Battle of Fort Buchanan
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Fort Buchanan, was an 1865 Apache
attack on the United States
Army post of Old Fort Buchanan
in southern Arizona
. Though a skirmish it ended with a significant Apache victory when they forced the small garrison
of California Volunteers
to retreat to the Santa Rita Mountains
. Fort Buchanan was the only American military post conquered during the war
against the Chiricahua
.
in the United States from 1861 to 1865 and numerous conflicts involving the various native American
tribes, the Union Army
was stretched thin on the frontier
. The southern half of New Mexico Territory
and the newly created Arizona Territory
joined the Confederacy in 1861 so troops in California
were raised to occupy the region. After Lieutenant
George Bascom
's 1860 confrontation with Chief
Cochise
sometimes called the Bascom Affair, the Apache began attacking Union and Confederate troops across Arizona. By early 1865 the Chiricahua War was still being waged. According to reports at the time of attack only nine American cavalry
men manned the fort which did not have walls and was just a collection of military buildings including a vedette
station. Corporal
Michael Buckley from Company L of the 1st California Cavalry
commanded and with the eight others he occupied the vedette station that was very similar to a small house.
and a young Mexican
boy were attacked. William Whrightson and Gilbert W. Hopkins were traveling from a ranch in the Santa Ritas towards the fort, presently three miles west of Sonoita
. Suddenly dozens of Apache warrior
s opened fire with both rifles and bows. All were mounted and so a chase ensued in the direction of Fort Buchanan. The three had nearly made it there when they were overwhelmed and killed, the United States Army reported that they three did not attempt to defend themselves, no gunshots were heard and Corporal Buckley later said that he did not know that Wrightson and Hopkins were in the area. Mount Wrightson
and Mount Hopkins
, the two highest peaks of the Santa Ritas, were later named after the men.
Afterward the Apache moved on to the nearby vedette station where Corporal Buckley was sitting on the porch while five other privates
rested inside. The corporal did not know he was under attack and had beforehand sent two men to cut hay in a field nearby and one man to go hunting. The Apache achieved a surprise approach and commenced the attack by sniping the corporal. Miriam was still sitting on the porch when a warrior snuck up closeto him and opened fire, a bullet lodged into Buckley's thigh and he then raised his revolver and killed the warrior who fired the shot. Buckley then crawled inside the station as a swarm of warriors quickly surrounded the building. A private at this time opened fire while covering Buckley and killed a second native. The Americans took up defensive positions against an enemy estimated by Buckley to be around seventy-five men. They fired their rifles through the port holes and fought off a first attack at close range. From then on the natives skirmished with the Americans at a further range.
Eventually the Apache set fire to the building and several minutes later as the roof was caving in Buckley ordered his men to retreat. To do this they would have to charge through the enemy and into the surrounding hills. When the soldiers made their retreat they fired wildly and were chased until reaching the hills where the Apaches gave up. Corporal Buckley and his men marched on foot to the mines in the Santa Ritas and reached safety. Private George English, the soldier that had been sent hunting before the attack, was never seen or heard from again, he was first recorded as missing until being presumed dead. The two soldiers that were cutting hay heard the sound of shooting and headed back to the fort, when they arrived they found it surrounded by warriors who were emptying the buildings of goods and burning them, they also retreated to the Santa Ritas and later rejoined their troop.
rifles and six United States Cavalry
uniforms. On the following day Captain John L. Miriam received news of the attack and proceeded to the fort with twenty-five men. Just outside the post, the bodies of Wrightson, Hopkins and the boy were discovered and buried. After examining the condition of Fort Buchanan Captain Miriam ordered it abandoned and returned to Fort Tubac
to the west where the rest of Company L was. Fort Crittenden
was later built a half mile east of Fort Buchanan in 1867
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...
attack on the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Army post of Old Fort Buchanan
Fort Buchanan, Arizona
Fort Buchanan, was a United States Army post founded in 1856 three miles west of present day Sonoita, Arizona in what is now called Hog Canyon. The fort was located on the east slope of the canyon and under constant attack by native Americans. It was officially abandoned in 1861 but during the...
in southern Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. Though a skirmish it ended with a significant Apache victory when they forced the small garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
of California Volunteers
California Column
The California Column, a force of Union volunteers, marched from April to August 1862 over 900 miles from California, across the southern New Mexico Territory to the Rio Grande and then into western Texas during the American Civil War. At the time, this was the longest trek through desert terrain...
to retreat to the Santa Rita Mountains
Santa Rita Mountains
The Santa Rita Mountains, located about 65 km southeast of Tucson, Arizona, extend 42 km from north to south, then trending southeast. They merge again southeastwards into the Patagonia Mountains, trending northwest by southeast...
. Fort Buchanan was the only American military post conquered during the war
Apache Wars
The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States and Apaches fought in the Southwest from 1849 to 1886, though other minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. The Confederate Army participated in the wars during the early 1860s, for instance in Texas, before being...
against the Chiricahua
Chiricahua
Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...
.
Background
Due to the major civil warAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
in the United States from 1861 to 1865 and numerous conflicts involving the various native American
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...
tribes, the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
was stretched thin on the frontier
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
. The southern half of New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory
thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...
and the newly created Arizona Territory
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
joined the Confederacy in 1861 so troops in 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...
were raised to occupy the region. After 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...
George Bascom
George Nicholas Bascom
George Nicholas Bascom U. S. Army officer, in Arizona and in the American Civil War.George N. Bascom was born in Owingsville in Bath County, Kentucky. Bascom was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, and graduated 26th in a class of27 in 1858...
