Fort Hudson (1)

 (1856-1877) - First established as Camp Hudson on Devil's River in September 1856 by Captain Charles C. Gilbert and elements of Company B, 1st U.S. Infantry and named for 2nd Lt. Walter W. Hudson who died 19 Apr 1850 as a result of action against hostile Indians. Reestablished in June 1857 as Camp Hudson by 1st Lt. Theodore Fink, 8th U.S. Infantry. Abandoned by Federal forces during the U.S. Civil War and intermittently used by Confederate forces. Reestablished as Fort Hudson in May 1867 by Bvt Major William Bayard, 9th U.S. Cavalry and abandoned in March 1868. Some use between 1871 and 1877.

History
Camp Hudson on Devil's River was initially established in September 1856 to protect settlers and travelers along the San Antonio to El Paso Roads along with Fort Lancaster, a community at San Felipe Springs, Fort Clark, and Fort Inge. The post was situated on the San Antonio-El Paso Road 202 miles from San Antonio at the second crossing of the Devil's River. The post was used intermittently over about a twenty-year period whenever hostilities erupted or were anticipated. The troops fought hostile Indians on several occasions and sometimes pursued them into Mexico. Two military escorts were killed in an attack on a stage from Fort Hudson to Fort Stockton in 1867. During the U.S. Civil War the post was abandoned by Federal troops and occupied by the Confederate 2nd Texas Cavalry who used it as a supply base.

Available post returns indicate several periods of activity:


 * Sep 1856 - Oct 1856 Initial establishment as Camp Hudson on Devil's River.
 * 7 Jun 1857 - 17 Mar 1861 Reestablished as Camp Hudson, 8th U.S. Infantry.
 * 28 May 1867 - 12 Apr 1868 Reestablished Fort Hudson by two companies of the 9th U.S. Cavalry.

Other sources indicate some later periods of activity from 1871 to January 1877 when the post was garrisoned with as many as two companies of Cavalry. (Note: Sources conflict about this period and many of the basic facts)

Current Status
Private property with no remaining buildings. A marker entitled "Site of Camp Hudson" was placed here in 1936 by the Texas Historical Commission, status unknown. A second marker entitled "Camp Hudson, C.S.A." was placed in at the Val Verde County Courthouse Square in Del Rio.

See Also:
 * San Antonio to El Paso Roads

Sources:
 * , page 161.
 * , page 765.
 * The Texas Handbook OnLine
 * Ancestry.com. U.S., Returns from Military Posts, 1806-1916 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA (by Subscription)

Links: 
 * North American Forts - Camp Hudson
 * San Antonio-El Paso Road
 * U.S. Army on the Texas Frontier
 * Wikipedia - Camp Hudson