Fort Croghan
Encyclopedia
- For the 1842 Iowa fort of the same name, see Council Bluffs, Iowa.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government to protect settlers from hostile Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
along the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
frontier. From its establishment in 1849 until its decommission in 1853, Fort Croghan was home to Company C, 8th Infantry, U.S.A. (mounted) and eventually became the headquarters of the Second Dragoon Regiment.
Part of a chain of forts extending from Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
to Fort Inge
Fort Inge
Fort Inge was a frontier fort in Uvalde County, Texas established as Camp Leona on March 13, 1849. The fort served as a base for United States Army troops assigned to protect the southern overland mail route along the San Antonio-El Paso Road from Indian raids. The camp was renamed Fort Inge in...
near present day Uvalde
Uvalde, Texas
Uvalde is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,929 at the 2000 census.Uvalde was founded by Reading Wood Black in 1853 as the town of Encina. In 1856, when the county was organized, the town was renamed Uvalde for Spanish governor Juan de...
, the fort was named for Colonel George Croghan
George Croghan (soldier)
right|thumb|350px|Congressional medal presented by Congress Feb. 13, 1835. Obverse: Presented by Congress to Colonel George Croghan, 1835. Bust of Colonel Croghan Reverse: Pars Magna Fuit Ft...
. The fort originally covered some 50 acres (202,343 m²) near the present day city of Burnet, Texas
Burnet, Texas
Burnet is a city in and the county seat of Burnet County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,735 at the 2000 census.Both the city and the county were named for David Gouverneur Burnet, the first president of the Republic of Texas. He also served as Vice President during the...
, extending from Hamilton Creek up and over Post Mountain. Today a small section exists due to the efforts of the Burnet County Historical Society who raised money in the 1960s to purchase this portion of the old fort.
Early history
In the 1840s, upon the annexationAnnexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
of Texas to the United States, the federal government became responsible for the protection of frontier settlers from Indian raids. Several companies of Texas Rangers, financed by the federal government, were stationed along the frontier. In December 1847, a company of Rangers under the command of Henry Eustace McCulloch
Henry Eustace McCulloch
Henry Eustace McCulloch was a soldier in the Texas Revolution, a Texas Ranger, and a brigadier general in the army of the Confederate States during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
took up a position about three miles (5 km) south of present day Burnet. Samuel E. Holland purchased a 1280 acres (5.2 km²) grant there in 1848, including the land on which the Ranger station was located. His residence built on that land is said to have been the first permanent home in Burnet County. 1. The indigenous peoples of the Americas
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
had occupied this region for thousands of years, but did not build or live in permanent homes, theirs being a migratory culture.
In the late 1840s, it became apparent that the lure of free and cheap land had thrust many settlers far beyond the protection of civilization. More and more settlers arrived, many of them from foreign countries. Some came expecting to acquire good farmland near the Texas coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
. They soon learned that they would have to move hundreds of miles inland and the only land left was marginal rangeland
Rangeland
Rangelands are vast natural landscapes in the form of grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, savannas, chaparrals, steppes, and tundras...
. Indians who had been peaceful due to treaties and the presence of the United States soldiers during the U.S.-Mexican War now began to come into conflict with these newcomers. The Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
and Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
were particularly incensed at this intrusion into their ancient hunting grounds.
At first, the government wanted to build Fort Croghan near Holland Springs. Burnet County
Burnet County, Texas
Burnet County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 34,147. The 2008 Census Bureau Estimate was 44,488. Its county seat is Burnet. Burnet is named for David Gouverneur Burnet, the first president of the Republic of Texas...
's first white resident, Sam Holland, objected strenuously to a military post being located near his home. It was then decided to locate the fort a few miles north on Hamilton Creek. There was no more important consideration than a year-round source of abundant clean water. Water was needed for many functions as well as drinking water for people and animals.
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
, bakery
Bakery
A bakery is an establishment which produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cakes, pastries and pies. Some retail bakeries are also cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises.-See also:*Baker*Cake...
