The Santa Fe Trail was responsible for a growing new nation. The trail began as a
Native American route as well for Spanish exploration across the plains of America.
It became a link between two countries- the United States and Mexico. The trail evolved
into a vital trade route for settlers and the military. Passage over the trail was
full of danger and misery.
The development of Fort Union was linked to a long series of events, and its history
is inseparable from that of the Santa Fe Trail. Mexico declared its independence
from Spain in 1821.This established free trade. The following year large caravans
began crossing the plains from Missouri to Taos and Santa Fe.
The federal government recognized the importance of the Santa Fe Trail, and by 1825
the United States Congress passed a bill to survey the trail. This was the first
road surveyed west of the Mississippi River. The trade route was essential for the
development of both countries. Western expansion of the United States was on. Tourists
began to appear on the trail along with the traders and settlers. By 1831 normal
trade goods were common in Santa Fe. To maintain profit levels, traders usually had
more than one wagon.When Mexico levied taxes on the number of wagons, the size of
wagons increased.1 During this time improvements in transportation
took place, including the development of stagecoach and mail lines. As trade increased
along the trail the wagon trains became targets for the Indians, protection of the
caravans became necessary. In 1833, President Andrew Jackson organized the dragoons
as the first full-time cavalry branch of the United States.2
Jackson realized that foot soldiers were of little help in the frontier. In 1834,
the dragoons escorted a wagon train along the Santa Fe Trail. This was just the start
of increasing United States military involvement along the trail.
The Mexican government tended to view the trail going to Santa Fe as a military highway
leading straight to its northern border. These fears became a reality in 1846, when
General Kearny peaceably conquered New Mexico and made it United States territory.
The United States military established a handful of garrisons throughout the new
territory. The cost of supplying the army in New Mexico was of great concern in Washington
D.C. On April 1, 1851, Secretary of War Charles Conrad wrote to Colonel Edwin Sumner
of the First Dragoons. First, Conrad announced in his letter that Sumner was to take
command of the Ninth Military Department (New Mexico). Conrad stated that he wanted
to see changes of more efficient protection of the country with a "diminution
of expense." Conrad told Sumner to make changes wherever he deemed necessary.
The order went on to say that Sumner could choose new locations for garrisons based
on:
1st. The protection of New Mexico.
2nd. The defense of the Mexican Territory, which we are bound to protect against
the Indians within our borders.
3rd. Economy and facility in supporting the troops, particularly in regard to forage,
fuel, and adaptation of surrounding country to cultivation.3
These orders were the foundation for Fort Union, New Mexico. The first two items
were based on traditional military strategy: presence, defence, and when necessary,
offence. The third item is key to understanding how and why the buildings of Fort
Union were constructed.
Sumner arrived in Santa Fe on July 19, 1851. His first act as commanding officer
was to "break up the post at Santa Fe, that sink of vice and extravagance, and
to remove the troops and public property to this place (Fort Union). I left one company
of Artillery there... These evils are so great that I do not expect to eradicate
them entirely until I can bring the troops together in considerable bodies..."4 Sumner believed that removing all the troops from town would improve
discipline and moral. Sumner resented the townspeople of Santa Fe living in one way
or another at government expense. He was determined to cut back the waste in government
spending.
The Ninth Military Department under command of Sumner first arrived at what would
later be called Fort Union on July 26, 1851.5 Sumner began
construction at a strategic location five miles from the Rio Mora on El Arroyo del
Coyote near the Turkey Mountains. The sight was six miles north east of the confluence
of the Cimarron and Mountain routes of the Santa Fe Trail, twenty-six miles from
Las Vegas, and eighteen miles from Mora.6 One army summary
stated that "the location was on the line of the great traveled route to Santa
Fe, with a view to the protection of passing wagon trains and the isolated settlements
from the Apaches who roamed over the wide district of country to the east and south".7
When the army moved into the area of Fort Union in 1851, the first order of business
was the construction of temporary shelters while the construction of the more permanent
shelters could be made. A report prepared in August, 1851 summarized the resources
of the area. Corn and hay were available for purchase, and the grazing around the
post was very good during the summer and fall. The report noted:
There is sufficient building materials near the post for all purposes, consisting
of a very fine white sand stone, clay for bricks and adobes and pitch and spruce
pine in the mountains from 9 to 30 miles of the post. All other articles required
for building would have to come from the east, as they are not produced by this department...
