This camp was established on 1400 acres known as Woodburn Manor in the Dunn Loring area 1.5 miles from the Dunn Loring station on the Southern Railway in 1898. The station at Dunn Loring provided easy transport of people and goods to the site.
The camp didn’t last too long (May-August 1898) but managed to train 23,500 men for the Spanish-American War. Main issue for the short-lived camp was poor access to water and sanitation.
There was an African American regiment stationed at Camp Alger, the 9th Battalion Ohio V.
The camp was spread out on both sides of the current Gallows road from the W&OD Trail and all the way down to the current location by Fairfax Hospital.
Want to know more?
- http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=4183
- http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/wiki/Camp_Alger (has a map!)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Alger