Fort Richardson, Texas
Encyclopedia
Fort Richardson was an United States Army
installation located one mile (1.6 km) south of Jacksboro, Texas
. Named in honor of Union General Israel B. Richardson
, who died in the Battle of Antietam
during the American Civil War
, it was active from 1867 to 1878.
. It was one installation in a system of forts along the Texas frontier
to protect and encourage settlement in north central and west Texas
. Other forts in the frontier fort system were Forts Griffin
, Concho
, Belknap
, Chadbourne
, McKavett
, Clark
, and Phantom Hill
in Texas, and Fort Sill
in Oklahoma
.
The original site selection
was ordered for a location near Buffalo Springs in Clay County
approximately 20 miles (32.2 km) north of Fort Richardson. The location proved untenable and unfit for the establishment of a semi-permanent installation. The area lacked timber, adequate water resources, and was still completely hostile territory, with Native Americans
often wreaking havoc in the area. In 1862, the entire town of Henrietta
, northwest of Buffalo Springs, was abandoned because of the lack of security. In short, the area was more than inhospitable. As a result, the Sixth United States Cavalry
moved south to the present location of Fort Richardson.
In 1867, construction began on the 300 acres (121.4 ha) site along Lost Creek at a cost of $800,000. It became the anchor of the frontier fort system, and the last army outpost in north Texas along the military road to Fort Sill. In 1872, with a population of 666 officers and men, it was listed as the largest U.S. Army installation in the United States. The old-time cowboy author Frank H. Maynard
spent time at Fort Richardson in 1872 while he had come to Jacksboro on a cattle drive.
Units that occupied the fort included the U.S. 6th Cavalry Regiment
, U.S. 4th Cavalry Regiment
, and the U.S. 11th Infantry Regiment, along with elements of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment
and 24th Infantry Regiment (United States)
, both Buffalo Soldier
regiments.
Life was hard for a soldier at Fort Richardson, and routine duties included long, arduous patrols along the Texas frontier from Clay and Jack counties west to Palo Duro Canyon
near present-day Amarillo
. Battles with Comanche
and Kiowa
Indians
became commonplace as the cavalry and infantry units sought to prove their ability to repel Indian attacks and allow settlement.
In 1871 while on a tour of the frontier fort system, General William T. Sherman stayed at Fort Richardson and narrowly missed the Warren Wagon Train Raid
. Once General Sherman arrived at Fort Sill, he arrested Kiowa chiefs Satanta
and Big Tree and had them sent to Jacksboro to stand trial
for their role in the massacre. In July 1871, they were tried, convicted, and sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life in prison. They were the first Indians tried and convicted in the Texas civil court system.
Following these events, General Sherman authorized the commander of the Fourth Cavalry, Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie
, to begin offensive operations against Comanches and Kiowas in the Texas Panhandle
. One of these scouting parties fought the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon
in September 1874, an absolute U.S victory that ended the Red River War
with Quanah Parker
's Comanches and Red Warbonnet
's Kiowas. The cavalry captured so much of the tribes' provisions that they were forced to move back to the reservations in Oklahoma before winter. This battle and the total victory for MacKenzie's forces were largely responsible for the end to Comanche and Kiowa raiding along the Texas northern frontier.
. In 1968 extensive renovations began and in 1973, the fort reopened as the Fort Richardson State Historic Park.
Today the site is called Fort Richardson State Park, Historic Site & Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway. Visitors can tour seven restored original buildings, including the post hospital, officers' quarters, powder magazine
, morgue
, commissary
, guardhouse
and bakery. There are also two replica buildings of the enlisted men's barracks
and the officer's barracks, which houses the Interpretive Center. Guided tours of the buildings are held daily.
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...
installation located one mile (1.6 km) south of Jacksboro, Texas
Jacksboro, Texas
Jacksboro is a city in Jack County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,533 at the 2000 census. Jacksboro is located at the junction of U.S...
. Named in honor of Union General Israel B. Richardson
Israel B. Richardson
Israel Bush Richardson was a United States Army officer during the Mexican-American War and American Civil War, where he was a major general in the Union Army...
, who died in the Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
during the American Civil War
American 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...
, it was active from 1867 to 1878.
History
As much as any frontier army installation, Fort Richardson was responsible for the Anglo settlement in north central TexasTexas
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...
. It was one installation in a system of forts along the Texas frontier
Forts of Texas
The Forts of Texas include a number of historical and operational military installations. For over two hundred years, various groups fought over access to or control over the region that is now Texas...
to protect and encourage settlement in north central and 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....
. Other forts in the frontier fort system were Forts Griffin
Fort Griffin
Fort Griffin was a Cavalry fort established in the late 1860s in the northern part of West Texas, specifically northwestern Shackelford County, to give settlers protection from early Comanche and Kiowa raids...