The greatest objection to this point as a military post is the want of running water
for stock... The usual and only transportation used here are wagons, carts, and pack
mules.8
Despite various Army regulations that governed building construction in the late
1800’s frontier army construction was rag-tag at best. As one historian pointed out,
the only thing uniform about the army in the ninetieth century was its uniform.9 With fall and winter approaching construction of quarters was the
first priority. The new occupants lived in army tents while buildings were under
construction. The rough, unpeeled log buildings went up slowly.
By December, 1851, the quarters were still short of completion, but the availability
of boards for roofs and floors had improved. A progress report from Major Sibley
noted:
The quarters for one company and the hospital are competed except the glazing of
the windows, and the hanging of the doors. I am now busily occupied in sawing the
lumber necessary to cover the other soldiers quarters. -The officers quarters are
all covered and, with a few exceptions, floors are laid in one room of each set and
the quarters are occupied by officers and their families.10
By April, 1852, Sibley reported to his superiors that with the exception of a few
shops and a storehouse, all of the buildings had been erected and were in a relatively
habitable condition. By September,1852, the first Fort
Union was operating efficiently.11
Captain Isaac Bowen and his wife Katherine were among the early arrivals to Fort
Union. Katie and Isaac wrote home frequently to her family. In one of Katie Bowen’s
letters she noted that the winds at Fort Union were very strong. According to her,
they blew hard for a week from the north, then quieted down, and then they blew hard
from the south. She had trouble keeping the dirt out of her new house, and she wrote
home that the dirt drifted in like snow in every unprotected crevice. Occasionally
she even had to shovel out her house because it was so deep. She wrote to her parents:
"How I would like that you could look in and see how primitive we are in our
log houses, white-washed logs overhead, chinked and covered with earth to shed snow
and rain."12
Fort Union was located on the Mora land grant. The United States government was supposed
to pay rent for the use of the land.13 Although the secretary
of the interior tried to amend the Mora land grant so that the improvements would
belong to the United States, it turned out that such an amendment was not legal.
The grantees, however could not compel the government to abandon the post. So, the
government concluded that it owned the buildings and improvements, and could not
be forced to leave the post. Thus, the federal government had no land ownership at
Fort Union.14
The barter system was a big part of daily life at Fort Union. Families traded for
vegetables, butter, eggs and herbs. Their reliance on supplementing army rations
had an impact on the physical appearance of the post. The troops became creative
in providing for extra food. They had small gardens and raised stock. In September,
1859, the post commander issued an order stating that from that time forward, hogs
were prohibited from running loose through the garrison. The hogs ate anything they
found and the troops in turn ate them.15
An 1853 inspection of the fort by Joseph Mansfield noted some points about Fort Union.
He criticized the location of the fort, saying that it was to close to the mesa for
adequate defense. Mansfield found the post "in a high rate of discipline and
every department of it in good order," especially when the troops had to do
everything from building quarters, gathering timber and hay, farming, escorting trains,
and pursuing Indians.16
The buildings at the first fort were deteriorating at a rapid rate. They were not
constructed as permanent buildings. In late 1856 Assistant Surgeon Jonathan Letterman
did an inspection report at Fort Union. He wrote, when the rains came, the run-off
drained down the mesa sometimes which such force that the buildings were flooded.
As far as the quarters were concerned, he descibed them as made of unseasoned, unhewn,
and unbarked pine logs, placed upright in some and horizontal in other houses. The
logs were decaying fast. The unbarked logs afford excellent hiding places for that
annoying and disgusting insect, the cimex lectularius (bedbug). By 1856, one barracks
had been torn down, and others were in imminent danger of collapse.17
The multiple functions at Fort Union-army post, supply depot, and arsenal-led to
some animosity between various units. The quartermaster, the fort, and the arsenal
all employed civilian employees. The depot quartermaster often outranked the post
commander. The military storekeeper who ran the arsenal reported directly to the
chief of ordnance in Washington instead of to the post commander. Although the fort
was known as one large unit, it was really three units whose leaders reported to
three separate superiors.18
In the fall 1861, Captain Grover ordered the construction of a new fort. Shortly
after, women and children were removed and sent to Las Vegas This fort would be located
just east of the original post. The army anticipated an attack from Texas troops,
who at the time were moving to seize and hold New Mexico for the confederacy. Fort
Union was the main supply depot for the territory. Control of the fort ment command
of all its arms and materiel as well as command of the Santa Fe Trail and communication
with the states.
