A photo tour of a Fort Benning landmark.

The Infantry Chapel

Welcome to one of Fort Benning

most historic facilities - The

Infantry Chapel. This view of the

chapel is from the south side,

while standing in the Field of the

Four Chaplains. On the opposite

side of the building you will find

a stone plaque with the year

1934 engraved on it - the year

that construction for this chapel

began. The contract for this

facility was signed for $61,900

and the builder completed the

project in 1935. The first service

held in this chapel was Easter

Sunday of that year. The chapel

was designed to accommodate

three separate congregations:

Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish.

Currently, in the year 2015, the

chapel is home to two Protestant

Congregations and a Spanish

Catholic Congregation.

Exterior View looking from

the North

Exterior view looking from the north

Exterior view from the north

west side of the building

View of exterior from the west.

A view from the main entrance of the chapel looking through the foyer into the

sanctuary.

In the foyer, you will notice two

painted glass windows. This

one is on the left and is an old

emblem of the US Army

Chaplain School. This emblem

has gone through five

transformations since it was

first commissioned in 1925. The

design of this one indicates that

it was produced for the chapel

later than 1983, which was

when this particular version

was established. It makes use

of the cross to represent the

Christian faith and the tablet to

represent the Jewish faith. This

is the fourth of the five designs

and has since been replaced by

the one the school currently

uses, which makes use of

imagery that does not focus on

any particular faith group.

On the right is the more

familiar emblem of the

US Army Infantry

School, which is what

Fort Benning has been

about since 1918.

Currently, Fort Benning

is known as the

Maneuver Center of

Excellence, which is the

combination of the US

Army Armor School and

the US Army Infantry

School.

A view of the sanctuary from underneath the balcony.

The stairwell on the left side of the sanctuary leading up to the balcony located

in the rear of the sanctuary.

Coming into the sanctuary, first thing you will notice is the architecture of the building. The architect

for this facility was a man by the name of Phillip Trammel Schultz. The style of this design is

known as Classic Revival Style. The exterior of the chapel is modeled after the First Presbyterian

Church of Savannah, while the interior is reminiscent of an 18th century Episcopal Church. This is

a view of the sanctuary from the back.

A view from the right rear of the sanctuary.

A view from the right side of the sanctuary. Note the painted glass windows.

There are three of these on each side of the sanctuary.

On the bottom level of the

sanctuary are six colorful

painted glass windows. These

windows are not original to the

building, but were painted in the

1960s. Various groups and

individuals donated funds to

have these made. If you look

closely you will see that each

individual pane of the window is

differently colored. That is

because the scenes were

painted on top of stained glass.

To see what the stained glass

looked like originally, simply

look at the windows in the

balcony level of the sanctuary.

This window is the Jesus the

Good Shepherd Window on the

back left side of the sanctuary. It

was donated by the NCO Wives

Club in 1963.

This is the Good Samaritan

Window found in the

middle of the left side of

the sanctuary.

This is the Nativity

Window on the left front

side of the sanctuary.

This window was

donated by the Fort

Benning Women's Club

in 1962.

This is the creation window

located on the front right

side of the sanctuary. You

can clearly see how the

different colors of the

original painted glass

produce different effects on

each pane of glass in this

window.

This is the Dedication of

Samuel Window,

which is on the middle

of the right side of the

sanctuary.

This is the Giving of the

Law which is found on

the back right side of the

sanctuary. This window

was donated by LTC

David M. Buie, in

memory of Martha J.

Buie, possibly his wife,

who died in 1965 at the

age of 45.

The windows located on the balcony level. The lower level windows looked

similar when originally installed.

A view from the right front of the sanctuary.

A view of the altar from the front of the seating area. The flags displayed from left to right are

American flag (standing straight), The Infantry Training Center, The US Army Infantry School, the

Ranger Training Brigade, The75th Ranger Regiment, 3rd ABCT, 24th Infantry Regiment, 27th

Infantry Regiment, The Infantry Center, and the Christian Flag.

This is the Faith Window

located in the front of the

sanctuary. From the top you

will see a streamer which

reads, "An Anchor of the

Soul Sure and Steadfast"

with the Biblical reference to

Hebrews 6:19 (" Which hope

we have as an anchor of the

soul, both sure and

stedfast..." KJV). Underneath

the streamer is the word

"Faith." Pictured beneath

this is a Roman Centurion

holding a spear and shield

standing in front of a Roman

structure. Beneath the

centurion are several tools of

warfare: a sword, a torch,

and a trumpet. Beneath

these is a banner reading,

"The Centurion." Providing a

background is an artistic

representation of a grape

vine.

To the left of the Faith

Window is a window with

three themes. Justice is

symbolized by a balance

scale. Hope is symbolized

by a woman holding an

anchor. This image ties

the window to the center

window, which quotes

Hebrews 6:19. A symbol of

Prudence is found at the

bottom - a serpent. One

may wonder about this

symbol. In Matthew 10:16

Jesus stated that

Christians are to be "as

wise as serpents, and

harmless as doves."

Serpents have been used

to symbolize many

concepts throughout

history - one of them being

prudence.

