U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
installation located northeast of
Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located across the Red River from the larger Alexandria. Pineville is hence part of the Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,555 at the 2010 cens ...
, primarily in
Rapides Parish
Rapides Parish () (french: Paroisse des Rapides) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,613. The parish seat is Alexandria, which developed along the Red River of the South. ''Rapides' ...
, but also extending northward into Grant Parish. It is operated and owned by the
Louisiana National Guard
The Louisiana National Guard is the armed force through which the Louisiana Military Department executes the U.S. state of Louisiana's security policy. Consisting of the Louisiana Army National Guard, a reserve component of the United States Army; ...
as one of their main training areas.
The current base covers and is home to many different units and elements of the Louisiana Army National Guard. The camp was named for Louisiana native and Confederate
General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 - February 20, 1893) was a Confederate general officer of Louisiana Creole descent who started the American Civil War by leading the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is commonl ...
. Camp Beauregard is one of ten U.S. Army installations named for former Confederate Generals.
The beginnings of the existing post date back to 1917, when the
War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* D ...
authorized the building of more than thirty camps around the country to train troops for
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. The 17th Division was organized in 1918 as a National Army division for World War I. The 17th Division included the 33rd Infantry Brigade (September 1918-February 1919), with the
5th
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.
Fifth or The Fifth may refer to:
* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth"
* Fifth column, a political term
* Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...
and 83rd Regiments, and the 34th Brigade with the 29th and 84th Regiments. The 5th Infantry Regiment was assigned on 27 July 1918 to the 17th Division and relieved on 10 February 1919. The 17th Division was intended to be a replacement and school division. The 17th Division did not go overseas and demobilized in February 1919 at Camp Beauregard. In 1919, the camp was abandoned and given to the state.
In 1940, Camp Beauregard was returned to the U.S. government for use as a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
training area. During this time period Beauregard became very busy. The area had been effectively
deforested
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
in previous years and was unusable for agriculture. The camp, and several tens of thousands of acres of surrounding land, including
Camp Claiborne
Camp Claiborne was a U.S. Army military camp in the 1930s continuing through World War II located in Rapides Parish in central Louisiana. The camp was under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Eighth Service Command, and included 23,000 acres (93 k ...
,
Camp Livingston
Camp may refer to:
Outdoor accommodation and recreation
* Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site
* a temporary settlement for nomads
* Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...
, Camp Cook,
Fort Polk
Fort Polk is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish.
It was named to honor Leonidas Polk, the firs ...
and what is now
Esler Regional Airport
Esler Field,
also known as Esler Regional Airport , is a military and public use airfield in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States, near the City of Pineville. It is located 10 nautical miles (12 statute miles, 19 kilometres) northeast ...
were used for the
Louisiana Maneuvers
The Louisiana Maneuvers were a series of major U.S. Army exercises held in 1941 in northern and west-central Louisiana, an area bounded by the Sabine River to the west, the Calcasieu River to the east, and by the city of Shreveport to the nort ...
, a training exercise involving almost 500,000 men, preparing for the battles of World War II. Two-thirds of the U.S. military rotated through these war games. A large part of the
State of Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, centered on these large camps, became almost an occupied territory. After World War II, the camp was returned to the state, which used it as a training area for two years and then deactivated it.
In 1973, the camp was reactivated, and became one of the premier military training areas in Louisiana. Since then, most of the old buildings have either been torn down or remodeled, and many new buildings have been constructed.
The 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Louisiana Army National Guard often makes use of the Camp's training and lodging facilities. The 225th Engineer Brigade, the largest engineer group in the army, has its headquarters in Camp Beauregard. The 199th Regiment (RTI) is headquartered in Camp Beauregard as well.
The Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections operated the
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforc ...
Tactical Operations Center maintains a small, full-time operational cadre of its Special Operations Group.