Fort D. A. Russell (Wyoming)

Fort D. A. Russell
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Commanding Officer's Quarters, Fort David A. Russell
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Location	Laramie County, adjacent to west side of Cheyenne, Wyoming
Built	1867
NRHP Reference #	69000191
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 1, 1969
Designated NHLD	May 15, 1975

Fort D. A. Russell, also known as Fort Francis E. Warren, Francis E. Warren Air Force Base and Fort David A. Russell, was a post and base of operations for the United States Army, and later the Air Force, located in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The fort had been established in 1867 to protect workers for the Union Pacific Railroad. It was named in honor of David Allen Russell, a Civil War general killed at the Battle of Opequon. In 1930, the fort's name was changed to Fort Francis E. Warren. In 1949, it became Francis E. Warren Air Force Base.

Over the years, the base served as home for numerous influential American military leaders such as Carl Spaatz, Black Jack Pershing, Billy Mitchell, Walter Reed, and Mark Clark.

Units of the 30th Infantry under Colonel John D. Stevenson began building the fort and nearby quartermaster depot (Cheyenne Depot) in August 1867. In September the first cavalry arrived, Company H of 2nd Cavalry In 1884, it became a permanent base. It was the home to three Black regiments: the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th Infantry (the famous Buffalo Soldiers) for much of the late 19th century.