Fort Fillmore
Encyclopedia
Fort Fillmore was a fortification
established by Col Edwin Vose Sumner
in September of 1851 near Mesilla
in what is now New Mexico
, primarily to protect settler
s and traders
traveling to California
. Travelers in the Westward Migration
were under constant threat from Indian attack, and a network of forts was created by the US Government to protect and encourage westward expansion. Fort Fillmore was intended to protect a corridor plagued by Apache
attacks where several migration routes
converged between El Paso
and Tucson
to take advantage of Apache Pass
.
Fort Fillmore would serve as an operating base for units of the 1st Dragoons, briefly the 2d Dragoons, Regiment of Mounted Rifles, and the 3d and briefly the 8th Infantry Regiments. It was for a time headquarters of the 3d Infantry Regiment. The troops were active in the Gila Expedition of 1857 and in operations against the Apaches in the Sacramento Mountains. In one foray Captain Henry Stanton, namesake of Fort Stanton
NM, was killed near the Rio Penasco River. His grave was one of the few to be identified when the abandoned post was inspected in 1869. Most of the soldiers and civilians interred in the post cemetery are still buried there on a sand ridge south east of the remains of the post. A fence and flagpole now are located on the cemetery's site.
Possibly the most famous soldier who served at Fort Fillmore was Captain George Pickett
. Pickett is best remembered for leading the fateful charge on July 3rd, 1863 at the battle of Gettysburg. Later Union General Ambrose Burnside used the fort as a supply point when he drilled geo-thermal wells about fifteen miles west of the post in 1855..
The fall of Fort Fillmore in 1861 to Confederate
soldiers under the command of Lt Col John Baylor
briefly secured the Arizona Territory of the Confederate States of America
which had been formed earlier that year in nearby Mesilla. Fort Fillmore was abandoned by the Confederates soon after and no attempt appears to have been made by the Union
to reoccupy it.
The fort was officially closed by the Union in October of 1862, but sources mention Fort Fillmore as a way point along several major routes throughout the period of western expansion. The Upper and Lower Emigrant Trails converged in El Paso and, along with the Butterfield, Pacific and Overland Trails, passed through the corridor Fort Fillmore was erected to defend.
The remains of the fort were leveled at some later date after a failed attempt by the owner to sell or trade it to the State of New Mexico as a park. A grove of pecan
trees now stands on the approximate location of the fort.
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
established by Col Edwin Vose Sumner
Edwin Vose Sumner
Edwin Vose Sumner was a career United States Army officer who became a Union Army general and the oldest field commander of any Army Corps on either side during the American Civil War...
in September of 1851 near Mesilla
Mesilla, New Mexico
Mesilla is a town in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,180 at the 2000 census...
in what is now New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, primarily to protect settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s and traders
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
traveling to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Travelers in the Westward Migration
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the 19th century American belief that the United States was destined to expand across the continent. It was used by Democrat-Republicans in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico; the concept was denounced by Whigs, and fell into disuse after the mid-19th century.Advocates of...
were under constant threat from Indian attack, and a network of forts was created by the US Government to protect and encourage westward expansion. Fort Fillmore was intended to protect a corridor plagued by Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
attacks where several migration routes
Historical roads and trails of the United States
There are many historic trails and roads in the United States which were important to the settlement and development of the United States including those used by American Indians....
converged between El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
and Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
to take advantage of Apache Pass
Apache Pass
Apache Pass is a historic passage in the U.S. state of Arizona between the Dos Cabezas Mountains and Chiricahua Mountains, approximately 32 km E-SE of Willcox, Arizona.-Apache Spring:...
.
Fort Fillmore would serve as an operating base for units of the 1st Dragoons, briefly the 2d Dragoons, Regiment of Mounted Rifles, and the 3d and briefly the 8th Infantry Regiments. It was for a time headquarters of the 3d Infantry Regiment. The troops were active in the Gila Expedition of 1857 and in operations against the Apaches in the Sacramento Mountains. In one foray Captain Henry Stanton, namesake of Fort Stanton
Fort Stanton
Fort Stanton was a U.S. military fort built in New Mexico in the United States. It was established to protect settlements along the Rio Bonito in the Apache Wars...
NM, was killed near the Rio Penasco River. His grave was one of the few to be identified when the abandoned post was inspected in 1869. Most of the soldiers and civilians interred in the post cemetery are still buried there on a sand ridge south east of the remains of the post. A fence and flagpole now are located on the cemetery's site.
Possibly the most famous soldier who served at Fort Fillmore was Captain George Pickett
George Pickett
George Edward Pickett was a career United States Army officer who became a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
. Pickett is best remembered for leading the fateful charge on July 3rd, 1863 at the battle of Gettysburg. Later Union General Ambrose Burnside used the fort as a supply point when he drilled geo-thermal wells about fifteen miles west of the post in 1855..
The fall of Fort Fillmore in 1861 to Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
soldiers under the command of Lt Col John Baylor
John Baylor
John Robert Baylor was a politician in Texas and a military officer of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
briefly secured the Arizona Territory of the Confederate States of America
Arizona Territory (CSA)
The Territory of Arizona was a territory claimed by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, between 1861 and 1865. It consisted of the portion of the New Mexico Territory south of the 34th parallel north including parts of the modern states of New Mexico and Arizona. Its...
which had been formed earlier that year in nearby Mesilla. Fort Fillmore was abandoned by the Confederates soon after and no attempt appears to have been made by the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
to reoccupy it.
The fort was officially closed by the Union in October of 1862, but sources mention Fort Fillmore as a way point along several major routes throughout the period of western expansion. The Upper and Lower Emigrant Trails converged in El Paso and, along with the Butterfield, Pacific and Overland Trails, passed through the corridor Fort Fillmore was erected to defend.
The remains of the fort were leveled at some later date after a failed attempt by the owner to sell or trade it to the State of New Mexico as a park. A grove of pecan
Pecan
The pecan , Carya illinoinensis, is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana east to western Kentucky, southwestern Ohio, North Carolina, South...
trees now stands on the approximate location of the fort.
External links
- Fort Fillmore Lithograph 1854, Lithograph of Fort Fillmore by Carl Schuchard. Schuchard traveled with a crew from the Texas Western Railroad Company that was surveying along the 32nd parallel for a transcontinental railroad route.
- FORT FILLMORE
- Looking for Fort Fillmore
- History of Las Cruces: Retreat from Fort Fillmore