Fort Bowie

Fort Bowie National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Fort Bowie National Historic Site Arizona Official Map and Guide "When I was young I walked all over this country, east and west, and saw no other people than the Apaches." Cochise The ruins of Fort Bowie today. Photographed by Sandra Petellin Miller. Guardian of Apache Pass For more than 20 years Fort Bowie and Apache Pass were focal points of military operations by the U.S. Army against the Chiricahua Apaches for control of the region. This bitter struggle, which ended only with the surrender of Geronimo in 1886, helped to determine the pattern of development on America's Southwestern frontier during the last half of the 19th century. The Celerity Wagon, so named for its light weight and speed, was specially designed for the rugged Southwest portion of the Butterfield Overland stage route. It was smaller than the bulky Concord coaches used on other parts of the line. This illustration by Nick Eggenhofer is used by permission of the Nick Eggenhofer Estate. The Spaniards called it Puerto del Dado, the Pass of Chance. They might better have named it Puerto de la Muerte, the Pass of Death, due to the violence that swirled around it. Because the springs there were an unfailing source of water, Apache Pass—separating the Chiricahua and Dos Cabezas mountains—drew a long procession of emigrants, prospectors, and soldiers into this homeland of the Apache. It was also the scene of two engagements with Cochise's Apache warriors—the Bascom Affair of 1861 (see below) and the Battle of Apache Pass, fought July 15-16,1862, during which a Union army under Brig. Gen. James Carleton was ambushed while en route to confront Confederate troops in Arizona and New Mexico. The Battle of Apache Pass led to the establishment of Fort Bowie to protect both the pass and Apache Spring. Soldiers from the 5th California Volunteer Infantry began its construction on July 28,1862, on a hill overlooking the spring. It was named for the regiment's commanding officer, Col. George Washington Bowie. Completed in less than three weeks, the fort was more of a temporary camp than a permanent military post—13 tents surrounded by irregular stone breastworks thrown up at key positions on top of the hill. As winter approached, the tents were replaced by a collection of crude stone and adobe huts, which one officer called "mere hovels . . . through which the rain passes very much as it would through a sieve." In 1868 a less primitive Fort Bowie was established on a plateau about 300 yards to the southeast. Substantial adobe barracks, a row of houses for officers, corrals, storehouses, a post trader's store, and a hospital soon occupied the four sides of the sloping parade ground. More buildings were added over the years, and at the time of its abandonment in 1894 Fort Bowie was a modern post of about 38 structures. These are the ruins seen here today. Between 1862 and 1886, Fort Bowie served as the nerve center for military campaigns against hostile Chiricahua Apaches led first by Cochise and then by Geronimo. Cochise finally made peace in 1872, and he and his people were given a 3,000-square-mile reservation in southeastern Arizona that included their traditional homeland. After Cochise died of natural causes in 1874, Indian agent Tom Jeffords tried to maintain order, but young Apaches grew discontented with conditions on the reservation and escaped, adding to the growing distrust between Indians and settlers. In 1876, in an effort to impose more rigid control, the Government abolished the Chiricahua Reservation and ordered everyone to be moved to the San Carlos Butterfield Overland iviaii The Bascom Arrair "Remember, boys, nothing on God's earth must stop the United States mail!" That's what John Butterfield told his Overland Mail stage drivers when he inaugurated his semi-weekly, 24-day mail service to California on September 15, 1858. Butterfield's Overland Mail Company began operation with about 2,000 employees, more than 250 coaches and several hundred wagons, 1,800 horses and mules, and 240 stage stations spaced along its 2,800-mile route. The U.S. Government paid the company $600,000 per year for carrying the mail. The Overland Mail route (see map, right) began at Memphis, Tenn., and St. Louis, Mo., joined at Fort Smith, Ark., then went to El Paso, Tex., across southern New Mexico and Arizona to Fort Yuma, and up California's central valley to San Francisco. In its three-year history, the Overland Mail was attacked only once by Apaches and was late reaching the end of the line only three times. In January 1861 a band of Apaches raided the ranch of John Ward, stole some stock, and kidnapped the son of a Mexican woman who lived with Ward. Ward wrongly believed that Cochise and his Chiricahuas were responsible and demanded that the military authorities confront the Apache leader, recover his stock, and secure the return of the boy. In February, the Army responded by sending Lt. George Bascom and 54 men into Apache Pass. After setting up camp about a mile from the Butterfield stage station, Bascom lured Cochise into his tent and threatened to hold him hostage until Ward's property and the boy were returned. Furious and insulted, Cochise slashed through the wall of the tent and eluded the cordon of soldiers stationed outside. Sporadic fighting between Cochise's warriors and Army troops bloodied Apache Pass for the next two weeks and marked the beginning of open warfare that raged intermittently between whites and Apaches for the next ten years. John Butterfield, right, gave his conductors, agents, drivers, and other employees specific instruc tions on how to meet and maintain their schedules. The Apache Pass Stage Station was built in July 1858. Its high stone walls harbored a kitchen-dining room, sleeping rooms, a storage room for feed and weapons, and a mule corral. Before the Bascom Affair, the Overland Mail Company paid Cochise and his people to supply station employees with wood. After the southern section of the Butterfield stage route was discontinued on the eve of