Ft. Union National Monument, NM Oct. 6, 2009

Fort Union National Monument is located 20 miles north of Las Vegas, NM. The ruins of the fort are an impressive memorial to the men and women who won the West. It is difficult, however, to look at these melted adobe walls and the few chimneys that rise above ground level and realize that this was once the largest U.S. military installation on the 19th century southwestern frontier.

Fort Union was on the Santa Fe Trail so it is fitting to have a covered wagon on display. You can almost "see" the long lines of wagon trains coming from the east with settlers and supplies for the new land. This was an army supply wagon.

The post officers and their families lived in nine houses in this row. All but the center building, which was larger and the home of the post commander, were of duplex construction and could house 2 families.

Here is a good view of what the inside of the houses looked like. This sprawling installation took 6 years to build (1863-69) and was the most extensive in the territory. It included not only a military post, with all it attendant structures, but a separate quartermaster depot with warehouses, corrals, shops, offices, and quarters.

The supply function overshadowed that of the military and employed far more men, mostly civilians. Arriving from the east over the Santa Fe Trail, shipments of food, clothing, arms, and ammunition, as well as tools and building materials, were unpacked and stored in warehouses, then assigned as needed to other forts.

Here Bill is standing in the ruts of the Santa Fe Trail, still visible in many areas of northeastern New Mexico. Fort Union, like most southwestern military posts, was not enclosed by a wall or stockade.

This was the mechanics corral where wagons were repaired. Fort Union also had a military prison building and transportation corrals for the thousands of draft animals required each year to supply the frontier army.

The hospital had six wards, 36 beds with a maximum capacity of 60 or more, a surgeon and assistant surgeon with a staff of eight. This made it one of the best hospitals in the West. Soldiers and their families received free care; civilians had to pay about 50 cents a day for their board.