The first fort was in an indefensible position because of the higher ground in the
rear and both flanks. The idea was to move the post out of range of field pieces
and small arms. Earth fortifications and entrenchments had well known advantages.
The main advantage was defense. It was said that good troops inside an earthwork
could withstand an attack of three to four times as many equally good troops.19
By January of 1862, nearly all of the quartermasters property, ordnance stores, and
provisions had been moved into the star fort. An article in Denver’s Rocky Mountain
News in February,1862, described the star shaped fort as:
One of the strongest forts in the Western frontier. Its size is seven hundred and
fifty feet square, parapets (an earth embankment to intercept enemy fire) seven feet
high. From the level of the ground on the inside with a ditch on the outside eight
feet deep and fifteen feet wide. Quarters for two companies built on the insides
with a large magazine, and quarters are built outside the fort in an acute angular
form from the sides of the fort, one each of the four sides with officers quarters
intervening. The ordnance will be put in position early in May. Also other necessary
buildings will be erected as soon as weather permits. The force at this fort is six
companies numbering about three hundred men.20
Even during the late 1800’s the news media gave away military secrets. However, the
confederate troops, had been spying on the fort since August, 1861.
In March of 1862, the threat of the confederate troops became a reality. Confederate
troops in search of supplies and control of the southwest threatened to invade Fort
Union. Union forces stopped the confederate army at the battle of Glorieta Pass.
The battle of Glorieta pass was the turning point of the Civil War in the far west.
Fort Union was in little danger for the rest of the Civil War. The importance of
Fort Union during that time period still remained high not only because it was the
main supply and munitions depot in the southwest but also because of the need to
keep the Santa Fe Trail open despite Apache and Navajo uprisings.
The strategic vulnerability of the star fort was disclosed in June 1862, when the
post commander gave a test consisting of a six-pound and a twelve-pound howitzer
pointed at the fort. The six-pounder was placed at the foot of the hills, and the
twelve-pounder was placed at the crest of the hills above the first fort. Both guns
were loaded with normal charges and shot off. Both guns had the fort in range. Then
in a separate test, a six-pounder was set off from the inside the star fort, its
range only carried half way to the hills.21
The conditions in the first fort and also the star fort (both of which were still
being occupied) were so bad that construction began in 1863 on the third fort.
The star fort being built mostly underground had poor ventilation, lighting and was
constantly damp. In addition the pools of water next to first fort were disappearing
and the local springs were drying up. On October 16, 1866, a huge rainstorm flooded
the star fort with eight to twelve inches of water. A report written by the post
surgeon the following day said all the men were damp. The dampness coupled with the
intermittent storms convinced the surgeon that the incidence of disease including,
fever, rheumatism, and heart complications were "due in great part to the casemated
barracks occupied by the troops at this post". He told the post commander that
the only way to fix this situation was to repair the old barracks, move into tents,
or move early into the new quarters at third fort.22 After
that last flood, the troops moved into tents because nothing at the third Fort Union
had been finished at that time except one new officers quarters.
By March, 1867, the orders came through to demolish the remaining buildings known
as "Old Post of Fort Union" except those necessary for housing authorized
laundresses and stabling horses and mules. Any woodwork that could be salvaged from
the demolition would be turned in to the depot quartermaster. The orders stated the
"Old Post" but failed to mention the buildings around the "Old Post".
A report recountered that a number of people still living in the out lying structures
are causing problems. The inspection stated:
"There are always a lot of Mexicans and unknown Americans harbored around these
buildings, Gambling, Drinking, and Prostitution, seem to be the principle use to
which many of these rooms are appropriated, and soldiers of the Garrison are enticed
and harbored there to carouse all night".23
In April 1867, these buildings were demolished. Like much of the first fort, the
army salvaged building materials from the fortification, for re-use in the third
fort.
