Missives from Yesteryear
THE UNITED STATES deployed a total of 24 army corps overseas during the Second World War; all but one were still active at the end of the conflict. Ironically, the one that was demobilized, I Armored Corps, played a key role in America’s preparations for war. It was also commanded by one of the U.S. Army’s most famous generals: George S. Patton, Jr. The first corps to see action in Europe, I Armored Corps remains largely forgotten today.
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Originally published in the February 2023 edition of Greet Del Ray.
When Lt. William Reatus Harmon (10th Cavalry) passed away in 1886, he left behind his sons William E. and Clifford as orphans. Young William left medical school in Louisville, Kentucky to help support his younger brother by working in their uncle Charles Edric Wood’s store in Lebanon, Ohio. Wood quickly realized that the older Harmon brother was a particularly adept salesman. When William developed a scheme to sell real estate, Charles decided to provide the financial backing, and the three of them formed Wood, Harmon & Company.
William recognized a growing trend in America. Well to do families wanted to move away from the filth and crowds of the city and live in homes comfortably spread apart with a small yard or garden. William planned to buy a large tract of land just outside of a major city and divide it up into individual lots for single family homes. With Charles’ backing, William purchased their first tract of land in 1887, and they developed the subdivision of Branch Hill next to the rail lines northeast of Cincinnati. Their business plan proved wildly successful, and they eventually expanded into one of the biggest real estate companies in the world, with multiple subdivisions in 31 different cities.
Charles E. Wood moved to Washington, D.C., in 1893, and bought tracts of land just outside of Washington and Alexandria. The former he subdivided into the community of Woodmont, which is now a part of Bethesda located just off Wisconsin Ave. The latter he subdivided into the communities of Del Ray and St. Elmo, which went on sale May 5 th , 1894. After succeeding with these communities, Charles bought more land in Virginia and created the subdivision of Clarendon in 1900. Charles permanently resettled to Washington, D.C. and became involved in a variety of business ventures, included a highly publicized 1906 plan to build the new luxury hotel across the street from the Willard Hotel. Although this plan never materialized, Charles continued to be a successful businessman, serving on the board of directors for several companies and financial institutions. Charles and his wife Eurnie lived comfortably at 2031 Florida Ave, NW until his death on February 17 th , 1908.
The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801 created two counties with the District of Columbia: Washington County on the east side of the Potomac River and Alexandria County on the west side. A variety of poltical maneuvering led to retrocession of Alexandria County back to Virginia in 1846. After the Civil War, Virginia adopted the Underwood Constitution of 1869, which created magisterial districts within each county. Alexandria County had three districts: Washington District was roughly the area north of I-66; Jefferson District was roughly the area south of Arlington Cemetary and I-395; and Arlington District was in the center of the county.
The new Virginia constitution also allowed cities over 10,000 people to cede from the county and become independent. Alexandria City promptly took advantage of this clause and ceded from Alexandria County in 1870, taking away the southern tip of Jefferson District. The subsequent tension and confusion between Alexandria City and Alexandria County led to the latter changing its name to Arlington County in 1920.
In the late 1890s, Jefferson District began filling in with suburbs of Alexandria, such as Del Ray and St. Elmo (which became the Town of Potomac), Rosemont, Braddock Heights, Mt. Ida, George Washington Park and North Alexandria. As most of the population in these suburbs worked in or had other ties to Alexandria City, the city began annexing these areas in the early 20th Century. In 1915, the first annexation trimmed more off the southern end of Jefferson District, absorbing Rosemont and parts of Braddock Heights by pushing the western boundry of the city from West Street out to the foot of Ivy Hill. During the 1920s, Alexandria successfully lobbied to extend its northern border, and on January 1st, 1930, the area of Jefferson District south of Four Mile Run was also annexed into the City of Alexandria.
