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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
FTUNIO_060527_003.JPG: Fort Union Hospital
FTUNIO_060527_008.JPG: The Conquest: Prelude to Fort Union:
Military campaigns in the Southwest during the Mexican War, 1846-47, insured the acquisition of California and New Mexico.
After war was declared, General Kearny led a United States Army force of 1,600 over hundreds of miles of uninhabited plains into the northern provinces of Mexico.
Gen. Manuel Armijo, the Governor of New Mexico, attempted to organize resistance to the invading troops, but failed.
Claiming the Area; At Las Vegas in August, 1846, Kearny took possession of New Mexico in the name of the United States. He promised protection for all those who accepted his authority.
Resentment by some Spanish Americans and Pueblo Indians over American occupation flamed into revolt in January, 1847, most notably at Taos where governor Charles Bent was killed.
U.S. troops under Colonel Sterling Price marched from Santa Fe, suppressing the rebellion, and punished the insurgents, who had fortified the church, the Mission of San Geronimo de Taos.
By 1848 (?), American government was accepted.
Important Acquisition: After consolidating his strength in New Mexico, Kearny marched on to California. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 provided for the cession of the Southwest to the United States.
FTUNIO_060527_010.JPG: Founding Fort Union:
After the Mexican War, the Army built a series of forts to protect the new territory. Fort Union, on the main line of communication with the Missouri frontier, was the principal fort.
In July 1851, Col. E.V. Sumner, Commander of the Ninth Military District (New Mexico Territory), established Fort Union. A strategic site was selected in a grassy valley 100 miles northeast of Santa Fe, near the junction of the Cimarron Cut-off and the Mountain Route of the Santa Fe Trail.
FTUNIO_060527_034.JPG: Fort Union and the Civil War:
The Confederates invaded New Mexico from Texas, hoping to secure a path to the Pacific and access to Colorado's gold mines.
Brig. General Henry Sibley, Commander of the Southern forces in New Mexico (CSA), had been Commandant at Fort Union in 1861 and knew the country well.
June 11, 1861: Union officers sympathetic to the Confederate cause had been resigning their commissions since bombardment of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, April 12. When Col. W.W. Loring relinquished his commission on June 11, Col. Edward R. S. Canby assumed command of the U.S. Department of New Mexico.
July 8, 1861: Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered Brig. Gen. H. H. Sibley to organize a brigade in Texas for the conquest of New Mexico.
July 23, 1861: Meanwhile, Col. John Baylor (CSA) with 230 (?) men, marched into New Mexico from Fort Bliss, Texas.
July 25, 1861: 380 Union troops led by Maj. Isaac Lynde intercepted Baylor at Mesilla but were forced to retreat to Fort Fillmore.
July 27, 1861: Major Lynde then attempted to evacuate 700 troops to Fort Stanton. They were overtaken at San Augustine Springs and surrendered without a fight.
August 1, 1861: Colonel Baylor proclaimed all New Mexico Territory south of 34 degree latitude to be the Confederate Territory of Arizona. [This includes Fort Stanton.]
August 2, 1861: Following Lynde's capture, Lt. Col. Benjamin Roberts decided to destroy his stores, abandon Fort Stanton, and move his garrison to Fort Craig. [Fort Craig is also below the 34 parallel.]
August to November, 1861: A star fort was begun at Fort Union, and Fort Craig's defenses were improved.
January, 1862: Col. Canby arrived at Fort Craig, commanding 3630 (?) men.
December, 1861 - March, 1862: Colorado Volunteer Regiments were organized and moved into New Mexico. One regiment under Col. John Slough made a forced march of 172 miles in five days!
February, 1862: 2000 Confederate troops resumed their march north. Brigadier General Sibley now commanded.
February 21, 1862: Approaching Fort Craig, exchange of gunfire led Sibley to swing east of the river [the Rio Grande]. Union forces moved out to intercept him. At Valverde, the first major battle of the campaign forced Canby to return to Fort Craig.
Losses:
Union: Killed 68, Wounded 169 (?), Prisoners 35
Confederate: Killed: 40, Wounded: 200
Sibley headed north to Albuquerque where (March 2) he found all government stores destroyed.
March 23, 1862: The Confederates occupied Santa Fe without opposition.
March 25, 1862: Confederate troops moved from Santa Fe toward Fort Union with Maj. C.L. Pyron in command.
March 26, 1862: Colonel Slough, at Bernal Springs, dispatched 410 (?) Union troops toward Santa Fe under Maj. John Chivington.
