Fort Gates, was a United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 fort established on October 26, 1849 as Camp Gates by Captain William R. Montgomery. The fort was located on the north bank of the Leon River

Leon River

The Leon River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. It has three primary forks; the North, Middle, and South Leon rivers which meet near Eastland and then run for around 185 miles until it meets up with the Lampasas River and the Salado Creek to form the Little River near Belton....

 about five miles east of the site of present Gatesville, Texas

Gatesville, Texas

Gatesville is a city in and the county seat of Coryell County in Central Texas, United States of America. The population was 15,591 at the 2000 census...

. The installation was named for Brevet Major Collinson Reed Gates of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, a noted officer in the Battle of Palo Alto

Battle of Palo Alto

The Battle of Palo Alto was the first major battle of the Mexican-American War and was fought on May 8, 1846, on disputed ground five miles from the modern-day city of Brownsville, Texas...

 and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma

Battle of Resaca de la Palma

At the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, one of the early engagements of the Mexican-American War,United States General Zachary Taylor engaged the retreating forces of the Mexican Ejército del Norte under General Mariano Arista on May 9, 1846.-Background:During the night of May 8, following...

. The fort was established to protect settlers on the Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 frontier from Indians

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

. The fort was garrisoned by companies D, I, F, and H of the Eighth United States Infantry. In April 1851, 256 enlisted men and forty-five officers were stationed at Fort Gates, the most reported in a single month.

The fort had four four officers' quarters, two for company quarters, three for laundresses, one for muleteers and employees, a hospital, a stable

Stable

A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...

, a forage house, two storehouses, a guardhouse, a bakehouse, and a blacksmith

Blacksmith

A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

 shop. Commanding officers at Fort Gates were Montgomery (1849–50), James G. S. Snelling (1850–51), Carlos Adolphus Waite (1851–52), and Horace Haldeman (1852). Lieutenant 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...

, leader of "Pickett's Charge

Pickett's Charge

Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander,...

" at Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...

, was stationed at Fort Gates in 1850–51. The fort was abandoned in March 1852.

See also

• Fort Worth
• Fort Graham
  Fort Graham
  Fort Graham was a pioneer fort established in 1849 at the site of Jose Maria Village, an Anadaca camp on the western edge of present day Hill County, Texas. It remained in service until 1853, when settlements had moved further west. It was named after Col. William M...
  
  
• Fort Croghan
  Fort Croghan
  *For the 1842 Iowa fort of the same name, see Council Bluffs, Iowa.Fort Croghan was the third of the first four forts established by the United States government to protect settlers from hostile Indians along the Texas frontier. From its establishment in 1849 until its decommission in 1853, Fort...
  
  
• Fort Martin Scott
  Fort Martin Scott
  Fort Martin Scott is a restored United States Army outpost near Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country, United States, that was active from 1848 until 1853...
  
  
• Fort Inge
  Fort Inge
  Fort Inge was a frontier fort in Uvalde County, Texas established as Camp Leona on March 13, 1849. The fort served as a base for United States Army troops assigned to protect the southern overland mail route along the San Antonio-El Paso Road from Indian raids. The camp was renamed Fort Inge in...
  
  
• Fort Duncan
  Fort Duncan
  Fort Duncan was a U.S. Army post, set up to protect the first U.S. settlement on the Rio Grande near the current town of Eagle Pass, Texas.Fort Duncan was established on March 27, 1849, when Captain Sidney Burbank occupied the site with companies A, B, and F of the First United States Infantry...