Fort Davis Officer's Quarters

Fort Davis National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in unincorporated Jeff Davis County, Texas. Located within the... more

by David and Carol Kelly

Title

Fort Davis Officer's Quarters

Artist

David and Carol Kelly

Medium

Photograph

Description

Fort Davis National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in unincorporated Jeff Davis County, Texas. Located within the Davis Mountains of West Texas, the historic site was established in 1961 to protect one of the best remaining examples of a United States Army fort in the southwestern United States.

From 1854 to 1891, Fort Davis was strategically located to protect emigrants, mail coaches, and freight wagons on the Trans-Pecos portion of the San Antonio-El Paso Road and the Chihuahua Trail, and to control activities on the southern stem of the Great Comanche War Trail and Mescalero Apache war trails. During the Civil War, Confederate States Army troops manned the fort which was attacked on August 9, 1861 by Mescalero Apaches. The native warriors attacked the garrison's livestock herd, killed two guards and made off with about 100 horses and or cattle. Fort Davis is important in understanding the presence of African Americans in the West and in the frontier military because the 24th and 25th U.S. Infantry and the 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalry, all-black regiments (known as the Buffalo Soldiers), which were established after the American Civil War, were stationed at the post.

Uploaded

June 19th, 2013