20 MARCH 1959
FROM A PAPER BY HELEN R. CULBERTSON
TODAY, 1959, THE ARMY HAS BEEN STREAMLINED, MECHANIZED , AIRBORNE AND EVERY
EFFORT MADE TO REDUCE THE RED TAPE, AVOID DUPLICATION AND CHANGE THE
OUT-MODED METHODS OF OPERATION. WE ARE AWARE HOW MUCH THE PENTAGON IS
INVOLVED IN POLITICS JUST AS THE LOCATIONS AND THEN THE CONTINUANCE OF THE
SMALL ARMY POSTS WERE. THEY HAD THEIR DAY , BUT ALONG WITH SUNDAY BAND
CONCERTS, STREET CARS, THE ARMY MULE, AND THE CAVALRY HORSES, THOSE DAYS
ARE NO MORE. THEY BELONGED TO AN ERA WE LIKE TO SENTIMENTALLY CALL " THE
GAY NINETIES".
IN WRITING A HISTORY OF THE FORT THOMAS ARMY POST, IT IS NECESSARY TO GO
BACK MANY YEARS AND EXPLAIN WHY A POST CAME INTO EXISTENCE IN A
NON-STRATEGIC LOCATION.
LATE IN THE 18TH CENTURY, CINCINNATI, THEN CALLED LOSANTIVILLE, WAS RAPIDLY
GROWING UNDER THE PROTECTION OF FORT WASHINGTON. THE NEWPORT TOWN COUNCIL
IN 1803, REALIZED THAT A MILITARY POST WAS NEEDED ON THE SOUTH BANK OF THE
OHIO RIVER IF THE COMMUNITY WAS TO SURVIVE. APPLICATION WAS MADE TO THE WAR
DEPARTMENT TO ESTABLISH A POST AND WHEN FAVORABLE REPLY WAS RECEIVED, THE
LAND BELONGING TO MR. JAMES TAYLOR WAS PURCHASED AND A DEED TO THE UNITED
STATES FOR THE SITE TO BE KNOWN AS NEWPORT BARRACKS WAS ISSUED. THE
TRANSACTION CONSISTED OF THE TITLE TO FIVE ACRES AND SIX SQUARE POLES FOR
THE CONSIDERATION OF $1.00.
A MONTH LATER, AUGUST 1803, GENERAL JAMES SCOTT, AN AGENT OF THE
GOVERNMENT, PURCHASED A SMALL STRIP OF LAND ADJOINING THE GARRISON. A
MILITARY POST, MAGAZINE, AND ARSENAL WERE ESTABLISHED. THE NAME, NEWPORT
BARRACKS, WAS NOT QUITE AS IMPOSING AS FORT WASHINGTON ACROSS THE RIVER BUT
IT WAS DEVELOPED AS A PARADE GROUND WITH OFFICERS QUARTERS, BARRACKS,
WAREHOUSES AND NO FORTIFICATIONS.
� THE NEWPORT BARRACKS WAS USED IN 1811 AS A SUPPLY DEPOT FOR AMMUNITION
AND PROVISIONS FOR GENERAL HARRISON AT VINCCENNES. THE 4TH INFANTRY TRAINED
HERE FOR SIX MONTHS UNDER THE COMMAND OF GENERAL BOYD BEFORE TAKING PART IN
THE BATLE OF TIPPECANOE. IN 1812, PRISONERS OF WAR WERE KEPT AT THE
BARRACKS AND IT IS REPORTED THAT THEY WERE EMPLYED HELPING THE VILLAGE
BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS AND NEIGHBORING FARMERS.
THE POST WAS USED AS A GENERAL DEPOT, BOTH FOR RECRUITING AND AS A MEETING
PLACE FOR " THE REGULARS".� IT WAS FINALLY UTILIZED AS MILITARY
HEADQUARTERS FOR THE SOUTHERN MILITARY DISTRICT.
AFTER SEVERAL FLOODS AND PARTICULARILY THE GREAT OHIO FLOOD OF 1884, IT WAS
NECESSARY TO MOVE THE POST. FOR SOME YEARS AFTER MOVING THE BARRACKS THE
PROPERTY WAS USED AS A PARK AND BAND CONCERTS WERE REGULARLY GIVEN ON THE
SITE.
