Description

32 pages
Named in honor of Gen. Sam Houston, the illustrious patriot who commanded the forces which gave Texas its freedom, and who was its first president, The Post of Fort Sam Houston ranks as one of this Nation’s leading military establishments. Today it is for the third time within its history training and sending men into battle in their country’s defense. Fort Sam Houston, located at historic San Antonio, has a career which goes back to December 22, 1879, when its first permanent structure, the Quadrangle, was completed. This edifice still stands, and is today the headquarters for the Third Army. Despite the military bustle, the Quadrangle court still has a sylvan atmosphere with deer, swans, ducks and peacocks making their peaceful abode there. The Post saw its first war in the Spanish-American conflict of 1898 when, besides sending most of its troops off to war, it provisioned the Rough Riders being trained in San Antonio by Col. Theodore Roosevelt. Even before this it had served in many combat missions by providing troops to put down Indian uprisings. In 1886, the Apache medicine man, Geronimo; his son, Chappa, Chief Natchez and other Indian warriors captured by American troops in Arizona were brought to Fort Sam Houston for safe-keeping while en route to a camp in Florida. In 1909 the post was the proud host to the President of the United States, William Howard Taft, who came here to dedicate the Post Chapel. Fort Sam Houston was a cradle of military aviation. In 1910, a hangar was built here for an airplane which was flown by a young lieutenant named Benjamin Foulois, later to become a major general and chief of the Air Corps. The post continued to expand, covering more and more acres, with buildings being frequently added to serve the growing garrison. In 1916 a National Guard division was mobilized here for border duty. It was under the command of Major General Funston. With this Nation’s entry into World War I, Fort Sam Houston became one of the country’s leading army training camps, expanding to include a 2,118-acre cantonment area named Camp Travis. During the years of peace between World Wars I and II this post continued to serve the Nation well, its officers and men constantly engaged in studying and practicing the newest arts of war, developing new tactics and improving old. Today the post is again doing its part to send to the battlefronts men trained to be not the equal but the superior of our enemies.