Fort Weld (Denver, Colorado)

Denver · Colorado · Civil War

Quick BriefFort Weld, also called Camp Weld, occupied 30 acres east of the Platte River in what is now Denver's La Alma-Lincoln Park neighborhood, established in September 1861 and abandoned in 1865. Troops departing on February 22, 1862, defeated Confederate forces at La Glorieta, New Mexico, securing the Southwest for the Union.

Civil War

History & Significance

Territorial Governor William Gilpin constructed the post in 1861 to protect Colorado Territory from Confederate attack. Named for Lewis Ledyard Weld, the first Territorial Secretary, the facility became the primary training ground for Colorado volunteer regiments.

Upon arriving in Denver in May 1861, Gilpin raised two companies of volunteers which grew into the First Regiment of Colorado Volunteers, assembling at Camp Weld along the South Platte River. Detachments of the 1st Colorado Volunteer Infantry Regiment marched from Camp Weld on February 22, 1862, to secure victories at the Battle of Glorieta Pass in New Mexico Territory, repelling Southern forces and safeguarding Colorado's resources from Confederate threats.

The post also served as headquarters against Indians from 1864–1865. The Camp Weld Conference on September 28, 1864, brought Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs including Black Kettle, Little Raven, and Spotted Wolf to meet territorial governor John Evans and military commander Colonel John M. Chivington to negotiate peace.

Two fires destroyed the camp; one soldier later homesteaded on Officer's Row, the last standing section, where he raised his family and established fish ponds and orchards. A bronze and granite historical marker was erected at 8th and Vallejo in 1934.