Fort Bowie was a 19th-century outpost of the United States Army located in southeastern Arizona near the present day town of Willcox, Arizona . The remaining buildings and site are now protected as Fort Bowie National Historic Site .
22-711: Fort Bowie was established by the California Volunteers in 1862, after a series of engagements between the California Column and the Chiricahua Apaches . The most violent of these conflicts was the Battle of Apache Pass in July 1862. The fort was named in honor of Colonel George Washington Bowie commander of the 5th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry who first established the fort. The first Fort Bowie resembled
44-595: A few days so men and horses would not exhaust the springs and wells along the way. They followed the established route of the Butterfield Overland Mail , which had ceased operation the year before. The mail posts were filled with food and grain which Union forces had stockpiled there before the hostilities. Arizona Confederate volunteers, of the Company A, Arizona Rangers , under Captain Sherod Hunter , arrested
66-415: A temporary camp rather than a permanent army post. In 1868, a second, more substantial Fort Bowie was built which included adobe barracks, houses, corrals, a trading post, and a hospital. The second Fort Bowie was built on a plateau about 500 yards (460 m) to the east of the first site. For more than 30 years Fort Bowie and Apache Pass were the focal point of military operations eventually culminating in
88-777: The Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars, is buried in the post cemetery In 1958 a Western entitled Fort Bowie was made, starring Ben Johnson . The film charted one of the disputes between the US Cavalry based at the fort and the Apaches. California Column The California Column was a force of Union volunteers sent to Arizona and New Mexico during the American Civil War . The command marched over 900 miles (1,400 km) from California through Arizona and New Mexico Territory to
110-595: The Rio Grande and as far east as El Paso, Texas , between April and August 1862. The "California Column" originally consisted of ten companies of the 1st California Infantry , all five companies of the 1st Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry , Company B, 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry and Light Battery A of the Third U.S. Artillery. This command contained 1500 well drilled and disciplined men. Later on, Lieutenant Colonel George W. Bowie 's 5th California Infantry
132-705: The United States Army who received the Medal of Honor for gallantry in action during the Indian Wars . Spence was born in 1847 in Tionesta, Pennsylvania , and joined the Army in 1868. He was stationed at Fort Bowie in the Arizona Territory with Company G of the 8th Cavalry Regiment . On October 20, 1869, Spence earned a Medal of Honor for gallantry after a battle against a band of Apaches led by Cochise . Spence
154-618: The California Column reached the Rio Grande , their crossing was delayed a week by the huge spring flood that year, part of the Great Flood of 1862 . Upon crossing they found the Confederates had already retreated into Texas. Carlton followed them into West Texas , capturing the town of Franklin (modern-day El Paso ) and advancing as far as Fort Quitman . Part of their service after occupying West Texas would be as garrisons to prevent
176-466: The Chiricahua Apaches were responsible for the raid and demanded that the military take action against Cochise to recover property stolen during the raid. The next month, the army responded to Ward's request by sending Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom and fifty-four men to Apache Pass to confront Cochise. Bascom managed to capture Cochise and threatened to hold him hostage until Ward's property
198-539: The Confederate rearguard. It was not until late June that a scout named John W. Jones was able to outrun pursuing Apaches and get a message to Canby: "The Column from California is really coming." On the march to the Rio Grande, 140 men of Company E, 1st California Infantry , and Company B, 2nd California Cavalry, fought the famous Apache leaders Cochise and Mangas Coloradas at Apache Pass in July. When elements of
220-775: The Territory. The Confederates also enlisted citizens of their Confederate Territory of Arizona in small units. The soldiers of the California Column, both infantry and cavalry, often traveled by foot wearing woolen uniforms in the desert heat. They started out from Fort Yuma along the Colorado River . Much like the Confederate Army of New Mexico (also known as the Sibley Brigade), which had entered New Mexico from Texas in December 1861, they traveled in small groups at intervals of
242-578: The Union Army agent, Ammi White , destroyed White's flour mill at Casa Blanca and supplies of food and fodder being gathered there and at other stage stations along the Column's route between Fort Yuma and Tucson. This slowed Carleton's progress. Most of Carleton's attempts to send messages to General E. R. S. Canby , the Union's departmental commander of New Mexico, were intercepted, and one patrol sent to meet White
