Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $9.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Fort Riley
    Fort Riley
    Fort Riley
    Ebook177 pages2 hours

    Fort Riley

    By William McKale and Robert Smith

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Founded in 1853, Fort Riley was established to protect merchants and settlers on the Santa Fe and Oregon-California Trails. Fort Riley kept the peace during the Civil War and in 1893, a cavalry school began operation there. Fort Riley continued to train mounted troops during the Golden Age of Cavalry after World War I, but also served as a training site for more than 150,000 troops during the first and second World Wars. This collection of vintage images commemorating the sesquicentennial of Fort Riley is a colorful, patriotic reminder of the military post that has served the nation continuously since its founding 150 years ago.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateJul 21, 2004
    ISBN9781439614679
    Fort Riley
    Author

    William McKale

    William McKale is director of the Fort Riley Museum Division. His previous work includes articles on cavalry and military history, as well as Fort Riley, Citadel of the Frontier West, published in 2000 by the Kansas State Historical Society.

    Related to Fort Riley

    Related ebooks

    Travel For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Loose Lips

      Jan 17, 2023

      Loose Lips
      11 min read

    • Article

      Nashville

      Aug 5, 2021

      On the fog-shrouded morning of 15 December 1864, the soldiers of the 14th US Colored Troops broke through the thin screen of Confederate skirmishers posted in the rifle pits, in front of the Chattanooga & Nashville Railroad. After regrouping, they su

      11 min read

    • Article

      Crossing The ‘Rubicon’

      Jul 27, 2021

      Crossing The ‘Rubicon’
      14 min read

    • Article

      The Battle Of St Vith

      Feb 26, 2020

      The Battle Of St Vith
      6 min read

    • Article

      A New Kind Of Firepower

      Dec 29, 2020

      A New Kind Of Firepower
      7 min read

    • Article

      Grant’s Vicksburg Game Changer

      Feb 26, 2019

      Grant’s Vicksburg Game Changer
      10 min read

    • Article

      Trusted Musket

      Feb 13, 2024

      EARLY IN THE CIVIL WAR, the .69-caliber Model-1816/22 smoothbore musket was one of the top firearms to see regular use by both Federal and Confederate forces. Between 1816 and 1844, more than 800,000 versions of the musket (ranging from Type I to Typ

      2 min read

    • Article

      What Mac Did Right

      Jul 18, 2023

      What Mac Did Right
      5 min read

    • Article

      Long Walks

      Mar 1, 2022

      Long Walks
      4 min read

    • Article

      Wreckage

      Sep 25, 2018

      Wreckage
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Bloodiest Day

      Aug 15, 2023

      The Bloodiest Day
      7 min read

    • Article

      Slavery at Sea

      Dec 14, 2021

      Slavery at Sea
      10 min read

    • Article

      Fight For The Colors

      Jun 29, 2021

      Fight For The Colors
      19 min read

    • Article

      Wired For Success

      Oct 5, 2021

      Wired For Success
      9 min read

    • Article

      We Have Returned

      Mar 1, 2022

      We Have Returned
      3 min read

    • Article

      Battle’s Hard Aftermath

      Feb 14, 2023

      Battle’s Hard Aftermath
      11 min read

    • Article

      Dr. Gatling’s Wonder Weapon

      Dec 25, 2018

      Dr. Gatling’s Wonder Weapon
      7 min read

    • Article

      Human Collateral

      Mar 29, 2022

      Human Collateral
      5 min read

    • Article

      Boundless Devotion

      Mar 29, 2022

      Boundless Devotion
      4 min read

    • Article

      Before Rosie the Riveter…

      Feb 4, 2022

      Before Rosie the Riveter…
      4 min read

    • Article

      Hard-fought Victory

      May 23, 2023

      Hard-fought Victory
      12 min read

    • Article

      Cost Of War

      Apr 26, 2022

      Cost Of War
      4 min read

    • Article

      Patton’s End on Film

      Oct 11, 2022

      1970, 170 minutes Director: Franklin J. Schaffner Cast: George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates, Karl Michael Vogler This most famous film version of Patton’s life focuses on his World War II exploits from North Africa to the early months of the

      1 min read

    • Article

      Showdown On The Saint Lawrence

      Apr 12, 2022

      Showdown On The Saint Lawrence
      11 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Fort Riley

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Fort Riley - William McKale

      Smith

      INTRODUCTION

      Fort Riley’s History is One of Serving the Nation

      The history of Fort Riley largely corresponds to the ebb and flow of Army mission and appropriations. During the 1850s and the Civil War, the fort served as a staging area from which to project a military presence along overland trails and advancing settlements. As early as the spring of 1866, a cavalry colonel wrote that the frontier had passed the fort by. But he believed the post, because of its size and location, should eventually be used as a training ground for cavalry. During the lean years of the 1870s, when Congress slashed army appropriations and manpower to a minimum, army leaders, such as Generals William T. Sherman and Philip Sheridan, were adamant in their belief that this important piece of property should remain under the military’s control.

