Fort Douglas, Utah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fort Douglas is a fort in Salt Lake City, Utah, established in 1862 for the purpose of protecting the overland mail route and telegraph lines from attacks from hostile Indians. 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 was officially established on October 26, 1862.
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.
For well over a century troops trained at Fort Douglas, fighting in all major battles of the late 19th and 20th centuries. In 1922, Fort Douglas became the home of the 38th Infantry. The 38th remained at Fort Douglas until August 1940.
During World War I Fort Douglas was used as an internment camp for Germans living in the US and also to house German naval prisoners of war. One of the crews was from the SMS Cormoran that set sail from Tsingtao, China and was captured at Guam.
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 Harbor, 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.
After World War II, 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.
In 1970, a majority of the fort was designated a National Historic Landmark.
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.
[edit] References
- Historic Fort Douglas, University of Utah.
- Fort Douglas Military Museum Association
- Fort Douglas, Utah, A Frontier Fort, by Charles G. Hibbard (Vestige Press, 1999)
