Archives West Finding Aid

The 20th Infantry was stationed at Fort Douglas in 1912. It was commanded by Colonel James Anderson Irons from June 26, 1907, until Colonel Irons was assigned to the 2nd Infantry on March 10, 1917. Fort Douglas was established by Colonel Patrick Connor of the Union Army in 1862 and was originally called Camp Douglas. Its purpose was to protect mail and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route. In 1863, troops from Camp Douglas attacked a Shoshone camp at Bear River, Idaho and massacred the inhabitants, though the so-called "Battle of Bear River" gave Connor a reputation in the military as an able soldier. The camp was used in the United States government's attacks on native nations in the decades following the American Civil War. In 1876, the camp was made permanent and was renamed Fort Douglas. It was used in the Spanish-American War of 1898 and was used to hold German prisoners of war during World War I. During World War II, it was used as the headquarters for the Ninth Army Corps. In the decades after World War II, the Army began transferring parcels of the land to the University of Utah, and in 1991 Fort Douglas was closed and the University took over stewardship of the land and historic structures.