This window is found to the

right of the Faith Window.

It contains symbols for

three Christian concepts:

Temperance -

symbolized by a wine jug

beside an upside down

cup. Charity is

symbolized by a woman

with a basket of food, her

left hand prepared to take

some to give it away.

Note that she is also

gazing towards the

Centurion linking this

window to the central

Faith Window. Fortitude

is symbolized by a shield

adorned with a cross in

front of a sword.

Interestingly, this shield is

designed with a cut out

on the right, which served

to make room for the

soldier to wield his sword

while shielding his body.

This symbol is found on the altar. In the middle is a triangle, symbolizing the

trinity. Proceeding from it are rays, symbolizing the glory of God. Roses, like

most symbols, have a multitude of meanings when used throughout history.

Context is important. The Rosary, a prayer aid used by Roman Catholics

can be traced to the use of real roses.

The altar is covered by cloths colored according to the church calendar.

Green is used for the ordinary season following Pentecost. The Monogram

IHS is a shortened form of “Ihsous," greek for “Jesus.”

The Electric Organ.

Two sets of organ pipes

are located in the front

portion of the building.

The pipes are non-

working facades as the

organ is electric.

The Grand Piano built by Steinway and Sons.

This is the raised goblet

style pulpit. Covering

the pulpit is a cap on

which is a flame,

representing the Holy

Spirit. In the book of

Acts the disciples,

gathered in the upper

room, experienced a

tongue of fire alighting

on their heads as they

went from the room to

preach the gospel

amidst the crowds of

Jerusalem.

Front view of the pulpit.

This is view from the altar facing the rear of the sanctuary.

Seeing the chapel from the outside, one would not expect to see a domed

ceiling, but this ceiling is one of the most prominent features of the chapel.

A view of the domed ceiling from the front of the sanctuary.

The capital of one of the

four columns supporting

the domed ceiling. The

architecture incorporates

a Corinthian style capital

and an interesting

square column

extension.

A view of the pulpit, choir loft and right side of the sanctuary from the altar.

A view from the lecturn

located on the left side of

the chapel.

A view from the left side of the sanctuary.

A view from the left rear of the sanctuary.

A view from the Balcony.

A view from the right side balcony.

People often wonder what these caps are on the floor. They are found in pairs

underneath each set of pews on the right side of the center aisle. These were

designed to provide ventilation to the chapel prior to the installation of climate control

systems. They are now obsolete, but not removable.

A plaque hanging in the

chapel dedicated to

Chaplain (LTC) Thomas

J. Lennan who served

as the post chaplain from

1921-1926. At the time

the post was named

"Camp Benning."

This plaque lists some of

the former chapel

pastors. Two of these

chaplains finished their

service to the Army as

Chiefs of the Army

Chaplain Corps:

Chaplain (MAJ) David

Hicks and Chaplain

(CPT) Kermit Johnson

A plaque on the front left of the sanctuary. It reads, "Captain Robert F. Carter.

Captain Earl J. Scott. First Lieutenant George O. J. Tilton. Sergeant First

Class Herman W. Punke. Sergeant Horace G. Connor. Third Infantry

Division. Died in performance of duty. Fort Benning Georgia. 1954-1955.

This plaque is affixed to the wall just to the right of the pulpit. It reads

"Stonewall Jackson. Major General. Commanding 84th Infantry Division.

Died of injuries in airplane accident. October 13, 1943. Camp Polk,

Louisiana." I do not yet know why this plaque is on the wall.

On display in the chapel is an altar set made by the soldiers of the 13th

Regiment, 8th Infantry Division to give to their Chaplain, LTC James D.

Reese. Reese donated the set to the chapel in November 2002.

The Altar set in a display

case.

This plaque is located at the bottom of the stairwell leading up to the balcony on the right side of the

chapel. It is about the history of the carillon located in the balcony. The plaque reads: "This

Liberty Carillon, the gift of Harvey S. Firestone, Jr: Was installed in Camp Patrick Henry's Chapel

in the Woods in September of 1943. It was damaged by fire the following year. Rebuilt with the

generous help of Mr. Firestone, and restored to service in time for the 1944 Christmas Season.

The citation for distinguished service in freedom's cause reads, 'This beautiful voice of Camp

Patrick Henry has been enjoyed by 600,000 officers and enlisted men enroute overseas and by

850,000 returnees. The Spiritual appreciation was truly amazing." Its wartime job gloriously done it

was transferred to Fort Benning in 1945 here to sing through the years its stentorial reminder that

peace shall endure only as long as the power of right insures its endurance.

This is the carillon located in the balcony area.

The keyboard no longer works, due to lightening strikes.

A broad shot of the carillon. The shields adorning the top of the instrument

represent the original 13 colonies of the US.

New Hampshire

Connecticut

Massachussetts

Virginia

Delaware

Maryland

South Carolina

New York

Rhode Island

Georgia

North Carolina

Pennsylvania

New Jersey

This concludes our tour of

the Infantry Chapel. We

hope you enjoyed this

pictorial visit of an

important piece of Army

history.