, officers' quarters, enlisted men's huts, powderhouse, horse and mule lots, blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
shop, storage buildings and a lookout building on top of Post Mountain – were constructed by the soldiers. In October 1849, Company C. 8th Infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, U.S.A. Mounted arrived to occupy this newly constructed fort.
Fort Croghan consisted of the usual log cabins enclosed by a strong stockade
Stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.-Stockade as a security fence:...
(edit)>>( Fort Croghan was not enclosed by a stockade.It was reported by a government inspector."they didnt want the soldiers to let their guard down due to a false sense of security created by a fence".) << It was manned by one company of cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
and one of infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
. The first commander was Captain Phillip St. George Cook. Captain Cook soon resigned his position and was followed by Captains; Blake, Lee
Arthur Tracy Lee
Arthur Tracy Lee served as an officer in the regular army before and during the American Civil War. He was also an author, painter, musician, and an architect.-Early Life and Career:...
and Sibley. Some of the soldiers settled in the area and stayed on after the Fort was decommissioned. Christian Dorbandt, later sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
of Burnet County was one of these men.3.
Logan Vandeveer
Logan Vandeveer, early Texas Ranger, soldier, pioneer; ranger, cattleman, and civic leader, was born in Casey county, Kentucky about 1815. He was the son of William and Emily Vandeveer. He came to Texas in 1833, joining Stephen F. Austin's Little Colony at Mina in present day Bastrop County.-...
and Peter Kerr
Peter Kerr (Texas settler)
Peter Kerr , also known as Peter Carr, was the founder of Burnet, Texas and a member of the Old Three Hundred, the original settlers in Stephen F...
were among the first to obtain contracts to furnish the fort with beef and other foodstuffs. In 1852 Vandeveer was instrumental in petitioning the Texas Legislature
Texas Legislature
The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...
to authorize the creation of Burnet County. The town was first called Hamilton or Hamilton Valley, but in 1858 the name was changed to Burnet also.
Fort Croghan was abandoned in December 1853, having served its purpose. The last building there was demolished in the 1920s and the old fort was forgotten as the town grew and prospered.
Fort Croghan Restoration
Fort Croghan Grounds and Museum
The Fort Croghan Museum features historical artifactArtifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
s including tools, household items and Western gear. The grounds contain restored buildings with period displays, including a stage stop house, blacksmith shop, school house, powder house, several late 19th century cabins, a lookout house and a syrup making shop. Fort Croghan Day is held each year to demonstrate frontier life.
See also
- Fort Worth
- Fort GatesFort GatesFort Gates, was a United States Army fort established on October 26, 1849 as Camp Gates by Captain William R. Montgomery. The fort was located on the north bank of the Leon River about five miles east of the site of present Gatesville, Texas...
- Fort GrahamFort GrahamFort Graham was a pioneer fort established in 1849 at the site of Jose Maria Village, an Anadaca camp on the western edge of present day Hill County, Texas. It remained in service until 1853, when settlements had moved further west. It was named after Col. William M...
- Fort Martin ScottFort Martin ScottFort Martin Scott is a restored United States Army outpost near Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country, United States, that was active from 1848 until 1853...
- Fort IngeFort IngeFort Inge was a frontier fort in Uvalde County, Texas established as Camp Leona on March 13, 1849. The fort served as a base for United States Army troops assigned to protect the southern overland mail route along the San Antonio-El Paso Road from Indian raids. The camp was renamed Fort Inge in...
- Fort DuncanFort DuncanFort Duncan was a U.S. Army post, set up to protect the first U.S. settlement on the Rio Grande near the current town of Eagle Pass, Texas.Fort Duncan was established on March 27, 1849, when Captain Sidney Burbank occupied the site with companies A, B, and F of the First United States Infantry...
External links
- Fort Croghan Grounds and Museum - official site
- http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/FF/qbf13.html
- Fort Croghan Grounds and Museum - more information and history