IN 1887, GENERAL PHILLIP SHERIDAN, CHIEF OF STAFF, UNITED STATES ARMY, WAS
SENT TO KENTUCKY FROM WASHINGTON TO FIND A SUITABLE LOCATION FOR A POST TO
TAKE THE PLACE OF NEWPORT BARRACKS. EFFORTS WERE MADE BY THE CITIZENS OF
BOTH COVINGTON AND SOUTHGATE TO LOCATE THE NEW ARMY POST IN THEIR
COMMUNITIES. GENERAL SHERIDON, AS THE STORY GOES, WAS " WINED AND DINED "
BY MR. SAMUEL BIGSTAFF, WHO OWNED MUCH OF FORT THOMAS OR THE HIGHLANDS AS
THE TOWN WAS THEN CALLED.
AFTER BEING SHOWN THE MAGNIFICIENT VIEW OF THE OHIO AND MIAMI RIVER VALLEYS
FROM THE RIDGE, GENERAL SHERIDAN RECOMENDED THE PURCHASE OF 125 ACRES OF
LAND FOR AN ARMY POST AND HE WAS SAID TO HAVE BEEN SO ENTHUSIASTIC� THAT HE
CALLED IT THE " WEST POINT OF THE WEST '.
IN 1888 THE KENTUCKY LEGISLATURE GAVE THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
JURISDICTION OVER THE RESERVATION AND THE ACT WAS SIGNED BY GOVERNOR SIMON
BOLIVAR BUCKNER WHOSE SON, LT. GENERAL SIMON BUCKNER, ONE TIME STATIONED AT
THE FORT THOMAS ARMY POST, WAS KILLED IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC IN WORLD WAR II.
THE FORT THOMAS MILITARY POST WAS NAMED FOR GENERAL GEORGE HENRY THOMAS,
1816-1870, A VIRGINIAN, A WEST POINT GRADUATE, AND APPOINTED BY JEFFERSON
DAVIS, SECRETARY OF WAR IN 1855, AS A MAJOR IN THE SECOND CAVALRY. ONE OF
HIS REGIMENTAL SUPERIORS WAS ROBERT E. LEE. AT THE OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL
WAR GENERAL THOMAS STAYED WITH THE UNION. AT THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA, HE
GAINED THE NAME OF THE� " ROCK OF CHICKAMAUGA" BECAUSE OF HIS FIRMNESS.
COLONEL MELVILLE COCHRAN WAS THE FIRST COMMANDING OFFICER SENT TO THE POST.
IT WAS SAID THAT ASIDE FROM HIS MILITARY CAREER HE HAD TWO
PASSIONS-BASEBALL AND GARDENING. THE BALL TEAM, KNOWN AS "COCHRAN'S CHAMPS
" HAD QUITE A REPUTATION. THE COLONEL'S OTHER INTEREST WAS IN BEAUTIFYING
THE POST. THE ROWS OF TREES, BASIC SHRUBBERY, AND THE FLOWER BEDS ARE STILL
FROM THE ORIGINAL PLAN. HE HAD AS MANY AS SIX MEN FROM THE GUARD HOUSE TO
CARE FOR THE FLOWERS AND HE NEEDED LITTLE EXCUSE TO HAVE A MAN PUT IN THE
GUARD HOUSE SO HE COULD USE THE PRISONERS IN THE GARDEN.
THE FIRST TROOPS TO BE SENT TO FORT THOMAS WERE COMPANIES FROM THE 6TH
INFANTRY WHICH HAS BEEN WIDELY SCATTERED. THIS REGIMENT HAD BEEN ORGANIZED
IN 1789 AND HAD TAKEN PART IN THE MEXICAN AND CIVIL WARS AND IN THE INDIAN
CAMPAIGNS.
DURING THE YEARS, THE 3RD, 4TH, 2ND, 9TH, AND LAST OF ALL THE 10TH, WERE
STATIONED AT FORT THOMAS.