's 1860 confrontation with Chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
Cochise
Cochise
Cochise was a chief of the Chokonen band of the Chiricahua Apache and the leader of an uprising that began in 1861. Cochise County, Arizona is named after him.-Biography:...
sometimes called the Bascom Affair, the Apache began attacking Union and Confederate troops across Arizona. By early 1865 the Chiricahua War was still being waged. According to reports at the time of attack only nine American 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...
men manned the fort which did not have walls and was just a collection of military buildings including a vedette
Vedette
The French military term vedette , also spelled vidette, migrated into English and other languages to refer to a mounted sentry or outpost, who has the function of bringing information, giving signals or warnings of danger, etc., to a main body of troops...
station. Corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
Michael Buckley from Company L of the 1st California Cavalry
1st Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry
The 1st Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry was a cavalry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was first formed of five companies as 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry between August and October 31, 1861, at Camp Merchant near Oakland...
commanded and with the eight others he occupied the vedette station that was very similar to a small house.
Battle
The battle began on the morning of February 17 twelve miles away from the fort when two surveyors of the General Land OfficeGeneral Land Office
The General Land Office was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department of the Treasury...
and a young Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
boy were attacked. William Whrightson and Gilbert W. Hopkins were traveling from a ranch in the Santa Ritas towards the fort, presently three miles west of Sonoita
Sonoita, Arizona
Sonoita is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 826 at the 2000 census....
. Suddenly dozens of Apache warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
s opened fire with both rifles and bows. All were mounted and so a chase ensued in the direction of Fort Buchanan. The three had nearly made it there when they were overwhelmed and killed, the United States Army reported that they three did not attempt to defend themselves, no gunshots were heard and Corporal Buckley later said that he did not know that Wrightson and Hopkins were in the area. Mount Wrightson
Mount Wrightson
Mount Wrightson is the highest point in the area around Tucson, Arizona, United States at an elevation of 9,453 feet . Mount Wrightson is located in the Santa Rita Mountains southeast of Tucson in the Coronado National Forest. It was named for William Wrightson, who was a miner and entrepreneur...
and Mount Hopkins
Mount Hopkins (Arizona)
Mount Hopkins is a mountain in Santa Cruz County, Arizona part of the Santa Rita Mountains range. Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory is located on it. It is within the Coronado National Forest and was named after Gilbert Hopkins who was killed nearby in 1865 during the Battle of Fort Buchanan....
, the two highest peaks of the Santa Ritas, were later named after the men.
Afterward the Apache moved on to the nearby vedette station where Corporal Buckley was sitting on the porch while five other privates
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
rested inside. The corporal did not know he was under attack and had beforehand sent two men to cut hay in a field nearby and one man to go hunting. The Apache achieved a surprise approach and commenced the attack by sniping the corporal. Miriam was still sitting on the porch when a warrior snuck up closeto him and opened fire, a bullet lodged into Buckley's thigh and he then raised his revolver and killed the warrior who fired the shot. Buckley then crawled inside the station as a swarm of warriors quickly surrounded the building. A private at this time opened fire while covering Buckley and killed a second native. The Americans took up defensive positions against an enemy estimated by Buckley to be around seventy-five men. They fired their rifles through the port holes and fought off a first attack at close range. From then on the natives skirmished with the Americans at a further range.
Eventually the Apache set fire to the building and several minutes later as the roof was caving in Buckley ordered his men to retreat. To do this they would have to charge through the enemy and into the surrounding hills. When the soldiers made their retreat they fired wildly and were chased until reaching the hills where the Apaches gave up. Corporal Buckley and his men marched on foot to the mines in the Santa Ritas and reached safety. Private George English, the soldier that had been sent hunting before the attack, was never seen or heard from again, he was first recorded as missing until being presumed dead. The two soldiers that were cutting hay heard the sound of shooting and headed back to the fort, when they arrived they found it surrounded by warriors who were emptying the buildings of goods and burning them, they also retreated to the Santa Ritas and later rejoined their troop.
Aftermath
Two Apaches were confirmed to have been killed by Buckley who also said that because of the smoke from their rifles and the burning station, he could not tell if there were other casualties. Six horses were captured along with 250 rounds of ammunition, 200 rations, two carbineCarbine
A carbine , from French carabine, is a longarm similar to but shorter than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length....
rifles and six United States Cavalry
United States Cavalry
The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, is the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army. The role of the U.S. Cavalry is reconnaissance, security and mounted assault. Cavalry has served as a part of the Army forces in every war in which the United States has participated...
uniforms. On the following day Captain John L. Miriam received news of the attack and proceeded to the fort with twenty-five men. Just outside the post, the bodies of Wrightson, Hopkins and the boy were discovered and buried. After examining the condition of Fort Buchanan Captain Miriam ordered it abandoned and returned to Fort Tubac
Presidio San Ignacio de Tubac
The Presidio of San Ignacio de Túbac or Fort Tubac was a Spanish built fortress. The fortification was established by the Spanish Army in 1753 at the site of present-day Tubac, Arizona.-Spanish Period:...
to the west where the rest of Company L was. Fort Crittenden
Fort Crittenden
Fort Crittenden, originally Camp Crittenden, was a United States Army post built in 1867 three miles from Sonoita, Arizona along Sonoita Creek. It was established for campaigning against the Apache and to protect American pioneers in the area.-History:...
was later built a half mile east of Fort Buchanan in 1867