Heritage, Volume 11, Number 1, Winter 1993 Page: 24
28 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Historic Tour of
Historic Fort Stockton
Fort Stockton, Texas
t A Milestone in Black HistoryWhat is now called Fort Stockton was
an oasis in the desert where for many generations
the Comanches and other Native
Americans sought the constant supply of
water and game that came here to quench
their thirst.
It is claimed by some that Alvar Nunez
Cabeza de Vaca, the Spanish adventurer,
camped here in 1535. Antonio de Espejo
was here in 1583, and Captain Juan
Dominguez de Mendoza in 1683 mentions
killing three buffalo bulls here (the only
account of these animals being killed west
of the Pecos).
Today, Fort Stockton is the seat of Pecos
County, in the semi-barren ranch and oil
area, rich in heritage. The community is
nestled between low hills across the northern
horizon and the purple mass of the
Glass Mountains far to the south.
The first settlement was a stopping off
place of the forty-niners en route to the
gold fields of California. It was later called
St. Gall.
It was at this point that the great trail
from Arkansas to Chihuahua was crossed
by the Old Spanish Trail that ran from St.
Augustine, Florida, through San Antonio,
Fort Stockton, and El Paso, to San Diego.
As a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo of 1848, our government was required
to prevent Indian raids into Mexico
and established forts along the Rio Grande
vicinity for that purpose.
Military scouts first camped near
Comanche Springs in 1851. It was named
Camp Stockton in honor of Captain Robert
Field Stockton, who was a prominent
Navy officer in the early-to-mid 1850s.(He was the grandson of Richard Stockton,
a signer of the United States Declaration
of Independence.)
Military presence was formally established
in Camp Stockton by a detachment
of 20 men of the 1st and 8th Infantries,
U.S. Army in December of 1858. The post
protected travelers and settlers on the numerous
roads and trails that made use of the
abundant water supply of Comanche
Springs. The San Antonio-San Diego stage
line started in 1858, and the first stage
going west on the first transcontinental
trip, passed through Camp Stockton on
September 17, 1858. The next year the
Butterfield-Overland Mail contracted to
furnish through stages twice a week. The
garrison here formed detachments to protect
the stage lines. During the two-and-ahalf
years the stage lines were in operation,
before the Civil War, 168 employees met
violent deaths; in one year, 2-4 head of
their stage livestock had been stolen by the
Indians.
The U.S. Army withdrew from Texas
during the Civil War and abandoned Camp
Stockton in 1861. Confederate troops
briefly occupied the site until they too
withdrew. By the end of the war nothing
remained of this first post.
In July 1867, Fort Stockton was reestablished
on 960 acres leased from civilian
landowners, one-half mile northeast of the
first post. Additional acreage along
Comanche Creek was leased for the fort's
garden.
The new fort was garrisoned by four
companies of the 9th Cavalry, under the
command of Colonel Edward Hatch, oneof the new regiments created for the black
men who sought security in the U.S. Army
after the Civil War. When the 9th Cavalry
was moved to New Mexico in 1875, Colonel
Benjamin Grierson's 10th Cavalry
moved in.
These black enlisted men, commanded
by white officers, were called "buffalo
soldiers" by the Indians, (a gesture of extreme
respect , for the buffalo was a most
sacred animal to the Indians). The most
common story as to the origin of the
nickname is that the Indians found a similarity
between the black trooper's hair and
the buffalo's mane. The men accepted the
compliment and used the image on the
regimental crest. Surmounting obstacles
of harsh living conditions, difficult duty,
low pay, and racial prejudice, the black
soldiers gained a reputation of dedication
and bravery.
The Act of Congress, dated July 28,
1866, increased the regular peace time army
by raising the number of infantry regiments
from 19 to 45. The legislation stipulated
that of the new regiments, two of the cavalry
and four infantry "shall be composed of
colored men." The Act to Increase and Fix
the Military Peace Establishment of the
United States" changed the course of
American military history and afforded
blacks a permanent place in the armed
forces.
By the early 1880s the "Indian menace"
was no longer a threat, and the future
of the fort was limited. It was finally
abandoned in 1886 as the frontier moved
west.
The fort consisted of about 35 buildings,24 HERITAGE * WINTER 1993
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, Volume 11, Number 1, Winter 1993, periodical, Winter 1993; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45415/m1/24/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.