THE POST WAS DESCRIBED AS HAVING THIRTY-FIVE BUILDINGS, ITS OWN BAKERY,
CARPENTRY SHOP, STABLES AND CORRAL, MESS HALLS AND KITCHEN. THE MESS HALL
HAD TWENTY-ONE LONG TABLES SET WITH WHITE CHINA DISHES AND A SEPARATE TABLE
EQUIPPED WITH TIN PLATES FOR THE PRISONERS BUT THE FOOD WAS THE SAME FOR
ALL TABLES. THE DOUBLE BARRACKS BUILDINGS WITH COMPANY OFFICES HAD
BILLIARD, RECREATION AND READING ROOMS, AND GOOD DRINKING WATER WAS
AVAILABLE BUT NOT MUCH USED SINCE BEER WAS SERVED IN THE CANTEEN. THIS
DESCRIPTION WAS CARRIED IN THE CINCINNATI VOLKSBLATT IN JUNE 1894.
" THE SOLDIERS HAD FUR GLOVES, OVERCOATS AND CAPES--BUFFALO ROBES FOR THEIR
CARRIAGES, AND UNTILL 1896 WORE MCCLELLAND CAPS OF CIVIL WAR STYLE AND WERE
ARMED WITH SPRINGFIELD RIFLES OF 1871 VINTAGE. THEIR PAY WAS $13.00 PER
MONTH WITH DEDUCTIONS FOR THE SOLDIERS HOME. "
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR, FORT THOMAS WAS USED AS A
CENTER TO MOBILIZE TROOPS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION TO THE WAR ZONE. LATER THE
POST WAS USED AS A HOSPITAL CENTER FOR HUNDREDS OF MEN WHO HAD CONTRACTED
MALERIA AND TYPHOID FEVER. THESE MEN, MOSTLY VOLUNTEERS, HAD BEEN BROUGHT
FROM CHATTANOOGA TO NEWPORT ON THE L & N AND FROM THERE TO THE FORT ON THE
OLD GREEN LINE STREET CAR WHICH, AT THAT TIME, HAD SEATS RUNNING THE LENGTH
OF THE CAR, THUS ALLOWING THE PATIENTS TO BE LAID ON BOTH SEATS AND FLOOR.
IN 1911 THE 2ND INFANTRY LEFT FOR HAWAII AND THE FORT WAS ALMOST DESERTED
EXCEPT FOR A FEW REMAINING CARETAKERS. IN 1912 THE 9TH INFANTRY ARRIVED
FROM THE PHILLIPINES AND, ONCE AGAIN, THE POST WAS ACTIVE.
ON THE LARGE TOWER, WHICH WAS A WATER RESERVOIR, AT ONE OF THE ENTRANCES TO
THE POST ARE TWO BRONZE TABLETS PLACED THERE BY THE CITIZENS OF CINCINNATI,
COVINGTON AND NEWPORT IN HONOR OF THE MEMBERS OF THE 6TH INFANTRY WHO WERE
KILLED IN THE BATTLE OF SAN JUAN. ON ONE PLACQUE ARE THE NAMES OF 28
OFFICERS AND MEN. ON THE SMALLER OF THE TABLETS IS THE FOLLOWING.
" COLONEL HARRY CLAY EGBERT, USA BRIGADIER GENERAL, WEST VIRGINIA, WHO FELL
MORTALLY WOUNDED UPON THE BATTLEFIELD NEAR MALINTO, LUZON, MARCH 25, 1899,
WHILE HEROICALLY LEADING HIS REGIMENT, THE TWENTY- SECOND UNITED STATES
INFANTRY, AGAINST FILIPINO ENTRENCHMENTS-FOR THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS AN OFFICER
OF THE REGULAR ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, DISTINQUISHED IN THREE WARS OF
HIS COUNTRY, TWICE GRIEVOUSLY WOUNDED IN ACTION AT BETHESDA CHURCH,
VIRGINIA, 1864, AND AT SAN JUAN HILL, CUBA, JULY 1, 1893, WHEN HE COMMANDED
THE SIXTH REGIMENT, UNITED STATES INFANTRY. '
IN THE CINCINNATI TOBACCO MARKET THERE WAS A POPULAR FIVE CENT CIGAR " THE
COLONEL EGBERT'- A DUBIOUS BUT MORE POPULAR MEMORIAL BUT LONG SINCE
FORGOTTEN.