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#1732855410537264-419: The census to date. The Fort Bowie and Apache Pass site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960. The remains of Fort Bowie are carefully preserved, as are the adobe walls of various post buildings and the ruins of a Butterfield Stage Station . The site is located on the unpaved Apache Pass Road which can be accessed from Interstate 10 near Bowie, Arizona or from Arizona Highway 186 just north of
286-469: The entrance to Chiricahua National Monument . Access to the ruins of Fort Bowie and the visitor center is via a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) foot trail which begins at a parking area along Apache Pass Road. This trail to the old fort passes other historic sites such as Apache Spring, Siphon Canyon, the ruins of the Butterfield Stage Stop and Bascom's Camp. US Army soldier Orizoba Spence , who received
308-414: The eventual establishment of Fort Bowie in order to protect Apache Pass and an important source of water, Apache Spring. Construction on the first Fort Bowie began in 1862 but this resembled a temporary camp rather than a permanent military fort. In 1868, a second, more substantial Fort Bowie was built on a plateau about 500 yards (460 m) to the east. For more than 30 years Fort Bowie and Apache Pass were
330-524: The focal point of military operations eventually culminating in the surrender of Geronimo in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to Florida and Alabama . The fort was abandoned in 1894. Fort Bowie first reported on the 1870 U.S. Census as "Apache Pass." It featured 400 residents, all White. It tied with Adamsville for the distinction of the 4th largest community in the Arizona Territory. At
352-476: The return of the Confederates into the Union reorganized Territories of New Mexico and Arizona. Their main activity was as garrisons of the settlements and forts in New Mexico Territory, and in fighting against the Apaches and Navajo until they were relieved by the U. S. Army in 1866. Orizoba Spence Orizoba O. Spence (1847 – April 7, 1876), alternatively spelled Orisoba , was a sergeant in
374-601: The surrender of Geronimo in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to Florida and Alabama . The fort was abandoned in 1894. There were two engagements between the United States Army and the Chiricahua that led to the construction of Fort Bowie in 1862. The first engagement, known as the Bascom Affair , took place in January 1861 when a band of Apaches raided the ranch of John Ward. Ward mistakenly believed that Cochise and
396-455: The time, it was located in Pima County. In 1880, it reported as "Camp Bowie" with 184 residents (the racial demographics were not reported). In 1881, Fort Bowie was drawn into the newly created county of Cochise. Although Fort Bowie was still in existence as an active U.S. Army facility, it did not report a population for 1890. It would be formally closed down 4 years later. It has not reported on
418-470: Was added, bringing the total strength of the Column to 2350 men. The objective of California Column commander Colonel James Henry Carleton (promoted to brigadier general while the column was en route) was to drive Confederate troops out of the Federal New Mexico Territory . In 1861 a relatively small Confederate Army force from Texas pushed out small Union forces from several forts in
440-578: Was captured by Confederates at White's Mill at the Pima Indian villages. During their advance the California Column engaged the Confederates in two small skirmishes. The first was a skirmish with Confederates attempting to burn forage gathered at Stanwix Station near the end of March 1862. The second clash came in mid-April when the column marched on Tucson from Casa Blanca, at the Picacho Pass . Their subsequent rapid approach to Tucson nearly trapped
462-491: Was discharged from the army as a sergeant at Fort Selden , New Mexico in 1873. He married in 1874 and briefly resided in Grant County, New Mexico . He went on to work as a cook at the overland mail stage station at Sulphur Springs in the Arizona Territory. On April 7, 1876, the station was raided by a band of Apaches led by Pionsenay after an argument over whiskey sales. Pionsenay shot and killed Spence and Nicholas Rogers,
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#1732855410537484-518: Was returned but the Apache leader managed to escape. Sporadic fighting between Cochise's warriors and Army troops would continue for years to come. The second major engagement was the Battle of Apache Pass , fought from July 15 to July 16, 1862. A Union regiment under Brigadier General James Henry Carleton was ambushed by a band of Apaches while en route from California to New Mexico where they were to confront Confederate troops. This battle led to
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