Lost Capitol Hill: The Original Marine Barracks

Much is made of the fact that the Marine Commandant’s House is the oldest continually-operated Federal building in DC. It has stood at the north end of the Marine Barracks since 1806, five years after the Barracks were built. The Barracks themselves, which run down the east and west side of the Square, are much newer, however, as the original Barracks had become run-down after a century’s use. Today, we will look at those original barracks and what happened to them.

It took only about 5 years to build the original barracks, mainly due to Benjamin Latrobe’s taking over their building, as he had taken over the work on the Capitol a few years earlier. As with the Capitol, some of the work had to be torn down and redone, but when all was said and done, the Barracks consisted of three main elements: The Commandant’s house at the north end of the Square, and the Center House at the middle of the western side, flanked left and right by two barracks in which enlisted men lived, as well as containing the bakery, kitchen, mess etc. The most prominent feature was the arcade that ran along the inside of the barracks. An article in the Washington Post of November 17, 1901, describes the barracks thus:

Here, in the construction of these old quarters, the crude, rough-hewn style of the early British garrisons is strikingly in evidence. It is all big, massive, heavy, solid, and compact, the covered way being arched all along and upheld by square, molded white pillars, black at the base, with the rim of dark red around their necks, like the coping on the outer wall.

Over the next 100 years, numerous further buildings were added: The school for drummer boys at the SW corner, a shooting gallery, the old quarters, through which the South Gate led into the grounds, then on the east side the quartermaster’s depot and the band quarters.

Parts of the barracks had been destroyed during the burning of DC in 1814, but were rebuilt almost immediately. More destructive was a fire that burned the Center House in either 1829 or 1837, depending on which source you believe. The Center House was rebuilt larger than it had been previously, as already then the barracks were beginning to be overcrowded.

The view from 8th Street in 1901. (WashingtonPost.com)

During the 19^th Century, the Marine Barracks were used for a variety of purposes, including as a recruiting center during the Civil War. It also held – after the war – the Confederate Admiral Raphael Semmes, who was charged with treason.

Shortly after the Civil War, the first attempt was made to expand the barracks, and though all agreed that it needed to happen, no money was forthcoming. Late in the 19^th Century, tents were thrown up in the SW corner of the Square to take in some of the Marines who could not find housing in the usual barracks. Finally around 1901, money made available and the buildings on the east side were torn down, and by 1905, replaced with the barracks that stand there today. A new band building at the south end was built almost immediately thereafter, while it took another 5 years before the 8^th Street side was torn down and replaced with the officers quarters visible from the street today.

By 1910, the Marine Barracks had taken the shape that we know so well today.

Read more about the old barracks in last week’s column about Francisco Franciulli, Sousa’s replacement as leader of the Marine Band.