Camp Alger (2)

Camp Alger (2) (1898-1898) - A Spanish American War 2nd Corps training Camp established in 1898 near Dunn Loring, Fairfax County, Virginia. Named Camp Alger after Russell A. Alger, Governor of Michigan (1885-1887), U.S. Secretary of War (1897-1899) and later U.S. Senator from Michigan (1902-1907). The Camp was abandoned in 1898. Also known as Camp Russell A. Alger.

History of Camp Alger

Camp Alger was established early in May 1898 as a training camp for units of the 2nd Army Corps at the beginning of the Spanish American War. The camp site had been a 1,400 acre farm called Woodburn Manor with no improvements.

The Second Army Corps was constituted on 7 May 1898. Major General William M. Graham, was assigned as commander on 16 May 1898. Command of the new post fell to Brigadier General Francis L. Guenther (Cullum 1833) until General Graham arrived and took command on 21 May 1898. General Graham commanded the post until it was abandoned. The Second Army Corps was to be composed wholly of state volunteer troops who had been mustered in at their respective state camps. They began arriving by rail on 18 May 1898.

The camp was hurriedly built and lacked an adequate water supply and basic sanitation needs when large numbers of troops started to arrive. Camp officers struggled to get enough wells dug to supply the drinking water, bathing water, cooking water and sanitary water needs of the almost 23,000 men sent to the camp. In the end some 40 wells were dug before an adequate supply was established. The sanitary facilities were not complete when troops began to arrive and the troops used the nearby woods as a latrine. The failure to establish sanitary facilities and discipline on arrival inevitably led to disease and finally, after an epidemic of typhoid fever broke out in early August, to its abandonment later in the month. The troops were moved to Camp George G. Meade in Pennsylvania and the camp was abandoned. The sale of the land began in September 1898.

2nd Army Corps Units at Camp Alger

1st Division	2nd Division	3rd Division
1st Brigade 1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry 65th New York Volunteer Infantry 9th Battalion Ohio Volunteer Infantry 1 2nd Brigade 2 6th Illinois Volunteer Infantry 6th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry 9th Battalion Ohio Volunteer Infantry 1 3rd Brigade 13th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry 12th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry 8th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry	1st Brigade 159th Indiana Volunteer Infantry 22nd Kansas Volunteer Infantry 3rd New York Volunteer Infantry 2nd Brigade 6th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry 4th Missouri Volunteer Infantry 9th Battalion Ohio Volunteer Infantry 1 7th Illinois Volunteer Infantry 3rd Brigade 1st Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry 3rd Missouri Volunteer Infantry 2nd Tennessee Volunteer Infantry	1st Brigade (Separate Brigade) 3 9th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 33rd Michigan Volunteer Infantry 34th Michigan Volunteer Infantry 2nd Brigade 1st Connecticut Volunteer Infantry 3rd Virginia Volunteer Infantry
1 Moved between divisions and brigades 2 Saw combat in Puerto Rico 3 Saw combat in Cuba

Current Status

Marker only, no remains, Dunn Loring, Fairfax County, Virginia.

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Location: Dunn Loring, Fairfax County, Virginia. Maps & Images Lat: 38.86589696 Long: -77.20300913 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: .....'

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 802

Links:

• North American Forts - Camp Alger
• U.S. Gen Net - Camp Black
• Historic Marker Database - Camp Alger
• New York Times - Camp Alger Water Supply
• New York Times - Camp Alger Abandoned
• Wikipedia - Camp Alger
• Wikipedia - Second Army Corps

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