, Concho
Fort Concho
Fort Concho is a National Historic Landmark owned and operated since 1935 by the city of San Angelo, the seat of Tom Green County in West Texas...
, Belknap
Fort Belknap (Newcastle, Texas)
Fort Belknap, located near Newcastle, Texas, was established in 1851 by brevet Brigadier William G. Belknap to protect the Texas frontier against raids by the Kiowa and Comanche. It was the northernmost fort in a line from the Rio Grande to the Red River...
, Chadbourne
Fort Chadbourne
Fort Chadbourne was a fort established by the United States Army on October 28, 1852, in what is now Coke County, Texas, to protect the western frontier and the Butterfield Overland Mail route. It was manned by the 8th U.S. Infantry...
, McKavett
Fort McKavett State Historic Site
Fort McKavett State Historic Site is a state park in Menard County, Texas, United States. Fort McKavett was a frontier fort established as Camp San Saba in 1852 to protect settlers from Indian raids...
, Clark
Fort Clark, Texas
Fort Clark was a frontier fort that later became the headquarters for the 2nd Cavalry Division.-Founding:The land that became Fort Clark was owned by Samuel A. Maverick at the time its potential for military development was recognized by William H.C. Whiting and William F. Smith in 1849...
, and Phantom Hill
Fort Phantom Hill
Fort Phantom Hill was an United States Army and Confederate Army installation located at the Clear Fork of the Brazos River in Jones County, Texas. The fort was active from 1852 to 1853 and again from 1856 until the 1890s....
in Texas, and Fort Sill
Fort Sill
Fort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...
in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
.
The original site selection
Site selection
Site Selection indicates the practice of new facility location, both for business and government. Site selection involves measuring the needs of a new project against the merits of potential locations...
was ordered for a location near Buffalo Springs in Clay County
Clay County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,006 people, 4,323 households, and 3,181 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile . There were 4,992 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile...
approximately 20 miles (32.2 km) north of Fort Richardson. The location proved untenable and unfit for the establishment of a semi-permanent installation. The area lacked timber, adequate water resources, and was still completely hostile territory, with Native Americans
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...
often wreaking havoc in the area. In 1862, the entire town of Henrietta
Henrietta, Texas
Henrietta is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,264 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, northwest of Buffalo Springs, was abandoned because of the lack of security. In short, the area was more than inhospitable. As a result, the Sixth United States Cavalry
U.S. 6th Cavalry Regiment
The 6th Cavalry is a historic regiment of the United States Army that began as a regiment of cavalry in the American Civil War. It currently is organized into aviation squadrons that are assigned to several different combat aviation brigades.-Civil War:The 6th U.S...
moved south to the present location of Fort Richardson.
In 1867, construction began on the 300 acres (121.4 ha) site along Lost Creek at a cost of $800,000. It became the anchor of the frontier fort system, and the last army outpost in north Texas along the military road to Fort Sill. In 1872, with a population of 666 officers and men, it was listed as the largest U.S. Army installation in the United States. The old-time cowboy author Frank H. Maynard
Frank H. Maynard
Francis Henry Maynard, known as Frank H. Maynard , was an old-time cowboy of the American West who claimed authorship of the revised version of the well-known ballad, "The Streets of Laredo". After a decade of roaming the West, Maynard settled down with his wife, the former Flora V...
spent time at Fort Richardson in 1872 while he had come to Jacksboro on a cattle drive.
Units that occupied the fort included the U.S. 6th Cavalry Regiment
U.S. 6th Cavalry Regiment
The 6th Cavalry is a historic regiment of the United States Army that began as a regiment of cavalry in the American Civil War. It currently is organized into aviation squadrons that are assigned to several different combat aviation brigades.-Civil War:The 6th U.S...
, U.S. 4th Cavalry Regiment
U.S. 4th Cavalry Regiment
The 4th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, whose lineage is traced back to the mid-19th century. It was one of the most effective units of the Army against Indians on the Texas frontier. Today the regiment exists as separate squadrons within the U.S. Army...
, and the U.S. 11th Infantry Regiment, along with elements of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment
U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment
The 10th Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. Formed as a segregated African-American unit, the 10th Cavalry was one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments. It served in combat during the Indian Wars in the western United States, the Spanish-American War in Cuba and in the...
and 24th Infantry Regiment (United States)
24th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 24th Infantry Regiment was a unit of the United States Army, active from 1869 until 1951, and again from 1995 until 2006. The regiment is notable for having a colorfully checkered history, with a record of mostly meritorious service and valorous combat performance interspersed with episodes of...
, both Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas....
regiments.
Life was hard for a soldier at Fort Richardson, and routine duties included long, arduous patrols along the Texas frontier from Clay and Jack counties west to Palo Duro Canyon
Palo Duro Canyon
Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the city of Amarillo, Texas, United States. As the second largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly long and has an average width of , but reaches a width of at places. Its depth is around...
near present-day Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
. Battles with 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 Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
Indians
Plains Indians
The Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. Their colorful equestrian culture and resistance to White domination have made the Plains Indians an archetype in literature and art for American Indians everywhere.Plains...
became commonplace as the cavalry and infantry units sought to prove their ability to repel Indian attacks and allow settlement.
