Fort Belvoir

Fort Belvoir (1917-Present) - First authorized in 1917 as Camp Humphries and renamed Fort Humphries in 1922. Named after General Andrew A. Humphries, distinguished U.S. Civil War veteran. Renamed Fort Belvoir in G.O. 1, 14 Feb 1935. Active military installation.

Fort Belvoir Spanish Cannon in Front of Flagler Building	Fort Belvoir Entrance Sign
Fort Belvoir Parade and Flagler Building

Fort Belvoir History

Fort Belvoir Roadside Marker

In 1910 the U.S. Government purchased the 2,500 acre estate of Colonel William Fairfax on the Potomac River. In 1912 the War Department acquired the property for use as a training center.

World War I (1917-1918)

The War Department authorized the building of a camp on the property 23 Dec 1917 and construction began in January 1918. In May 1918 the post was designated an Engineering Training and Replacement Center (ERTC). The camp was hit hard by the 1918 Influenza epidemic with 4000 troops treated and a mortality rate of 35%. At the end of the war, the post was designated as a demobilization center on 3 Dec 1918 but was also made a permanent installation. Camp Humphries had trained some 50,000 enlisted engineers and commissioned about 4,900 officer candidates by the end of the war.

Camp Humphries was renamed Fort Humphries in 1922 and renamed Fort Belvoir in 1935.

World War II (1941-1945)

Fort Belvoir World War II Era Chapel

During World War II Fort Belvoir became a primary training site for U.S. Army Engineers along with Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri and Camp Abbot near Bend, Oregon. The post itself was built out with temporary World War II barracks and quarters for about 24,000 enlisted men and officers. As the war progressed the Fort expanded and additional courses were developed as new weapons were brought into the inventory. By the end of the war in 1945 the Engineer Replacement Training Center (ERTC) at Fort Belvoir had trained some 147,000 engineers.

In addition to the training of enlisted engineers some 22,000 officers were commissioned as second lieutenants in the Engineer Officer Candidate School (EOCS).

At the end of the war Fort Belvoir became a demobilization center and the ERTC and EOCS programs were discontinued. Both programs were reestablished during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. On 1 Jun 1988 the U.S. Army Engineer School was transferred to Fort Leonard Wood and the Military District of Washington took control of the post.

Current Status

Fort Belvoir Community Hospital

Active military installation housing a variety of Department of Defense and other tenants including the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.

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Location: Fairfax County, Virginia. Maps & Images Lat: 38.7083526 Long: -77.1463609 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 10'

Sources:

• Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 803

Links:

• North American Forts - Fort Belvoir
• Wikipedia - Fort Belvoir
• Official Site

Visited: 21 May 2013

Fort Belvoir Picture Gallery

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