San Antonio-El Paso Road
Encyclopedia
The San Antonio-El Paso Road also known as the Lower Emigrant Road or Military Road was an economically important trade route between the Texas
cities of San Antonio
and El Paso
between 1849 and 1882. The road carried mail, freight and passengers by horse and wagon across the Edwards Plateau
and dangerous Trans-Pecos
region of West Texas
.
The "Upper Emigrant Road" originated at Austin and skirted the north of the Edwards Plateau. It intersected the Lower Road near Horsehead Crossing
of the Pecos River
.
In 1848, businessmen in San Antonio hired John Coffee Hays
to find a route to El Paso. Hays and a squad of Texas Rangers
spent three and a half months on their quest but only made it as far as Presidio
due to lack of food and water.
By 1849, gold-seekers wishing to get to California
to stake claims were arriving in Texas and looking for opportunities to travel west. Brevet
Major General
William J. Worth
ordered Lieutenant
William H.C. Whiting and Lieutenant William Farrar Smith
to find a suitable route to El Paso. They were to follow Hays' trail to Presidio and continue up the Rio Grande
to El Paso. The team made it to El Paso but believed the route was unsatisfactory. On the return trip, they traveled down the Rio Grande only 100 miles then headed east for the Pecos River
. They followed the Pecos to Devils River
and the Devils back to the Rio Grande. From there, they headed east to San Antonio.
Brevet Brigadier General
William S. Harney
, now in command of the army
in Texas after General Worth's death ordered Lieutenant Smith to accompany Lieutenant Colonel
Joseph E. Johnston
on another survey expedition to El Paso. The survey party was escorted by a company of the First Infantry. There were also six companies of the Third Infantry and a group of California bound immigrants. The trail they followed to El Paso differed only slightly from Whiting and Smith's return route. This trail would become known as the Lower or Military Road and then the San Antonio-El Paso Road.
To protect people and supplies along the road from indian
s and bandits, a series of fortification
s were established by the army. These included Fort Inge
, Fort Clark, Fort Lancaster
, Fort Stockton
, Fort Davis
, Fort Quitman
and Fort Bliss
. The road was part of the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line. The Butterfield Overland Mail
began using the Lower Road from the Pecos River to El Paso in 1859.
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...
cities of San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
and El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
between 1849 and 1882. The road carried mail, freight and passengers by horse and wagon across the Edwards Plateau
Edwards Plateau
The Edwards Plateau is a region of west-central Texas which is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north, and the Pecos River and Chihuahuan Desert to the west. San Angelo, Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio roughly outline the area...
and dangerous Trans-Pecos
Trans-Pecos
The term Trans-Pecos, as originally defined in 1887 by the Texas geologist Robert T. Hill, refers to the portion of Texas that lies west of the Pecos River. The term is considered synonymous with "Far West Texas", a subdivision of West Texas...
region of West Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
.
The "Upper Emigrant Road" originated at Austin and skirted the north of the Edwards Plateau. It intersected the Lower Road near Horsehead Crossing
Horsehead Crossing
Horsehead Crossing is a ford on the Pecos River, Crane County, Texas. Historically it was major landmark on the trail west as one of a few fordable sections of the Pecos in West Texas, and as a first source of water for about 75 miles on the route from the east.General location as marked by state...
of the Pecos River
Pecos River
The headwaters of the Pecos River are located north of Pecos, New Mexico, United States, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet on the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County. The river flows for through the eastern portion of that state and neighboring Texas before it...
.
In 1848, businessmen in San Antonio hired John Coffee Hays
John Coffee Hays
Col. John Coffee "Jack" Hays was a Texas Ranger captain and military officer of the Republic of Texas. Hays served in several armed conflicts, including the Indian and the Mexican-American War.-Biography:...
to find a route to El Paso. Hays and a squad of Texas Rangers
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
spent three and a half months on their quest but only made it as far as Presidio
Presidio, Texas
Presidio is a city in Presidio County, Texas, United States. It stands on the Rio Grande , on the opposite side of the U.S.-Mexico border from Ojinaga, Chihuahua. The population was 4,167 at the 2000 census....
due to lack of food and water.
By 1849, gold-seekers wishing to get to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to stake claims were arriving in Texas and looking for opportunities to travel west. Brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
William J. Worth
William J. Worth
William Jenkins Worth was a United States general during the Mexican-American War.-Early life:Worth was born in 1794 in Hudson, New York, to Thomas Worth and Abigail Jenkins. Both of his parents were Quakers, but he rejected the pacifism of their faith...
ordered Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
William H.C. Whiting and Lieutenant William Farrar Smith
William Farrar Smith
William Farrar Smith , was a civil engineer, a member of the New York City police commission, and Union general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
to find a suitable route to El Paso. They were to follow Hays' trail to Presidio and continue up the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
to El Paso. The team made it to El Paso but believed the route was unsatisfactory. On the return trip, they traveled down the Rio Grande only 100 miles then headed east for the Pecos River
Pecos River
The headwaters of the Pecos River are located north of Pecos, New Mexico, United States, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet on the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County. The river flows for through the eastern portion of that state and neighboring Texas before it...
. They followed the Pecos to Devils River
Devils River (Texas)
The Devils River is a pristine, whitewater river in southwestern Texas, USA. It begins in northwest Sutton County, at , where six watercourses come together, Dry Devils River, Granger Draw, House Draw, Jackson, Flat Rock Draw, and Rough Canyon...
and the Devils back to the Rio Grande. From there, they headed east to San Antonio.
Brevet Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
William S. Harney
William S. Harney
William Selby Harney was a cavalry officer in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War and the Indian Wars. He was born in what is today part of Nashville, Tennessee but at the time was known as Haysborough....
, now in command of the army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in Texas after General Worth's death ordered Lieutenant Smith to accompany Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph Eggleston Johnston was a career U.S. Army officer, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars, and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
on another survey expedition to El Paso. The survey party was escorted by a company of the First Infantry. There were also six companies of the Third Infantry and a group of California bound immigrants. The trail they followed to El Paso differed only slightly from Whiting and Smith's return route. This trail would become known as the Lower or Military Road and then the San Antonio-El Paso Road.
To protect people and supplies along the road from indian
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...
s and bandits, a series of fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
s were established by the army. These included 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...
, Fort Clark, Fort Lancaster
Fort Lancaster
Fort Lancaster, one in a series of forts erected along the western Texas frontier, is located in the Pecos River Valley in Crockett County, Texas, United States. The fort was established by Captain Stephen Decatur Carpenter on August 20, 1855, to guard the military supplies, commercial shipments,...
, Fort Stockton
Fort Stockton, Texas
Fort Stockton is a city in Pecos County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,846 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pecos County.-Geography:Fort Stockton is located at ....
, Fort Davis
Fort Davis National Historic Site
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...
, Fort Quitman
Fort Quitman
Fort Quitman was a United States Army installation on the Rio Grande in Texas, south of present-day Sierra Blanca, twenty miles southeast of McNary in southern Hudspeth County. The fort was named for Mississippi Governor John A...
and Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...
. The road was part of the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line. The Butterfield Overland Mail
Butterfield Overland Mail
The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail was a stagecoach route in the United States, operating from 1857 to 1861. It was a conduit for the U.S. mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri, meeting Fort Smith, Arkansas, and continuing through Indian Territory, New Mexico,...
began using the Lower Road from the Pecos River to El Paso in 1859.