was directly involved in the Indian Wars through 1878, when Chief Joseph's Nez Perce tribe was detained at the fort after their defeat in 1877.

In 1875, the United States Disciplinary Barracks were established and continued operations through 2002, when a new barracks was built. The barracks are the only maximum-security prison in the Department of Defense, serving all branches of the military.

The old barracks at one time held more than 1,000 prisoners, though the new building houses just a little over 500. In later years, the barracks became the temporary home of many Nazi prisoners before they were executed at the Fort. "Rocky” Graziano got his start in boxing at the barracks.

Chief Joseph, of the Nez Perce

This image available for photographic prints HERE.

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Old Disciplinary Barracks, November, 2003, Kathy Weiser

With the end of the Indian Wars, the fort transformed itself into an integral part of the Army’s new officer education system as well as a worldwide model for military corrections. In 1881, General William T. Sherman established the School of Application for Cavalry and Infantry, which later evolved into the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

In 1881, the school that was later to become the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College was founded on Fort Leavenworth by General William T. Sherman. Some of the many famous students and instructors at the college are George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, Colin Powell and George Patton.

In 1885, the Wadsworth of Old Soldiers Home was built, and later became the Veterans Administration Center. In 1893, the Immanuel Chapel, made famous in Ripley's 'Believe It or Not,' was built on the VA grounds.

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Historic building at the VA Hospital courtesy

Preservation Association of Leavenworth.

In the years between the World Wars, graduates of the Fort Leavenworth General Staff College included such officers as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar N. Bradley and George S. Patton. During World War II, some 19,000 officers completed various courses at Fort Leavenworth. By the end of 1943, commanders and staffs of 26 infantry, airborne and cavalry divisions had trained as teams at the school.

The post is still operative as the 35th Infantry Division is stationed there. Fort Leavenworth is located two miles north of the city of Leavenworth on Hwy 73 in the northeastern corner of Kansas.

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