Fort Bowie

Fort Bowie (1862-1894) - Established 28 Jul 1862 by Major Theodore A. Coult, 5th U.S. Infantry, and named for Colonel George W. Bowie, California Volunteer Infantry. Abandoned 17 Oct 1892 and transferred to the Interior Department on 14 Nov 1894. Also known as Camp Bowie (1). Fort Bowie Site from Overlook. Cavalry Barracks Ruins at Fort Bowie. Fort Bowie Commanding Officer Quarters Ruins History Fort Bowie 1880 Established during the U.S. Civil War to protect travel along the Tucson-Mesilla road, to protect the Apache Springs, and to keep Confederate troops out of the region. The post was built of adobe and stone with 412 feet of stone walls. In 1868 the post was moved from its original site to a nearby hill. Fort Bowie and Apache Pass were the focal points of a bitter 30‑year conflict between the U.S. Military and the Chiricahua Apache Indians that ended with the surrender of Geronimo in 1886. The surrendered Chiricahua Apache Indians were moved to reservations in Florida and Alabama. The post was abandoned on 17 Oct 1894, transferred to the Interior Department on 14 Nov 1894 and auctioned off to the public about two years later. The post buildings were sold on 20 Jun 1911 and only the stone walls remained. Fort Bowie Partial Commanders List (edit list) Assumed Relieved Rank Name Cullum Notes 1871-02-13 1871-10 ”Maj. Evans, Andrew W. 1561 1884-06 1888-12-13 ”Maj. Beaumont, Eugene B. 1919 Dates are formatted in yyyy-mm-dd to sort correctly. The Cullum Number is the graduation order from the United States Military Academy by year and class rank and links to a page for the officer on the website version of the Cullum Register. Listings without a Cullum Number indicate that the person was not a graduate of the United States Military Academy. Current Status Ruins were taken over by the National Park Service in 1964 and stabilized. Now Fort Bowie Historic Site. Ruins remain of both forts and the Butterfield Stage Station. Accessible from the towns of Bowie and Wilcox, Arizona. Fort and on-site visitor center accessible from an unmanned trailhead 1.5 miles away. Handicapped access is available. Location: 20 miles East of Wilcox, Cochise County, Arizona. Maps & Images Lat: 32.1443 Long: -109.4362 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 4,550 to 5,250' GPS Locations: 32.1443, -109.4362 Fort Bowie Travel on Hwy 186 to the Bowie turn-off and then 8 miles on unpaved road to the Fort Bowie trailhead. Three-mile, round trip, hike to the fort ruins. Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 34-35 Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 11 Frazer, Robert W., Forts of the West, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman OK, 1965, ISBN 0-8061-1250-6, page 4 Links: North American Forts - Fort Bowie Fort Bowie National Historic Site Wikipedia - Fort Bowie National Park Service Fortification ID: AZ0026 - Fort Bowie AZ0024 - Camp Bowie Visited: 2 Nov 2009 Picture Gallery Fort Bowie Sign Fort Bowie Trailhead Fort Bowie Howitzer Fort Bowie On-Site Visitor Center Fort Bowie Ruins Fort Bowie Ruins & Flagpole Fort Bowie Cavalry Barracks Ruins Ruins at Fort Bowie Fort Bowie Ruins Fort Bowie Commanding Officer's House Ruins Fort Bowie Cavalry Barracks Interior Ruins Fort Bowie Corral & Wagon Remains