Fort Walker (Bowling Green, Caroline County, Virginia)

Bowling Green, Caroline County · Virginia · World War II

Quick BriefEstablished June 11, 1941, as an Army training facility, Fort Walker is a training and maneuver center located near Bowling Green, Virginia. In autumn 1942, it was the staging area for Major General George S. Patton's Task Force A for the invasion of French North Africa. The installation spans 77,332 acres and remains an active regional collective training center.

Active base today

History & Significance

In spring 1940, the War Plans Division of the Army General Staff developed plans to locate approximately 60,000 acres for a training area between the Potomac River and upper Chesapeake Bay. Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Marston, an artillery officer stationed in Richmond, investigated the Bowling Green area in September 1940 and recommended the Caroline County site.

The facility opened as a maneuver training area for the II Corps and three activated National Guard divisions from the Mid-Atlantic states. By late 1942, hundreds of thousands of troops trained at the reservation, including armored divisions, anti-tank units, anti-aircraft units, artillery, engineering companies, infantry, hospital units, truck regiments, cavalry, signal battalions, and ordnance personnel.

During the Korean War, it was designated Camp A.P. Hill and served as a major staging area for units deploying to Europe. The fort was the major center for Engineer Officer Candidate School training during the Vietnam War. The installation was redesignated Fort Walker on August 25, 2023, and in June 2025 was renamed Fort Anderson-Pinn-Hill to honor three Civil War Union soldiers.