William Shoemaker was handed the task of building the Fort Union Arsenal. Shoemaker
was appointed Ordnance Storekeeper in 1841, and then appointed Captain and Ordnance
Storekeeper in 1866. He proudly ran the arsenal at Fort Union from its inception
in 1851 until his retirement in 1882. Shoemaker was constantly trying to improve
his arsenal and to build permanent structures. He wrote the ordnance department in
Washington in September, 1856, asking for a site to build a permanent arsenal, and
to ask for appropriations for new construction as soon as possible.24
Shoemaker’s request was not approved, as well as the many requests he made following
1856.
By December of 1860, Shoemaker’s arsenal construction was still not underway. With
the exception of one storehouse and magazine built of adobe, all of his buildings
were threatening human safety. Finally in 1866, Shoemaker had been given formal approval
for the construction of a new arsenal. He hired a local mason to build cisterns.
The rain ducts of buildings were to be connected to the cisterns. He intended to
have the water pass through a charcoal filter. By using this method, he would not
need cast iron pipes. He estimated that the cisterns would each hold 15,000 gallons
of water. Shoemaker’s construction of the third fort progressed at a rapid rate.25
In June 1869, Forts Lowell and Sumner, New Mexico, were abandoned and discontinued
as military posts. All of the ordnance and ordnance stores from those forts were
transfered to Fort Union Arsenal. Shoemaker knew the closing of these forts was a
sign of things to come.
By 1873, the arsenal was almost complete. In a report Captain Shoemaker described
Fort Union as Follows:
This arsenal is the depot for supplying the territory of New Mexico and parts of
Texas, Arizona, Colorado and the adjacent Indian Territory. Fort Union Arsenal New
Mexico is situated one mile due west of Fort Union on a reservation belonging to
the ordnance department, one half-mile extent. The arsenal is enclosed by a wall
on four sides of one-thousand-feet each. The buildings consists of two officers quarters
and one set of barracks, one set of clerks quarters, one armorer, one smith shop
one carpenter, one saddler shop, one main storehouse with basement, three smaller
storehouses, two magazines for ammunition, one stable for public animals with corral,
temporary outbuildings including, shops and storehouses. There is a well with an
abundance of pure good water. Also two cisterns of eighteen thousand gallons each
are always full in case of fire. The buildings, walls and outworks are of adobe,
set on permanent stone foundations. The walls of all are heavy and well constructed.26
By 1882, the railroad had reached that area of New Mexico and the need for a standing
army was diminishing. The railroad had taken over trade, freight and passenger operations,
so the Santa Fe Trail was obsolete. Military activity in the west had slowed down
so much that the depot, arsenal, and troops were no longer needed at Fort Union.
Shoemaker announced his retirement on June 30, 1882, and asked permission to stay
in his quarters in return for watching over the arsenal buildings. He was allowed
to stay. On July 3, 1882, the army transfered lieutenant Russell to Fort Union Arsenal.
Russell’s job was to abolish the arsenal and begin demolition of the structures.27
On September 6, 1886, Shoemaker died. He was still living in the house that he had
built and he was still volunteer custodian of the empty arsenal buildings at the
time of his death. Within three years, illegal salvage operations had started dismantling
the arsenal buildings. Shoemaker had been meticulous about the quality of his construction.
He had often hired talented civilian workmen who had done quality work. In 1892,
six years after his death Shoemaker’s arsenal was gutted.
Fort Union reverted to the original claimants of the Mora Grant, who used the land
for cattle ranching. With ranching operations came the need to keep the cattle safe.
Because the surrounding area offered no shelter the animals tended to congregate
around the walls of the fort in search of shade or as a wind break. After the ranch
hands lost cattle to collapsing walls, they decided to bulldoze the most hazardous
areas. In 1949, bulldozer operator Lois Timm filled in all the cisterns and wells.
He also knocked down about twenty chimneys to prevent them from falling on cattle.
He worked his dozer in both the third fort and arsenal areas.28
No battle was ever fought at Fort Union. Fort Union may have lacked the flair and
excitement of a cavalry charge, or the heroics of an infantry platoon. But the men
who served there supplied the southwest with much needed goods and kept the Santa
Fe Trail open. Without Fort Union and the men behind the scene, there would have
been neither posts or battles nor southwest expansion.
