More than 160 years of service to the nation makes Fort Leavenworth the oldest continuously-active Army post west of the Mississippi River. Long before Kansas was settled, traffic over the Santa Fe trail was so heavy that troops were detailed to protect it from the Indians.

Fort Leavenworth was established by Colonel Henry Leavenworth and his officers and men of the 3rd Infantry Regiment from St. Louis. In 1866, the U.S. Congress authorized the formation of four black regiments. The 10th Cavalry Regiment was formed at Fort Leavenworth, to which a monument stands today in tribute to the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments. In 1875, the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks was established and in 1881 the School of Application for Cavalry and Infantry was formed--now known as the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Fort Leavenworth continues to be on the leading edge of the Army's future.