THE TWO BRONZE CANNONS ON STONE PEDESTALS IN FRONT OF THE TOWER ARE
TROPHIES OF THE CUBAN CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. THE CANNONS
WERE CAST IN A FOUNDRY AT BARCELONA, SPAIN, IN 1768-69. THEY WERE SECURED
BY ADMIRAL SAMPSON FROM SCUTTLED SPANISH SHIPS.
IN 1916 THE 9TH INFANTRY WAS SENT TO THE MEXICAN BORDER AND THE POST WAS
ONCE AGAIN DESERTED UNTIL THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR IN EUROPE WHEN IT WAS
TURNED INTO A RECRUIT AND INDUCTION CENTER.
IN 1922 THE 10TH INFANTRY WAS SENT TO FORT THOMAS FROM THE THEN CAMP KNOX.
IT IS RECORDED THAT THEY MARCHED OVERLAND AND THE MARCH TOOK SEVEN DAYS.
THE TENTH STAYED AT FORT THOMAS UNTIL IT WAS SENT TO FORT CUSTER, MICHIGAN,
AND FROM THERE TO ICELAND. COLONEL ARTHUR UNDERWOOD, WHO WAS THE COMMANDING
OFFICER, REMAINED AT FORT THOMAS THE POST COMMANDER.
BETWEEN WARS, OR PREPARATIONS FOR WAR, THERE WAS QUITE SOME SOCIAL LIFE ON
THE POST WHICH WAS ENJOYED BY THE ARMY AND THE CIVILIANS OF THE LOCAL AREA.
THERE WERE DANCES OR 'HOPS' AS THEY WERE CALLED, BRIDGE TOURNAMENTS,
SUPPERS AT THE OFFICER'S CLUB, THE TRADITIONAL NEW YEAR OPEN-HOUSE AND THEN
THERE WERE BAND CONCERTS, GUARD MOUNTS, FIELD DAYS, BOXING, AND BASEBALL
GAMES THAT ATTRACTED THE VISITORS.
IN MARCH 1933, AND AGAIN IN 1937, THE TENTH INFANTRY PARTICIPATED IN FLOOD
RELIEF. IN THE FALL OF 1938, THE NEW BARRACKS ON THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF
THE POST GROUNDS, NOW THE MAIN HOSPITAL AND ADMINISTRATION HEADQUARTERS OF
THE VA, WAS DEDICATED.
IN 1941 THE POST BECAME AN INDUCTION CENTER FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN
KENTUCKY, WESTERN WEST VIRGINIA AND SOUTHERN OHIO AND INDIANA.
IN THE FALL OF 1944 THE WAR DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHED AN ARMY AIR FORCE
CONVALESCENT HOSPITAL AT FORT THOMAS. IN THE SUMMER OF 1945 THE HOSPITAL
WAS ABANDONED BECAUSE CAMPBELL COUNTY DID NOT HAVE AN AIRPORT TO SERVE THE
HOSPITAL.
FROM SEPTEMBER 1945 TO JANUARY 1946 THE POST WAS VACANT UNTIL TAKEN OVER BY
THE ARMY ENGINEERS WHO GAVE UP THEIR COMMAND IN JUNE 1946. ON OCTOBER 1,
1946 THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION ESTABLISHED THE VETERANS REHABILITATION ON
THE GROUNDS OF THE POST.
THE FORT THOMAS ARMY POST WAS IN EXISTENCE FOR 56 YEARS AND NOW THE CITY
BEARS THE NAME AND COMMEMORATES THE NAMES OF GENERAL THOMAS AND THE FORMER
POST AND IS USED TO AID AND REHABILITATE THOSE, SOME OF WHOM WENT FROM THIS
POST INTO WAR.
THIS WAS TYPED FROM A PAPER BY HELEN R. CULBERTSON
ANY TYPING ERRORS ARE MY OWN
LAURA FROST WRIGHT
