Editing Fort Thomas, Kentucky (section)

===Fort Thomas Army Post===
In 1887, a site was needed to house a [[United States Army]] post to replace [[Newport Barracks]] located in the adjoining city of [[Newport, Kentucky]]. Built in 1803, Newport Barracks replaced the smaller [[Fort Washington, Cincinnati, Ohio|Fort Washington]], located across the [[Ohio River]] in [[Cincinnati]], Ohio. That army post was located at the junction of the [[Licking River (Kentucky)|Licking]] and Ohio Rivers, but it was prone to flooding and flooded numerous times during the early 1880s. A new, less flood prone location was sought. General [[Philip Sheridan]] personally selected {{convert|11|acre|ha}} of the city and dubbed the area the Highlands, predicting it to become the "[[United States Military Academy|West Point]] of the West." The new post was named Fort Thomas in honor of General [[George Henry Thomas]].

The area has many remnants of this era with a {{convert|102|ft|m|adj=on}} high Stone Water Tower as a familiar landmark which stands at the entrance to Tower Park. It was the 16th structure built on the grounds of the Military Reservation. It encloses a standpipe which has a capacity of 100,000 gallons, pumped from the Water District reservoirs just across South Fort Thomas Avenue. In 1890 when the military base was established, such provisions for water supply was necessary as there was no other water tower in this area. Cannons that were captured in [[Cuba]]'s Havana Harbor during the Spanish–American War rest on stone platforms in front of the Tower. The dates marked on these [[cannon]]s, reflecting the date they were made in [[Barcelona]], Spain, are "1768" and "1769."

The U.S. [[6th Infantry Regiment]] moved to Fort Thomas, where it remained until called to action again in June 1898, in the [[Spanish–American War]].

Also stationed at Fort Thomas during the [[Spanish–American War]] were the 8th Volunteer Infantry, known as the "8th Immunes." At the time, many erroneously believed that [[African Americans]] were naturally [[immune]] to tropical diseases or at least were better suited for service in the tropical environment of the [[Caribbean]], and fearing the outbreak of [[tropical disease]], actively recruited [[African-American]] soldiers for the conflict. Also, active service in the armed forces was considered beneficial to the status of African Americans in the [[United States]], and was therefore lobbied for by civil rights leaders at the time. [[Booker T. Washington]] wrote the [[Secretary of the Navy]] that [[Cuba]]'s climate was "peculiar and danger[o]us to the unaclimated [sic] white man. The Negro race in the South is accustomed to this climate." Other black leaders lobbied in [[Federal government of the United States|Washington]] to reserve all ten regiments for their race. Although they lacked the political clout to accomplish that lofty goal, [[President McKinley]] was well aware that most states had refused to accept black volunteers, and he wanted to recognize the martial spirit of the minority that staunchly supported his Republican party. On 26 May, the adjutant general's office issued General Orders, No. 55, indicating that five of the Immune regiments would be composed of "persons of color," commanded by officers who were also people of color. The others were composed of white men who had already contracted [[tropical diseases]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://armyhistory.org/the-black-immune-regiments-in-the-spanish-american-war/|title=The Black "Immune" Regiments in the Spanish-American War – the Campaign for the National Museum of the United States Army}}</ref>

Fort Thomas served as a depot, induction center, and military hospital.  Most of the garrison was transferred to the Veterans Administration in 1946, but military activities continued until the fort was closed in 1964.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}