the Civil War in 1861, the station was abandoned. Only ruins remain today. Apache Spring provided water for Indians, travelers, and soldiers passing through the area. It still delivers a gentle, steady flow of water today. Cochise (18247-74) was not overly hostile to whites until 1861, when a false accusation of theft and kidnapping initiated more than a decade of death and destruction throughout southern Arizona. No authentic likeness of Cochise is known to exist, but this portrait by a modern artist is based on written descriptions, facial features of Cochise's sons, and facial characteristics of Chiricahua Apaches in general. Reservation in the hot, barren, and disease-ridden Gila River Valley. But several bands led by Geronimo and others fled to the Sierra Madre of northern Mexico and began to terrorize the border region. During the next ten years, most of these "renegades" would be captured and returned to San Carlos. Faced with the reservation's restraints and deplorable conditions, however, many would escape again, some more than once. The last outbreak occurred in May 1885 when Geronimo led 134 Chiricahuas back into Mexico. They were pursued by soldiers and Apache scouts commanded first by Brig. Gen. George Crook and then by Brig. Gen. Nelson A. Miles. After their final surrender in September 1886, Geronimo and his remaining followers were brought to Fort Bowie. There they were assembled on the parade ground and taken by wagons to the railroad for the long journey to exile in Florida. Geronimo's defeat ended both the Apache Wars and Fort Bowie's usefulness as a military installation. The fort, however, remained an active post for another eight years. It was finally closed on October 17,1894, when the last troops were withdrawn. George Crook (1829-90), West Point graduate, Civil War veteran, came to Fort Bowie in 1871 to fight against Cochise. Eleven years later he returned to fight against Geronimo. Crook was one of the few professional military men who saw Indians as worthy adversaries, and he encouraged the Government to grant them full civil rights and all the privileges of citizenship. Nelson A. Miles (18391925) had a long and distinguished military career, spanning the years from the Civil War to the early 20th century. Most of his postCivil War career was spent in the West. He fought Crazy Horse, captured Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, and forced the surrender of Sitting Bull. After replacing General Crook, he engineered the surrender of Geronimo in 1886 and suppressed the Ghost Dance of the Sioux in 1890-91 in the last of the nation's major Indian wars. Geronimo (1829-1909) was the most famous of all Apache leaders. Though he was not a chief, many members of the tribe turned to him for leadership when they were moved to the San Carlos Reservation in 1876. For the next 10 years, he alternately remained peacefully on the reservation and waged war against the settlers. His final surrender ended the Apache Wars. Historic Fort Bowie Fort Bowie at the height of its development in the early 1890s. Recreated by Richard Schlecht. About Your Visit A Walk Into History The original route into Fort Bowie was a wagon road created by the soldiers who garrisoned the post. Today, access to the fort is by way of a 1.5-mile foot trail, open sunrise to sunset, that generally follows the old military road. The trail begins at the trailhead parking area and passes a number of historic features, including the ruins of the Butterfield Stage Station, the post cemetery, Apache Spring, and the site of the first Fort Bowie. A visitor center is open daily, except December 25, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are no camping facilities within the park. Motels, stores, trailer parks, and campgrounds can be found in the nearby towns of Willcox and Bowie. Another campground is at Chiricahua National Monument, 25 miles to the southwest. Precautions Fort Bowie's elevation (5,000 feet) may require some acclimatization. Drinking water is available only at the fort. Summer hikers should carry a canteen and sun protection, since temperatures may climb above 100°F. Summer storms may suddenly and briefly flood the washes. Simply wait out the high water. Avoid hiking when lightning is present. Also, be alert for an occasional rattlesnake. Hunting is prohibited within the park. So, too, are metal detectors, digging tools, and guns. Keep wheeled vehicles on roads and do not climb on the fragile walls and mounds. Stay on trails. Pets must be leashed. The Natural Setting The hills around Fort Bowie lie within the Upper Sonoran life zone and contain sev- eral biotic communities. Desert grasslands dominate the lower slopes. The chaparral is characterized by tough evergreens, which sometimes form dense thickets of manzanita, mountain mahogany, and silk tassel. Oak, juniper, and pinyon pine are found on the higher slopes while large trees such as willow, walnut, and Cottonwood are typical along the sandy drainages. After good winter rains, many spring and summer wildflowers brighten the hillsides. Typical are bladder pod, desert baileya, alionia, and globe mallow. The area is also enriched by an array of animals, such as deer, gray fox, coyote, cougar, bobcat, coati, peccary, snakes, and lizards, as well as birds of many kinds. Access The trailhead on Apache Pass Road can be reached from two directions: From Willcox, located on 1-10, drive 22 miles south on Ariz. 186 to the graded dirt road leading east into Apache Pass; from the town of Bowie, also on 1-10, drive south 12 miles on the partly paved road that leads directly into Apache Pass. This road is very slippery when wet. Do not cross flooded washes. For those with disabilities, call (520) 847-2500. Administration Fort Bowie National Historic Site is a unit of the National Park System, which consists of more than 360 parks representing important examples of our country's natural and cultural heritage. A superintendent, whose address is Dos Cabezas Route, Box 6500, Willcox, AZ 856439737, is in charge. •' GPO:1997-417-646760149 Primed on recycled paper.