The Fort Lee area, just east of Petersburg, Virginia, is one of the most historic in the U.S., dating back to 1645 when Fort Henry was established along the falls of the Appomattox River. The area figured prominently in both the American Revolution and the Civil War, and was ravaged in both. In 1917 Camp Lee was built as a training facility; it saw more than 60,335 soldiers pass through its gates on their way to battle during World War I. After the first World War, Camp Lee was taken over by the Commonwealth of Virginia and designated a game preserve. In October 1940, the post was resurrected, with construction beginning on 25 November. On 5 October 1941, the the Quartermaster School at the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot closed and the second Camp Lee became the center for both basic and advanced training of Quartermaster personnel. Official recognition of its permanent status as a center for Quartermaster training was obtained and the post was redesignated as Fort Lee in 1950. Today, Fort Lee is the site of three major Training and Doctrine Command interrelated missions: Combined Arms Support Command, Quartermaster Center and School, and Army Logistics Management College. The mission of the US Army Combined Arms Support Command and Fort Lee is to continually develop and evaluate service support concepts, doctrine, and planning factors for the Army, and to train the personnel who will provide the best in combat service support to soldiers and units in the 21st century. Fort Lee is also home of the Defense Commissary Agency.
Some WW I postcards of the camp are available at
available at:
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http://www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/new/camplee.html
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