Fort Fillmore (Las Cruces, New Mexico, New Mexico)
Las Cruces, New Mexico · New Mexico · Indian Wars, Civil War
History & Significance
Fort Fillmore was a United States military fortification established by Colonel Edwin Vose Sumner in September 1851 near Mesilla in what is now New Mexico, primarily for the purpose of protecting settlers and traders traveling to California. The fort was intended to protect a corridor plagued by hostile Apaches, where several migration routes converged between El Paso and Tucson to take advantage of Apache Pass.
The fort was originally constructed in the jacal style with upright wood posts plastered over with adobe; later, more substantial adobe walls were erected, with much of the work done by soldiers and local Mexican laborers. The fort served as an operating base for units of the 1st Dragoons, briefly the 2nd Dragoons, Regiment of Mounted Rifles, and the 3rd and briefly the 8th Infantry Regiments, and was for a time the headquarters of the 3rd Infantry Regiment.
Captain George Pickett was possibly the most famous soldier who served at Fort Fillmore. Two days after the Union's unsuccessful attack on Confederate soldiers under Lt. Col. John Baylor at the First Battle of Mesilla on July 25, 1861, Fort Fillmore was set afire and abandoned by the Union army; when 300 Confederate soldiers approached the 500 retreating Union soldiers, Major Isaac Lynde surrendered his demoralized troops without firing a shot.
The fort was officially closed by the Union in October 1862. Over the years, the small fort continued to deteriorate and fell into ruins.
Key Facts
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Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Fillmore
- https://www.legendsofamerica.com/fort-fillmore/
- https://newmexicohistoryblog.wordpress.com/2018/10/04/fort-fillmore/