Fort Tularosa (Catron County, New Mexico)
Catron County · New Mexico · Indian Wars
History & Significance
Fort Tularosa was established on April 30, 1872, by Lieutenant Martin P. Buffum of the 15th U.S. Infantry on the banks of Tularosa Creek to regulate the Apache Indian reservation and protect the newly opened Apache Indian Agency from the Ojo Caliente Band of Apaches. The fort was poorly sited and inadequately constructed, with crude log buildings and insufficient capacity that exposed the garrison to logistical strains and surprise attack.
The installation served two companies of infantry but proved temporary: by November 26, 1874, the Apache were relocated to the Ojo Caliente Reservation, and the post was abandoned. The fort's brief existence facilitated settlement expansion in west-central New Mexico.
The location gained renewed significance in May 1880, when Sergeant George Jordan and 25 dismounted Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th Cavalry's K Troop repulsed an assault by approximately 100 Chiricahua Apache warriors under Chief Victorio, who sought to disrupt civilian settlements during his broader campaign against reservation confinement. Jordan's defense of the stockade, organized despite exhausting forced marches and lack of sleep, resulted in zero casualties for the U.S. soldiers while inflicting several dead and wounded on the Apache force—an action that earned Jordan the Medal of Honor ten years later.
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Sources
- https://fortwiki.com/Fort_Tularosa
- https://ahgp.org/nm/Forts/fort_tularosa.html
- https://www.academia.edu/120181438/Fort_Tulerosa_1872_1874_David_Kayser_El_Palacio_volume_79_number_2_September_1973_pages_24_27
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Tularosa
- https://grokipedia.com/page/battle_of_fort_tularosa
- https://www.forttours.com/pages/hmswnm.asp
- https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/battle-tularosa-14-may-1880/