March 26-28, 1862: Completely surprised, Pyron came upon the Union troops at Glorieta Pass, about 13 (?) miles east of Santa Fe. After brisk fire, the Confederates were routed.
Losses (1st day):
Union: Killed 5, Wounded 15
Confederate: Killed 32, Confederate: 43, Prisoners: 71
Colonel Slough took over command of Union forces but the second battle two days later with both commands reinforced was no more decisive than the first, though Brigadier General Sibley reported a Confederate victory.
Losses (3rd day):
Union: Killed 29, Wounded 45
Confederate: Killed 36, Wounded 60 (?), Prisoners: 17
During the battle, Major Chivington had taken a Union detachment behind the Confederate lines, falling on their supply train at Johnson's Ranch.
News of the destruction of their meager supplied led Major Pyron to order the Confederate retreat.
April 1, 1862: Colonel Canby, with 1216 (?) men, marched north from Fort Craig.
April 10 (?), 1862: Canby reached Albuquerque and began bombarding positions held by the retreating Confederates. Regulars from Fort Union led by Col. G. R. Paul, arrived to reinforce Canby. Confederates evacuate the area.
April 16, 1862: Union forces continued pursuit of the fleeing Confederates, clashing at Peralta.
April 21, 1862: Disorganized Confederates moved toward the Texas border, abandoning animals and equipment along the way.
July 12, 1862: Confederate troops abandoned Fort Bliss and moved east with only 2000 men of the 3700 men who had entered Mexico since July, 1861.
FTUNIO_060527_052.JPG: Santa Fe Trail:
For nearly six decades -- 1822 to 1880 -- the Trail was the most important path of travel and commerce in the Southwest. Fort Union was built near the point where the road's two historic branches -- the Mountain Route and the Cimarron Cut-Off -- joined to go into Santa Fee as one trail.
FTUNIO_060527_057.JPG: Fort Union National Monument:
Welcome to Fort Union, a United States military post on the Southwest frontier in the late 1800's.
The walking tour starts here. Allow yourself about one hour of leisurely walking for the complete tour; about 30 minutes for the short tour.
Step back in time to the summer of 1874 -- to an early June morning. Exhibits along the tour route will help you relive a day in the colorful history of Fort Union.
FTUNIO_060527_076.JPG: Various markers identify the Santa Fe Trail path
FTUNIO_060527_082.JPG: First Fort Union:
"More like a village... than a military post" was how one soldier described the First Fort Union -- located across the valley near the adobe ruins of the later Fort Union Arsenal.
Begun in the summer of 1851, First Fort Union was built by unskilled soldiers using green logs. Roofs were dirt-covered. With a year, one set of barracks had to be torn down because of decay. Nevertheless, this outpost served for ten years as base of operations for military campaigns against Indian warriors skilled in deadly hit-and-run warfare.
FTUNIO_060527_088.JPG: Second Fort Union:
Soon after the Civil War began, a Confederate army marched out of Texas aimed at Fort Union and gold-rich Colorado beyond. Troops at Fort Union built a star-shaped fieldwork to meet this threat. Hastily constructed of green logs and earth, the fortifications were damp and stuffy.
In March 1862, a battle fought at Glorieta Pass -- seventy miles to the southwest -- thwarted the Confederate invasion. The star fort was subsequently abandoned with construction of a Third Fort Union.
FTUNIO_060527_102.JPG: Post Officer's Quarters
FTUNIO_060527_109.JPG: Third Fort Union:
Unlike its predecessors, the Third Fort Union was carefully planned. Building materials included native stone, adobe bricks -- fashioned from soil dug from a field north of the fort site -- and bricks manufactured in the nearby town of Las Vegas [New Mexico, not the one in Nevada]. Adobe walls were coated with lime fired in nearby kilns.
Logs were hauled from timber reserves in the Turkey Mountains, nails and window glass were freighted via the Santa Fe Trail.
The new fort actually consisted of two installations -- a large military post and an even larger Quartermaster Depot.
FTUNIO_060527_114.JPG: Post Officers' Quarters:
"Many ladies greatly disliked Fort Union," wrote a young officer's wife. She noted dust storms, low paw, and the dull monotony of everyday life -- complaints shared by most soldiers' wives in isolated frontier posts.
Fort Union offered at least one good feature: "The quarters... had an unusually wide hall," recounted the same lady, "... which was superb for dancing... with canvas stretched tightly over the floor, flags decorating the sides, and the ceilings... charmingly draped..."
