Fort Benning Historic Trail Site

Fort Benning Historic Trail

Historical Site 43. CWO Robert B. Tresville Hall (Bldg 285).

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Chief Warrant Officer Robert B. Tresville was the band leader of the 24th Inf. Regt. from 1924 to 1943. He was the first African American Soldier to graduate from the Bandleader's Course at the U.S. Army School of Music at Fort Jay, NYC. The band superbly performed concert and ceremonial music, under the musical talent and leadership skills of CWO Tresville and were also noted as specialists in the emerging art form of Jazz. It gained universal acclaim as one of the finest bands in the Army, especially in the Southeast, where they toured extensively - a notable feat considering the state of Jim Crow segregation in the South and the Army. In 1942 Tresville deployed to the Pacific Theater with the Regiment as band leader and retired in 1945 with 33 years of service. Building 285 was built in 1949 as the textbook distribution building for Infantry School students. It was the last building on Fort Bening designed in Spanish Colonial Revival style – the dominant architectural style on Fort Benning in the 1930s. It later became the military clothing sales store and then occupied by the Band in 2009. It was memorialized for Tresville in January 2020.

Chief Warrant Officer Robert B. Tresville