Fort Bascom
Encyclopedia
Fort Bascom, established in 1863, is located in New Mexico
on the Canadian River
slightly west of the Texas
border. The fort was named in honor of Captain George Nicholas Bascom
who was killed during the American Civil War on February 21, 1862 while defending Fort Craig
against Confederate forces in the Battle of Val Verde, New Mexico. It was one of a series of forts established by General James Henry Carleton
to control the Comanches and Kiowas who frequented the Staked Plains of Texas and Rio Grande River. It also was to stop trade of stolen goods by the so called Comancheros.
Kit Carson
engaged the Comanches and Kiowas in the First Battle of Adobe Walls
in the heart of the Texas Panhandle
.
The fort was abandoned in 1870.
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
on the Canadian River
Canadian River
The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and most of Oklahoma....
slightly west of 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...
border. The fort was named in honor of Captain George Nicholas 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...
who was killed during the American Civil War on February 21, 1862 while defending Fort Craig
Fort Craig
Fort Craig was a U.S. Army fort located along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, near Elephant Butte Lake State Park and the Rio Grande in Socorro County, New Mexico....
against Confederate forces in the Battle of Val Verde, New Mexico. It was one of a series of forts established by General James Henry Carleton
James Henry Carleton
James Henry Carleton was an officer in the Union army during the American Civil War. Carleton is most well known as an Indian fighter in the southwestern United States.-Biography:...
to control the Comanches and Kiowas who frequented the Staked Plains of Texas and Rio Grande River. It also was to stop trade of stolen goods by the so called Comancheros.
Kit Carson
Kit Carson
Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson was an American frontiersman and Indian fighter. Carson left home in rural present-day Missouri at age 16 and became a Mountain man and trapper in the West. Carson explored the west to California, and north through the Rocky Mountains. He lived among and married...
engaged the Comanches and Kiowas in the First Battle of Adobe Walls
First Battle of Adobe Walls
The First Battle of Adobe Walls, was a battle between the United States Army and native Americans. The Kiowa, Comanche and Plains Apache tribes drove from the battlefield a United States Expeditionary Force that was reacting to attacks on white settlers moving into the Southwest...
in the heart of the Texas Panhandle
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
.
The fort was abandoned in 1870.