Abraham Eustis
Encyclopedia
Abraham Eustis was a lawyer
and notable U.S. Army officer, eventually rising to become a Brevet Brigadier General
. He saw service in Florida and became a notable artillery
specialist and the first commander of Fort Monroe
, located at the entrance to the harbor of Hampton Roads
in Virginia
.
In the State of Florida
, Eustis Lake and the town of Eustis
were each named in his honor. Camp Abraham Eustis, a World War I
-era U.S. Army base along the James River
, was named for him. Later renamed Fort Eustis, in the 21st century, it is an expanded and active facility which now located in the independent city of Newport News, Virginia
.
. He was educated at Harvard College
and Bowdoin College
. He served during the War of 1812
, in the Black Hawk War
(1832), and in the Seminole Wars
in Florida
.
In 1830, Eustis became the first commander of Fort Monroe
, which guards the entrance to Hampton Roads
at Old Point Comfort
in southeastern Virginia
. There for many years, he commanded the school for Artillery Practice.
In May, 1838, Eustis took command of Fort Butler, one of the main military posts built for the forced removal of the Cherokee
known as the Trail of Tears
. Nearly 5,000 Cherokee of North Carolina and adjacent Georgia were taken to Fort Butler, thence to the main internment camp at Fort Cass
. The troops stationed at Fort Butler were those of Eustis's command from the Second Seminole War in Florida (Duncan 2003:190).
He was the father of Brig. Gen. Henry L. Eustis
.
on historic Mulberry Island
and an adjacent portion of the mainland along the James River
in Warwick County
, upstream from Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. It became Fort Eustis and a permanent Army base in 1923.
Fort Eustis is currently home to the U.S. Army Transportation Corps, and is now located within the corporate limits of the independent city
of Newport News
(which merged with the former Warwick County in 1958). An Army Aviation School is also located there. A large mothball fleet of ships known locally as the "Ghost Fleet" is located adjacently in the river.
With the base closure of Fort Monroe in nearby Hampton
, a portion of the work there has shifted to Fort Eustis.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and notable U.S. Army officer, eventually rising to become a Brevet Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
. He saw service in Florida and became a notable artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
specialist and the first commander of Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe was a military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula...
, located at the entrance to the harbor of Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
In the State of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Eustis Lake and the town of Eustis
Eustis, Florida
Eustis is a city in Lake County, Florida, United States. The population was 15,106 at the 2000 census. The Census Bureau estimated the population in 2008 to be 19,129. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
were each named in his honor. Camp Abraham Eustis, a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
-era U.S. Army base along the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
, was named for him. Later renamed Fort Eustis, in the 21st century, it is an expanded and active facility which now located in the independent city of Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
.
Biography
Abraham Eustis was born in Petersburg, VirginiaPetersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
. He was educated at Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
and Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...
. He served during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, in the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....
(1832), and in the Seminole Wars
Seminole Wars
The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and Black people who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army...
in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
In 1830, Eustis became the first commander of Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe was a military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula...
, which guards the entrance to Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
at Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort is a point of land located in the independent city of Hampton. It lies at the extreme tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads in the United States....
in southeastern Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. There for many years, he commanded the school for Artillery Practice.
In May, 1838, Eustis took command of Fort Butler, one of the main military posts built for the forced removal of the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
known as the Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830...
. Nearly 5,000 Cherokee of North Carolina and adjacent Georgia were taken to Fort Butler, thence to the main internment camp at Fort Cass
Fort Cass
Fort Cass, established in 1835, was an important site during the Cherokee removal known as the Trail of Tears. Located on the Hiwassee River in present-day Charleston, Tennessee, it housed a garrison of United States troops and watched over the largest concentration of internment camps where...
. The troops stationed at Fort Butler were those of Eustis's command from the Second Seminole War in Florida (Duncan 2003:190).
He was the father of Brig. Gen. Henry L. Eustis
Henry L. Eustis
Henry Lawrence Eustis was a civil engineer, college professor, and soldier who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
.
Fort Eustis
Fort Eustis was originally known as Camp Abraham Eustis when it was established during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
on historic Mulberry Island
Mulberry Island
Mulberry Island is located along the James River in the city of Newport News, Virginia, in southeastern Virginia at the confluence of the Warwick River on the Virginia Peninsula.- History:...
and an adjacent portion of the mainland along the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
in Warwick County
Warwick County, Virginia
Warwick County was a county in Southeast Virginia that was created from Warwick River Shire, one of eight created in the Virginia Colony in 1634. It became the City of Warwick on July 16, 1952...
, upstream from Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. It became Fort Eustis and a permanent Army base in 1923.
Fort Eustis is currently home to the U.S. Army Transportation Corps, and is now located within the corporate limits of the independent city
Independent city
An independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity. These type of cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other sovereign state.-Historical precursors:In the Holy Roman Empire,...
of Newport News
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
(which merged with the former Warwick County in 1958). An Army Aviation School is also located there. A large mothball fleet of ships known locally as the "Ghost Fleet" is located adjacently in the river.
With the base closure of Fort Monroe in nearby Hampton
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
, a portion of the work there has shifted to Fort Eustis.