The most senior of Army institutions, the training ground of future commanders and generals, handpicked from the creme de la creme of the armed forces, the Army War College was established to teach its graduated not how to follow, but how to lead. By the end of the Spanish American War, the U.S. had a good number of capable soldiers, but the army leadership concluded they had a shortage of capable commanders to lead them. To that end, an army fort in Washington D.C. was converted into a campus.

On this day, November 27, in 1901, the Army War College opened on site of the Washington Barracks — now called Fort Lesley J. McNair, in Washington D.C.

Many of the American military’s most illustrious names were graduates of the Army War College. President Dwight Eisenhower, who in 1944 led the Normandy invasion no doubt benefited from his lessons at the school. As did Generals George S. Patton and Omar Bradley, both brilliant leaders of WW II. As was the man all three – Eisenhower, Patton and Bradley – considered their mentor, General of the Army John J. Pershing.