In 1871 while on a tour of the frontier fort system, General William T. Sherman stayed at Fort Richardson and narrowly missed the Warren Wagon Train Raid
Warren Wagon Train Raid
The Warren Wagon Train Raid, also known as the Salt Creek Massacre, occurred on May 18, 1871. Henry Warren was contracted to haul supplies to forts in the west of Texas, including Fort Richardson, Fort Griffin, and Fort Concho. Traveling down the Jacksboro-Belknap road heading towards Salt Creek...
. Once General Sherman arrived at Fort Sill, he arrested Kiowa chiefs Satanta
Satanta (White Bear)
This article refers to the Kiowa chief Satanta. For the Irish hero Sétanta, please see Cú Chulainn.Satanta was a Kiowa war chief. He was a member of the Kiowa tribe, he was born around 1820, during the height of the power of the Plains Tribes, probably along the Canadian River in the traditional...
and Big Tree and had them sent to Jacksboro to stand trial
Trial of Satanta and Big Tree
The Trial of Satanta and Big Tree occurred in July 1871 in the town of Jacksboro in Jack County, Texas, Texas, United States. This historic trial of Native American War Chiefs of the Kiowa Indians Satanta and Big Tree for the murder of seven teamsters during a raid on Salt Creek Prairie near...
for their role in the massacre. In July 1871, they were tried, convicted, and sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life in prison. They were the first Indians tried and convicted in the Texas civil court system.
Following these events, General Sherman authorized the commander of the Fourth Cavalry, Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie
Ranald S. Mackenzie
Ranald Slidell Mackenzie was a career United States Army officer and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, described by General Ulysses S. Grant as its most promising young officer...
, to begin offensive operations against Comanches and Kiowas in 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...
. One of these scouting parties fought the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon
Battle of Palo Duro Canyon
The Battle of Palo Duro Canyon was a significant United States victory that brought about the end of the Red River War.-Background:Ever since the summer of 1874 the Comanches, Cheyenne and Kiowas had sought refuge in Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas panhandle. There they had been stockpiling food and...
in September 1874, an absolute U.S victory that ended the Red River War
Red River War
The Red River War was a military campaign launched by the United States Army in 1874, as part of the Comanche War, to remove the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Native American tribes from the Southern Plains and forcibly relocate them to reservations in Indian Territory...
with Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker was a Comanche chief, a leader in the Native American Church, and the last leader of the powerful Quahadi band before they surrendered their battle of the Great Plains and went to a reservation in Indian Territory...
's Comanches and Red Warbonnet
Red Warbonnet
According to tribal history, Red Warbonnet was a Kiowa. Red Warbonnet died in 1849, according to the Kiowa calendar of a cholera epidemic. Red Warbonnet II pronounced in Kiowa as Tan-guadal was the hereditary owner of the arrow lance and owner of the morning star tipi of the Kiowa Tribe in...
's Kiowas. The cavalry captured so much of the tribes' provisions that they were forced to move back to the reservations in Oklahoma before winter. This battle and the total victory for MacKenzie's forces were largely responsible for the end to Comanche and Kiowa raiding along the Texas northern frontier.
Abandonment and Reuse
Following this decisive victory, the army no longer saw a need to maintain Fort Richardson and abandoned the post in May 1878. The 55 buildings, many made of stone and cottonwood lumber, fell into disrepair. Thanks to an intrepid group of Jacksboro residents, the fort was declared a state historic site in 1963 and came under the management of the Texas Parks and Wildlife DepartmentTexas Parks and Wildlife Department
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and historical areas...
. In 1968 extensive renovations began and in 1973, the fort reopened as the Fort Richardson State Historic Park.
Today the site is called Fort Richardson State Park, Historic Site & Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway. Visitors can tour seven restored original buildings, including the post hospital, officers' quarters, powder magazine
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
, morgue
Morgue
A morgue or mortuary is used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification, or removal for autopsy or disposal by burial, cremation or otherwise...
, commissary
Commissary
A commissary is someone delegated by a superior to execute a duty or an office; in a formal, legal context, one who has received power from a legitimate superior authority to pass judgment in a certain cause or to take information concerning it.-Word history:...
, guardhouse
Guardhouse
A guardhouse is a building used to house personnel and security equipment...
and bakery. There are also two replica buildings of the enlisted men's barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
and the officer's barracks, which houses the Interpretive Center. Guided tours of the buildings are held daily.
External links
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Fort Richardson site
- Fort Tours
- City of Jacksboro Chamber of Commerce
- Fort Richardson Handbook of Texas OnlineHandbook of TexasThe Handbook of Texas is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association .-History:...