FReeper Canteen ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ 12 January 2017

Fort Bowie was established in 1862 to help in the fight against the Apache Indians and Geronimo. The fort that stands today was built in 1868. In 1886, after Geronimo’s final surrender, Fort Bowie was no longer a military fort and served travelers until 1894. The Second Calvary troopers packed up and left for their new home in Colorado. The land was sold in 1911 for $1.25 to $2.50 an acre and many of the buildings dismantled. In 1964, the site was authorized to be a National Historic site as it is today.

Established on July 28, 1862 the remains are now a National Historical Site (August 30, 1964). Shortly after Geronimo’s final surrender in 1886, Fort Bowie was closed as a military post. On October 17, 1894 the fort was officially abandoned. The garrison flag with 44 stars was lowered for the last time. The 118-man garrison of the Second Calvary troopers rode to the Bowie Station and boarded a train to their new post.

Fort Bowie, or Camp Bowie, located in Apache pass, north end of the Chiricahua mountains. One of the earliest military posts in Arizona. Located about 14 miles southeast of Bowie Railroad Station. Named for Colonel George W. Bowie, Fifth California Infantry Volunteers. Many Indian fights took place here and it was one of the most dangerous and dreaded parts of the stage road. When the railroad was built in 1881 it lost its importance. “Fort Bowie with its gruesome graveyard filled with such inscriptions as ‘Killed by Apaches’; ‘Met his death at the hands of Apaches’; and again ‘Tortured to death by Apaches.’ One visit to that graveyard was guaranteed to furnish the most calloused with nightmares for a month.” Bourke.

In 1872 General Crook placed the Chiricahua-Apaches on a reservation west of the fort, where they remained until 1876, when John P. Clum moved them to San Carlos.

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