FTUNIO_060527_138.JPG: Commanding Officer's Quarters:
As in most military posts, rank had its privileges. ... The Commanding Officer's home [w]as not only centrally located but also the largest.
In Fort Union, the Office of the Commanding Officer, located in his quarters, was the operational center of the Post. Everything was directed from here -- stable cleaning, a day long patrol along the Santa Fe Trail, or a complicated month-long campaign involving hundreds of troops.
FTUNIO_060527_157.JPG: Officers' Row:
Protective brick coping atop the adobe walls has not yet been added to most of the Officers' Quarters shown in the top photo, dated 1866. The buildings, pictures ten years later, are complete with porches and fencing.
FTUNIO_060527_163.JPG: Fort Union Arsenal:
Far across the valley, you can see the ruins of the Fort Union Arsenal -- built in the late 1860s on the site of First Fort Union. Ordnance supplies, weapons and ammunition were freighted from larger arsenals in the East, stored here or distributed to other frontier forts. Damaged weapons were repaired in the arsenal shop.
Sutler's Store:
Needles and thread, frying pans, peppermint sticks, items rare on the frontier, could usually be purchased at this civilian-operated store. Nearby billiards hall, saloon and restaurant were enjoyed by soldiers and many civilians who worked in the Depot.
FTUNIO_060527_165.JPG: The armory is in the distance. The sutler's store is in the foreground.
FTUNIO_060527_169.JPG: Fort Union Depot:
The management of Fort Union Depot was the business of the Quartermaster Officers who lived in these buildings. The upper photo shows the quarters under construction in 1866.
Photo of the completed Quarters was taken in 1876.
FTUNIO_060527_172.JPG: The Quartermaster Officers lived in these houses
FTUNIO_060527_186.JPG: Office of the Quartermaster
FTUNIO_060527_188.JPG: Office of the Quartermaster:
A mountain of paperwork involved in operating the huge Depot was handled in this building. Invoices and requisitions for door knobs, nails, kerosene lamps, shoes, blankets and uniform buttons, wheels, grease and mule harness were copied, classified and recopied for distribution to Army units throughout the New Mexican frontier.
FTUNIO_060527_193.JPG: They're trying to stabilize the walls
FTUNIO_060527_208.JPG: Depot Officers' Quarters:
Depot Officers' Quarters under construction in the early 1860's. The gable-roofed building behind the unfinished Officers' Quarters is the Sutler's Store.
Photo of the completed Quarters was taken in the 1870's.
FTUNIO_060527_211.JPG: Fort Union Panorama:
Construction of Post Officers' Quarters had just begun when photos 1 and 2 were taken in 1866.
Photo 3 dates from the 1870's and shows a dome-topped cistern which held rainwater gathered from storehouse roofs for use in fighting fires.
FTUNIO_060527_231.JPG: Commissary Storehouse:
In this early 1860's view, the Commissary Storehouse is hidden behind the shed-like structures on the right. This huge building housed tons of canned and bottled goods, salted meats and fish, as well as onions and potatoes to feed the garrisons of New Mexico. The stone lined cellar in the Commissary Storehouse was used for perishables such as lard, bacon and molasses.
Walls of the Quartermaster Storehouse on the left have yet to be topped with brick coping. Six-mule teams and Army wagons were used mainly for short hauls and supplying troops in the field.
FTUNIO_060527_234.JPG: Commissary Storehouse
FTUNIO_060527_239.JPG: Transportation Corral:
A small part of this huge facility is pictured in the early 1860's photo. Most long distance freighting was done by civilian contractors. Teamster lodgings are marked by brick chimneys. The building with the steeple-like roof is the Yardmaster's office.
FTUNIO_060527_240.JPG: Transportation corral
FTUNIO_060527_242.JPG: View of Quartermaster Storehouse Loading Yard
FTUNIO_060527_263.JPG: 1888 photograph of Cavalryman within the Mechanics' Corral
FTUNIO_060527_268.JPG: Transportation Corral:
Although taken at different times, these two photos show the Transportation Corral (1) and Herders Corral (2). Dozens of wagons and scores of mules were kept here in readiness to transport supplies and troops. Towering haystacks can be seen in the distance.
FTUNIO_060527_275.JPG: Privy
FTUNIO_060527_278.JPG: Privy:
Throughout the 19th century, military sanitation was far ahead of most civilian practice in the West. The "sinks," "privies," "necessaries" and latrines of the military kept contagious disease at a minimum and even by modern standards were not unhealthful.
