Madison Barracks
1812 - 1946
Birthplace of Fort Drum
The first permanent U.S. military encampment in the North Country was established at Sackets Harbor during the War of 1812, to protect this valuable location.
Sackets Harbor was formally established in 1815 as a U.S. Army installation and named "Madison Barracks" for President James Madison.
Madison Barracks served as an imprtant U.S. Army garrison and training camp and was permanently occupied by the U.S. Army for 140 years. It was the premier military installation in the North Country. U.S. Grant was stationed at Madison Barracks twice, and General Mark Clark was born here in 1896. Madison Barracks trained and trained and dispatched American soldiers to the Civil War, The Spanish American War, the Philippines Insurrection of 1899-1902, World War I, & World War II.
The parade grounds at Madison Barracks had been perfectly adequate for the flintlock muskets of the War of 1812, but it was too small for the "modern" US Army. Beginning in 19.6 Colonel Philip Reade, commander of the 23rd U.S. Infantry and Madison Barracks, worked with numerous North Country community leaders to locate a new training ground. A location north of the Black River, locally known as Pine Plains, was selected. This would eventually become
Fort Drum.
With the expansion of Pine Camp during World War II, Madison Barracks was closed as a U.S. Army Installation in 1946.
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