A site in Missouri, 10 miles (16 km) south of St. Louis, that for a time was the largest military base in the United States. A U.S. Army infantry school was first established there in 1826. Among the soldiers stationed at the post were the future Confederate general Robert E. Lee and the future Union general and U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant. It served as a hospital center during the Civil War, and in 1898 it was a training center for volunteers for the Spanish-American War (1898). During World Wars I and II, troops were inducted and mustered out there. The base was closed in 1946, but a national cemetery and a large military hospital still operate at the site.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
