The Department of the East was a military

administrative district Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

established by the

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 ...

several times in its history. The first was from 1853 to 1861, the second Department of the East, from 1863 to 1873, and the last from 1877 to 1913.

History

As part of a major reorganization of the Western Territories, after October 31, 1853 the division echelon was eliminated and the six western departments consolidated into four (Departments of Texas, New Mexico, the West, and the Pacific). The four departments (1st-4th) of the Eastern Division were similarly consolidated into the Department of the East, with boundaries encompassing all the states east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. It remained thus until August 17, 1861, when the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, created a need for a vast increase in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

and more departments to administer them and the Department of the East was discontinued. On January 3, 1863, the Department of the East was revived, to administer the many districts and posts created by the Civil War in New York,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and the states of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

. It became subordinate to the

Military Division of the Atlantic Military Division of the Atlantic, was one of the military divisions of the U. S. Army created by GENERAL ORDERS No. 118. on June 27, 1865 at the end of the American Civil War. President Andrew Johnson directed that the United States was to be divid ...

, from 1865 to 1866 and the Division of the Atlantic, in 1868 until this department was discontinued in 1873. Again the Department of the East was revived in 1877, once again subordinate to the Division of the Atlantic, until the Division was discontinued in 1891. In 1911, it became subordinate to a new Eastern Division, until the Department of the East was discontinued 1913, being replaced by the Eastern Department. The

Panama Canal Department The Panama Canal Department was a department (geographical command) of the United States Army, responsible for the defense of the Panama Canal Zone between 1917 and 1947. First U.S. Army presence The Isthmian Canal Commission and the Panama Ca ...

was created as a separate formation on 26 June 1917 by separation from the Eastern Department. The

24th Aero Squadron The 24th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I. The squadron was assigned as an Army Observation Squadron, performing long-range, strategic reconnaissance over the entire len ...

returned to the United States on or about 1 August 1919 and reported to Mitchell Field, on Long Island, New York. However, the squadron was sent to Park Field, near Memphis, Tennessee, where personnel were de-mobilized and returned to civilian life.Hagdedorn, Dan (1995), Alae Supra Canalem: Wings Over the Canal, Turner Publishing, AFHRA document 00055928, 24th Aero Squadron (Observation), 1917–1919
/ref>AFHRA document 00055929, 24th Fighter Squadron, 1917–1919
/ref> It was carried as an administrative unit seemingly under the Eastern Department, however, it was not re-manned and was finally inactivated on 1 October 1919. The Eastern Department was discontinued when the Army's command was reorganized by the 1920 amendment to the 1916 Defense Act. It was replaced by the Second Corps Area.

Headquarters

The headquarters of the 1853–1861 Department of the East in 1861 was

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

, except for the few years under the command of Gen. Bankhead, when he made his headquarters at

Fort McHenry Fort McHenry is a historical American coastal pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack ...

, in Baltimore, Maryland. The headquarters of the last Department of the East was originally located in leased office space in New York City until 1878, when the War Department relocated all headquarters functions across the country to army posts due to economic considerations. The headquarters was relocated to

Fort Columbus A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, renamed

Fort Jay Fort Jay is a coastal bastion fort and the name of a former United States Army post on Governors Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. Fort Jay is the oldest existing defensive structure on the island, and was named for John Jay, a memb ...

in 1904 on

Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...

in New York Harbor.

1853–1861 Department of the East commanders

* Major. Gen. John E. Wool 1853–1854 * Bvt. Brig. Gen. James Bankhead 1854–1856 * Major. Gen. John E. Wool 1857 – Aug 17, 1861

1863–1873 Department of the East commanders

* Major. Gen. John E. Wool January 3, 1863 – July 18, 1863 * Major. Gen. John A. Dix, July 18, 1863 – June 27, 1865David Stephen Heidler, Jeanne T. Heidler, David J. Coles, Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History, W. W. Norton & Company, Sept. 1, 2002, p. 587 * Major. Gen.

Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker (November 13, 1814 – October 31, 1879) was an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. Hooker had serv ...

June 27, 1865 – August, 1866 * Major. Gen.

George Gordon Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. He ...

, August, 1866 – January 2, 1868 * Major. Gen. Thomas W. Sherman January 2, 1868 – July 16, 1868 * Major. Gen.

Irvin McDowell Irvin McDowell (October 15, 1818 – May 4, 1885) was a career American army officer. He is best known for his defeat in the First Battle of Bull Run, the first large-scale battle of the American Civil War. In 1862, he was given command ...

July 16, 1868 – December 16, 1872

1877–1913 Department of the East commanders

In 1878, the War Department directed that all departmental commands, if not located on a post, were to give up leased office space and off-post housing allowances and relocate headquarters and staff to the nearest Army post. In New York City, the headquarters was moved to

in New York Harbor. * 1878

Winfield S. Hancock Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a United States Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service ...

* 1886 John M. Schofield * 1888 Oliver O. Howard * 1891 John M. Schofield * 1891 Oliver O. Howard * 1894

Nelson A. Miles Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925) was an American military general who served in the American Civil War, the American Indian Wars, and the Spanish–American War. From 1895 to 1903, Miles served as the last Commanding Gen ...

* 1895 Thomas H. Ruger * 1897

Wesley Merritt Wesley Merritt (June 16, 1836December 3, 1910) was an American major general who served in the cavalry of the United States Army during the American Civil War, American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier ...

* 1898 20 May to 2 July Royal Thaxter Frank * 1898 2 July to 24 October George L. Gillespie * 1898

William R. Shafter William Rufus Shafter (October 16, 1835 – November 12, 1906) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who received America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Fair Oaks & Darbyto ...

* 1899

* 1900

John R. Brooke John Rutter Brooke (July 21, 1838 – September 5, 1926) was one of the last surviving Union generals of the American Civil War when he died at the age of 88. Early life Brooke was born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and was educated in nearby Co ...

* 1902 Arthur MacArthur * 1902 Adna R. Chaffee * 1903 Henry C. Corbin * 1904 Frederick D. Grant * 1904 James F. Wade * 1907 Frederick D. Grant * 1908

Leonard Wood Leonard Wood (October 9, 1860 – August 7, 1927) was a United States Army major general, physician, and public official. He served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba, and Governor-General of the Philipp ...

* 1910 Frederick D. Grant * 1912 Tasker H. Bliss * 1912 Thomas H. Barry

1913–1920 Eastern Department commanders

* 1913 Thomas H. Barry * 1914 Robert K. Evans * 1914

* 1917 J. Franklin Bell * 1917 Eli D. Hoyle * 1918 William A. Mann * 1918 J. Franklin Bell * 1919 Thomas H. Barry * 1919 Charles Justin Bailey

References

US Army Order of Battle, 1919–1941
chapter 2)

{{Union Army Formations

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

Government agencies established in 1853 Government agencies established in 1863 Government agencies established in 1877 1853 establishments in the United States