      The establishment of the Cavalry and Light Artillery School in 1892 was a step towards building a professionally trained mounted arm of service. The successor to this school, the Mounted Service School, further refined training of the individual soldier and officer, rather than the regiment. During this same period, Fort Riley was selected as one of the installations to host the first large-scale combined maneuvers between regular and National Guard units. The school and these training exercises underscored the fort’s continuing importance.

      The entrance of the United States into World War I focused importance on Fort Riley as a site to establish a divisional training center. The result was construction of Camp Funston where the Eighty-Ninth and Tenth Divisions, along with elements of the Ninety-Second Division, trained.

      During the inter-war years of the 1920s and 1930s, Fort Riley again resumed its traditional role of being a center for instruction, training, and summer camps. The Cavalry School and its graduates assumed a worldwide reputation. World War II placed unprecedented demands upon the nation’s ability to mobilize and train troops. Fort Riley was part of this effort with the construction of facilities at Camp Forsyth for the Cavalry Replacement Training Center, and the rebuilding of Camp Funston for use by armored divisions.

      The decade following World War II witnessed continued use of the fort as a center for training and education. The Army General Ground School was created and operated until 1950. This school taught new officers the common courses, such as map reading, company administration, and military law. The fort also operated the Army’s only Officers Candidate School. Yet another function of the fort during the Cold War years was operation of the Aggressor School. Similar to the OPFOR concept of today, aggressor cadre provided realistic enemy contact for unit training.

      Between 1948 and 1954, the Tenth Infantry Division was stationed at Riley and conducted basic training for new recruits. The service of the Tenth was especially important during the Korean Conflict.

      The stationing of the First Infantry Division at Fort Riley in 1955 was a new mission for the post and evidence of its adaptability. Focus continued to be directed on threats to our national interests from overseas. The deployment of troops to Southeast Asia in the mid-1960s again witnessed the fort assuming a role of being able to equip, train, and deploy soldiers to world hot spots. This was further evidenced with deployment of the First Infantry Division and other soldiers from Fort Riley during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991.

      In the mid-1990s, the First Infantry Division headquarters were transferred to Germany. By the end of the decade, the fort’s role as a power projection platform was once again recognized when the Twenty-fourth Infantry Division was reactivated here in 1999.

      Fort Riley became America’s Warfighting Center, a base for the mobilization, training, and deployment of soldiers. From Operation Desert Shield/Storm to Operatin Iraqi Freedom, Fort Riley soldiers continue to respond to the nation’s call.

      Today, the soldiers and military families that come to Fort Riley are a continuing link with the legacy of the past. Their service is in keeping with Fort Riley’s tradition of defending our nation and its freedoms.

      William McKale

      Fort Riley, KS

      27 June 2003

      One

      FRONTIER POST

      SIXTEENTH INFANTRY REGIMENT. Troops of the Sixteenth Infantry Regiment, along with the regimental band, prepare for a review, c. 1879. Dress parades and reviews brought together the splendor and pageantry of the frontier army. This picture shows the band on the extreme right and a company from the Sixteenth Infantry ready for review. Between 1877 and 1880, three companies of the Sixteenth garrisoned Fort Riley. These troops were under the command of Galusha Pennypacker, a famous Civil War hero, the youngest general officer ever appointed to the army, and the youngest colonel ever to command a regiment.

      FORT RILEY 1862. Fort Riley was a frontier outpost during the Civil War that occasionally served as a staging site for projected operations. Such was the case in the spring of 1862 when John Gaddis, Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry, produced this watercolor as he sat on the limestone outcroppings northwest of the Main Post area. This is the earliest known image of Fort Riley and is a view of the Main Post Parade Field from the northwest.

      FORT RILEY 1870. By the early 1870s, Fort Riley had developed into a substantial post. Some believed the fort’s usefulness was gone,

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1