Arlington County leaders fought to avoid this annexation. Among other efforts, they successfully pursued an amendment to the Virginia Constitution in 1928, which allowed alternative forms of county government. Once this amendement was passed, they sought legislature which allowed Arlington to assume a County Manager form of government, much like a city government. Arlington County adopted this form of government in 1932, abolishing the magisterial districts within the county. Although too late to stave off the annexation of most of Jefferson District, the new form of government effectively blocked further annexation by eliminating the ability of a magisterial district to vote independently of the rest of the county. Arlignton County officials publicly touted this change as a means to "safeguard Arlington County from further annexation by the City of Alexandria."
The Alexandria Light Infantry was formed in 1878 as a local militia unit. The unit, which was a private organization at that time, owned an armory at 200 South Royal Street. Under the Dick Act of 1903, all local militias were incorporated into the National Guard, and the president was given the authority to federalize them in emergencies. When Pancho Villa raided Texas in early 1916, the federal government decided to launch a punative expedition across the border. President Wilson exercised the authority to federalize the National Guard for the first time in order to provide border security while the regular army was in Mexico. The mass mobilization of the National Guard and deployment to the Mexican border also served as an important dress rehersal for America's mobilization for World War I.
The Virginia Volunteers reorganized several times between 1878 and 1916. By 1916, the Alexandria Light Infantry was Company G of the 1st Virginia Infantry Regiment. When the call for mobilization came, the city turned out to bid their militia a farewell. On 28 June 1916, a procession of city officials, dignitaries and even two veterans of the 1846 war with Mexico marched to the armory and escorted the troops to the train waiting for them on the siding at Fayette and Cameron Streets. Last minute enlistments brought the membership of the Alexandria Light Infantry up to 90 people, and recruiting continued after their departure for Richmond. After review in Richmond (during which several soldiers were dismissed as physically unfit), the entire Regiment deployed to area around Brownsville, Texas, to patrol the border and practice a variety of military drills, including trench warfare which had become prevelant in Europe.
On the eve of the company's departure, the city also took over ownership of the armory and assumed the mortgage for it. The city assumed responsibility for several repairs and upgrades and began using the drill space as a public basketball and volleyball court when not in use for military purposes. In 1941, the armory served as a USO center, but it was destroyed by fire in 1953. Today, the Armory Tot Lot stands on the site.
The deployment to Texas was relatively uneventful, and the troops returned home by January 1917. However, only six months later, the National Guard was again mobilized after America joined the war in Europe. Lessons learned during the deployment to the Mexican border were applied to the mobilization for World War I. The 1st, 2nd and 4th Virginia Infantry Regiments were reorganized into the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Division, and the veterans of the border deployment applied the skills they learned there to the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.
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A long standing dispute between the Town of Potomac and the City of Alexandria over legal jurisdiction on Jefferson Davis Highway was settled in March 1925. Town officials had posted 15 MPH signs, and the Town Sergeant was arresting motorists for excessive speed. However, upon arrest, the motorists were being taken to the Alexandria jailhouse, leaving the impression that City officials were arresting them. Mayor Smoot of Alexandria complained to Mayor Yates of Potomac about the practice and questioned the Town's authority to set speed limits on the highway. On 21 March 1925, the Town Council implemented new procedures incarcerating offenders at Town Hall until they were transfered to the Arlington County jail. The State Highway Commission subsequently upheld the Town of Potomac jursidication over offenses committed within one mile of the town limits.
By May 1925, the Town of Potomac began planning to erect a modern jail and town hall, including a fire house, offices and auditorium. A committee began exploring options, and a bond issue was passed in a special election at the end of July 1925. The sale of $24,000 in bonds partially funded the erection of a new town hall. By October, the Town Council authorized architects to design the building, and ground was broken on construction in January 1926. The Town Hall was opened in time for the June 1926 election, which passed another bond for $15,000 to clear the debts for the construction. This election also saw Mayor Charles Adams unseated by William Kleysteuber in a hotly contested race. The new mayor was voted into office by a margin of 18 votes.
