Fort Buchanan (Santa Cruz County, Arizona)
Santa Cruz County · Arizona · Apache Wars
History & Significance
Built in 1856, it was the first post established within the bounds of the Gadsden Purchase made in 1853. First founded as Camp Moore, the post was later renamed Fort Buchanan in honor of President James Buchanan.
The primary mission of Fort Buchanan was threefold: to protect settlers and miners from Apache raids, to establish American sovereignty in the recently acquired territory, and to maintain surveillance over the nearby Mexican border. Full-scale war with the local Chiricahua Apache was initiated by the Bascom affair in early 1861, during which Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom and his patrol were based at Fort Buchanan.
At the beginning of the Civil War, U.S. troops were withdrawn from Arizona to New Mexico, and to keep the fort from falling into Confederate hands, it was destroyed in July 1861. By 1865, the fort was in a derelict state but still offered a decent defensible position so eight soldiers of the 1st California Cavalry, under the command of Corporal Michael Buckley, manned the remains of the fort.
On the morning of February 17, 1865, a party of two surveyors and a young boy were ambushed by Apaches about 12 miles from the fort. All three rode as quickly as they could for the safety of Fort Buchanan and nearly made it before the Apaches caught up with them and killed them, in a quiet manner which did not alert the fort's garrison.
Fort Buchanan was the only American military post conquered during the war against the Chiricahua. After having been lost for years, the ruins of the fort were rediscovered in 1929.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Scattered adobe ruins of 1856 military post
- Apache Wars and Civil War era history
- Remote location on Sonoita valley landscape
- Rediscovered archaeological site showing frontier military life
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Buchanan,_Arizona
- https://www.legendsofamerica.com/fort-buchanan-arizona/
- https://www.arizonan.com/ghost-towns/fort-buchanan/
- https://www.arizonacivilwarcouncil.com/post/until-its-too-late
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Buchanan