Marker Name: Fort Leavenworth
Marker Type: Roadside
Marker text:
Established in 1827, Fort Leavenworth is the oldest army post in continous operation west of the Missouri River. Serving as the army’s chief base of operations on the Central Plains, the fort furnished troops and supplies for military operations as far away as the Pacific Coast. Troops stationed at the fort were given the task of maintaining peace on the frontier and protecting trade on the newly established Santa Fe Trail. With the establishment of the Oregon-California Trail in the 1840s, travelers on that trail also received protection.
In 1834 the fort became headquarters for the U. S. Dragoons, the army’s first permanent mounted regiment. With the onset of war with Mexico in 1846, the Army of the West organized at the fort for its epic journey to California and northern Mexico. When Kansas achieved territorial status in 1854, the first office of the territorial governor was at the fort. In 1881 General William T. Sherman established a school that evolved into the Command and General Staff College, the highest ranked school in the army educational system. One notable student, Major Dwight D. Eisenhower, graduated in 1926 with highest honors in his class.
Marker Location: Leavenworth
Name of agency setting marker: Kansas State Historical Society
Year Marker Placed: Not listed
Official Marker Number: Not listed
Marker Web Address: Not listed
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