A virtual tour of Fort Benning's historic - and beautiful - The Infantry Chapel.

1. A photo tour of a Fort Benning landmark.
The Infantry Chapel

2. 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.

3. Exterior View looking from
the North

4. Exterior view looking from the north

5. Exterior view from the north
west side of the building

6. View of exterior from the west.

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

8. 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and has since been replaced by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.

9. 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.

10. A view of the sanctuary from underneath the balcony.

11. The stairwell on the left side of the sanctuary leading up to the balcony located
in the rear of the sanctuary.

12. 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.

13. A view from the right rear of the sanctuary.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. This is the Good Samaritan
Window found in the
middle of the left side of
the sanctuary.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. This is the Dedication of
Samuel Window,
which is on the middle
of the right side of the
sanctuary.

20. 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.

21. The windows located on the balcony level. The lower level windows looked
similar when originally installed.

22. A view from the right front of the sanctuary.

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. 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.”

29. The Electric Organ.

30. 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.

31. The Grand Piano built by Steinway and Sons.

32. 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.

33. Front view of the pulpit.

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

35. 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.

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

37. 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.

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

39. A view from the lecturn
located on the left side of
the chapel.

40. A view from the left side of the sanctuary.

41. A view from the left rear of the sanctuary.

42. A view from the Balcony.

43. A view from the right side balcony.

44. 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.

45. 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."

46. 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

47. 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.

48. 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.

49. 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.

50. The Altar set in a display
case.

51. 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.

52. This is the carillon located in the balcony area.

53. The keyboard no longer works, due to lightening strikes.

54. A broad shot of the carillon. The shields adorning the top of the instrument
represent the original 13 colonies of the US.

55. New Hampshire

56. Connecticut

57. Massachussetts

58. Virginia

59. Delaware

60. Maryland

61. South Carolina

62. New York

63. Rhode Island

64. Georgia

65. North Carolina

66. Pennsylvania

67. New Jersey

68. This concludes our tour of
the Infantry Chapel. We
hope you enjoyed this
pictorial visit of an
important piece of Army
history.