Fort McPherson was a training camp for the Georgia Militia in 1835 until the siege of Atlanta in 1864 when the Union army took control. After the Civil War, Atlanta became the headquarters of the Third Military District of the military reconstruction of Georgia. In 1867, the camp was named McPherson Barracks in honor of Union Major General James Birdseye McPherson. He was killed July 22, 1864, during the Battle of Atlanta. The U.S. government abandoned the site in 1881, but Congress authorized the establishment of a permanent military post in the area four years later. Construction was completed in 1889 when the base was officially christened "Fort McPherson". The camp expanded in 1927 when the 137-acre Camp Jesup was consolidated with Fort McPherson, and again in 1938 when the Atlanta National Guard Target Range was acquired. In World War I, an officers' training school, a base hospital and an internment camp for 1500 Germans were set up. During World War II the Post functioned as an induction and reception center where hundreds of men were processed daily. Since 1947, when the Headquarters of the Third Army moved there, it has been an administrative post for an Army area that covers seven Southeastern states.
From the description of Fort McPherson photograph collection 1943. (Atlanta History Center). WorldCat record id: 48917025
