The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 67, July 1963 - April, 1964 Page: 5
672 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Three Forts in Coryell County
the river would have been a better one; there North Fort Hood
was built.
Original Fort Gates in the wilderness must have been a lonely
post for the men stationed there. R. G. Grant, the man who later
gave the streets and public square to Gatesville, operated a trad-
ing post a short distance up the branch from the fort and in con-
nection therewith operated a still.' This may have enlivened the
scene on occasion. The walls of the building were of logs and the
roof of bear skins, so there must have been bear in the woods.
In Elizabeth Sheridan, however, Fort Gates had its own special
type of Madelyn Munroe. One of the soldiers stationed there was
a young emigrant from Ireland, Hugh Sheridan' by name. He had
come to America in 1847 and had left behind him a sweetheart.
He wrote her that the country around Fort Gates was beautiful
and, looking to the future, he asked her whether she would like
to come to America and marry him, but he failed to specify
the date. To his amazement, he received a letter saying that she
would sail for Galveston on a certain date and for him to meet
her there. She was on the high seas when he received the letter.
He took his troubles to the commanding officer, and the officer
furnished him with an old-fashioned buckboard and two good
horses. Sheridan reached Galveston just in time to meet the boat.
He and Elizabeth were married by a Catholic priest and set out
on their way back to the post. The bridegroom, however, was not
too happy, because he was wondering what he was going to do with
his wife when he got back to Fort Gates, but his buddies had
worked that all out for him. When he arrived, there was a big
reception waiting, and the couple was surprised with a one-room
log cabin built near the fort by the soldiers. When the troops
were moved to Fort Phantom Hill, Sheridan was left in charge of
the buildings.
The writer's first definite recollection of Fort Gates is of 19o2,
when there were three buildings still standing. They were said
1J. H. Chrisman, Indian Depredations (typescript in possession of Mrs. H. K.
Jackson, Gatesville; original in possession of Mrs. Rosella Chrisman Duke, Waco).
AHugh Sheridan bought land adjoining the fort and became a citizen of Coryell
County. He and the writer's grandfather, W. H. Belcher, became close friends and
the families visited. This story and other facts came through them and were
told to the writer by her mother.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 67, July 1963 - April, 1964, periodical, 1964; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101197/m1/23/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.