Many objects were accidentally lost (or purposely discarded) in these pits. Excavation has yielded a wide range of such items as you see here.
FTUNIO_060527_293.JPG: Dung of some animal
FTUNIO_060527_297.JPG: Post Company Quarters:
This was home for hundreds of soldiers garrisoned at Fort Union during Indian War years -- "old soldiers" who re-enlisted, immigrants fresh off the boat, fuzzy-cheeked farm boys, older men down on their luck, a scattering of criminals on the run -- perhaps an adventurous young lawyer or schoolteacher. Infantry private or cavalry trooper, military life meant low pay, hard work and strict discipline for them all.
FTUNIO_060527_307.JPG: Military prison
FTUNIO_060527_311.JPG: Military Prison:
Soldiers and civilians accused of serious crimes -- murder, desertion, selling guns to Indians -- were temporarily held in this grim territorial prison.
After confinement in these dank, dimly lit cubicles, prisoners may well have looked forward to imprisonment in a regular Federal penitentiary.
FTUNIO_060527_316.JPG: Married Enlisted Men's Quarters:
Frontier Army life offered few advantages to married unlisted men. Yet Regular Army privates did marry, and their wives and children shared the harsh rigors of frontier living with the families of other soldiers and officers. And while the distinctions of rank were rarely forgotten, the link of shared dangers and hardships was strong.
FTUNIO_060527_321.JPG: Santa Fe Trail:
Years before there was a fort, huge freight wagons rumbled past this place en route to Santa Fe. This was the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail, looping down the Raton Pass to join the Cimarron Cutoff seven miles south of here.
From 1821 until the coming of the railroad, the Santa Fe Trail was the major link between the United States and frontier New Mexico.
FTUNIO_060527_324.JPG: Santa Fe Trail again
FTUNIO_060527_330.JPG: Fort Union Hospital:
... This hospital was the largest in the Southwest. Built for the military, it was also used by Santa Fe Trail travelers and other civilians in need of medical attention.
Three gable-roofed structures -- linked by a corridor -- formed six wards with space for 36 beds. In isolated outposts, Army doctors had to be prepared for all manner of medical emergencies, from arrow wounds to childbirth.
FTUNIO_060527_353.JPG: You can see the edges of the star fort here
Wikipedia Description: Fort Union National Monument
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fort Union National Monument is a unit of the National Park Service located north of Watrous, Mora County, New Mexico, USA. The national monument was founded on April 5, 1956.
The site preserves the second of three forts constructed on the site beginning in 1851, as well as the ruins of the third. Also visible is a network of ruts from the old Santa Fe Trail.
There is a visitor center with exhibits and a film about the Santa Fe Trail. The altitude of the Visitor Center is 6760 feet (2060 m). A 1.2 mile (1.9 km) trail winds through the fort's adobe ruins.
Santa Fe trader and author William Davis gave his first impression of the fort in the year 1857:
Fort Union, a hundred and ten miles from Santa Fé, is situated in the pleasant valley of the Moro. It is an open post, without either stockades or breastworks of any kind, and, barring the officers and soldiers who are seen about, it has much more the appearance of a quiet frontier village than that of a military station. It is laid out with broad and straight streets crossing each other at right angles. The huts are built of pine logs, obtained from the neighboring mountains, and the quarters of both officers and men wore a neat and comfortable appearance.
Land ownership:
In its forty years (1851-1891) as a frontier post, Fort Union often had to defend itself in the courtroom as well as on the battlefield. When the U.S. Army built Fort Union in the Mora Valley in 1851, the soldiers were unaware that they had encroached on private property, which was part of the Mora Grant. The following year Colonel Sumner expanded the fort to an area of eight square miles by claiming the site as a military reservation. In 1868 President Andrew Johnson went even further to declare a timber reservation encompassing the entire range of the Turkey Mountains and comprising an area of fifty-three square miles, as part of the fort.
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.)
I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com
and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
2006 photos: Equipment this year: I was using all six Fuji cameras at various times -- an S602Zoom, two S7000s,a S5200, an S9000, and an S9100. The majority of pictures this year were taken with the S9000. I have to say, the S7000s was the best camera I've used up to this point..
Trips this year: Florida (two separate trips including Lotusphere and taking care of mom), three weeks out west (including Yellowstone), Williamsburg, San Diego (comic book convention), and Georgia.
Number of photos taken this year: 183,000.
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