In the Southwest, the Apache, feeling encroached upon, attacked ranching and mining operations. The ensuing conflict caused great loss of life to civilian men, women and children - Apache and Anglo alike.
August 21, 1866 - Lt. James M. Kerr, Company B, 125th United States Colored Infantry, ordered his troops to begin building in Apache country near Pinos Altos, New Mexico Territory, a new post to be named after General George Dashiell Bayard, who was killed at the battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Early Fort Bayard
From its early beginning as a cluster of adobe buildings and tents, the fort expanded rapidly. By 1879, the fort boasted a lieutenant colonel, a major, 4 captains, 11 lieutenants, 325 enlisted men (9th Cavalry units of Buffalo Soldiers), a 15th Infantry Company, 14 laundresses, 14 civilian employees, 280 cavalry horses, 89 mules, and 25 Navajo scouts, with their 40 horses.
The Medal of Honor was awarded to enlisted men and officers, including Buffalo Soldiers, for their bravery during the Fort Bayard campaigns.
1886 - Colonel Allen Allensworth, Chaplain of the 24th Infantry, served at Fort Bayard. Born into a slave family, he served as a Chaplain, and taught school for the post's children and soldiers.
1886 - 1900 - Second Lt. John J. Pershing had his first posting at Fort Bayard, with the 6th Cavalry. With the defeat of the Apache, who were forcibly relocated to Florida, hostilities came to an end, and the Army abandoned the post in early 1900.
August 28, 1899 - The War Department authorized Surgeon General of the Army, General George M. Sternberg, to establish a hospital at Fort Bayard for use as a military tuberculosis sanatorium, the first of its kind. That fall, army surgeon, Major Daniel M. Appel, set up the center under the Army Medical Department.
From left: Perico, Geronimo,
Naiche
and Tsishah. 1886
August 21, 1866 - Lt. James M. Kerr, Company B, 125th United States Colored Infantry, ordered his troops to begin building in Apache country near Pinos Altos, New Mexico Territory, a new post to be named after General George Dashiell Bayard, who was killed at the battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Early Fort Bayard
From its early beginning as a cluster of adobe buildings and tents, the fort expanded rapidly. By 1879, the fort boasted a lieutenant colonel, a major, 4 captains, 11 lieutenants, 325 enlisted men (9th Cavalry units of Buffalo Soldiers), a 15th Infantry Company, 14 laundresses, 14 civilian employees, 280 cavalry horses, 89 mules, and 25 Navajo scouts, with their 40 horses.
The Medal of Honor was awarded to enlisted men and officers, including Buffalo Soldiers, for their bravery during the Fort Bayard campaigns.
1886 - Colonel Allen Allensworth, Chaplain of the 24th Infantry, served at Fort Bayard. Born into a slave family, he served as a Chaplain, and taught school for the post's children and soldiers.
1886 - 1900 - Second Lt. John J. Pershing had his first posting at Fort Bayard, with the 6th Cavalry. With the defeat of the Apache, who were forcibly relocated to Florida, hostilities came to an end, and the Army abandoned the post in early 1900.
August 28, 1899 - The War Department authorized Surgeon General of the Army, General George M. Sternberg, to establish a hospital at Fort Bayard for use as a military tuberculosis sanatorium, the first of its kind. That fall, army surgeon, Major Daniel M. Appel, set up the center under the Army Medical Department.
From left: Perico, Geronimo,
Naiche
and Tsishah. 1886
Dita Kinney R.N., who served at Ft. Bayard under Dr. Appel, became the first director of the Army Nurses Corps and supervised the inclusion of female nurses into the Corps.
Left: the Solarium. Right: TB patients
1920 - Fort Bayard was transferred to the United States Public Health Service, and to the Veterans Bureau two years later.
1922 - The Veterans Administration constructed a modern hospital to care for the more than 1,000 patients.
1944 - 100 German prisoners arrived from the Lordsburg P.O.W. camp to Fort Bayard to fill a labor need and to care for the burial grounds, which became a national cemetery in 1974.
1965 - The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs gave Fort Bayard to the State of New Mexico.
2004 - Thanks to efforts of the Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society, Fort Bayard became a National Historic Landmark.
Until the end of 2010, the state operated Fort Bayard as a long-term health-care facility for military and civilian patients. A replacement medical center was completed in late 2010, and staff and patients were transferred to the new facility.
November 2010 - A community effort was underway to join with the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services to use the vacant facilities as a Post-Traumatic-Stress Disorder Center for veterans.
Today - Unlike the majority of military posts of its time, Fort Bayard looks forward to a productive future.
A visit to Fort Bayard is historically rich and abundant in nature on its 468 surrounding acres. Well-maintained trails provide opportunities for hiking, birding, horseback-riding and mountain-biking.
Guided tours of Fort Bayard National Historic Landmark take place at 9:30 a.m. on the second and fourth Saturdays from January through April and October through November, and every Saturday from May through September. For more information, visit the website www.fortbayard.org
For information on ongoing efforts to preserve and utilize Fort Bayard, visit the website www.operationfortbayard.com
Tours - Fort Bayard is open to the public at all times. Follow the signs to the Fort Bayard Theater, near the northeast corner of the hospital, for tour brochures.
Guided Tours of Fort Bayard will be held on the following days of 2010 (or by appointment) and begin at the Fort Bayard Theater at 9:30 am.
Every Saturday in May, June, July, Aug, Sept.
Photo by Adell Kinsman
January 9 and 23;
February 13 and 27;
March 13 and 27;
April 10 and 24;
October 9 and 23;
November 13 and 27;
December 11
Visit Fort Bayard Web Site fortbayard.org
Left: the Solarium. Right: TB patients
1920 - Fort Bayard was transferred to the United States Public Health Service, and to the Veterans Bureau two years later.
1922 - The Veterans Administration constructed a modern hospital to care for the more than 1,000 patients.
1944 - 100 German prisoners arrived from the Lordsburg P.O.W. camp to Fort Bayard to fill a labor need and to care for the burial grounds, which became a national cemetery in 1974.
1965 - The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs gave Fort Bayard to the State of New Mexico.
2004 - Thanks to efforts of the Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society, Fort Bayard became a National Historic Landmark.
Until the end of 2010, the state operated Fort Bayard as a long-term health-care facility for military and civilian patients. A replacement medical center was completed in late 2010, and staff and patients were transferred to the new facility.
November 2010 - A community effort was underway to join with the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services to use the vacant facilities as a Post-Traumatic-Stress Disorder Center for veterans.
Today - Unlike the majority of military posts of its time, Fort Bayard looks forward to a productive future.
A visit to Fort Bayard is historically rich and abundant in nature on its 468 surrounding acres. Well-maintained trails provide opportunities for hiking, birding, horseback-riding and mountain-biking.
Guided tours of Fort Bayard National Historic Landmark take place at 9:30 a.m. on the second and fourth Saturdays from January through April and October through November, and every Saturday from May through September. For more information, visit the website www.fortbayard.org
For information on ongoing efforts to preserve and utilize Fort Bayard, visit the website www.operationfortbayard.com
Tours - Fort Bayard is open to the public at all times. Follow the signs to the Fort Bayard Theater, near the northeast corner of the hospital, for tour brochures.
Guided Tours of Fort Bayard will be held on the following days of 2010 (or by appointment) and begin at the Fort Bayard Theater at 9:30 am.
Every Saturday in May, June, July, Aug, Sept.
Photo by Adell Kinsman
January 9 and 23;
February 13 and 27;
March 13 and 27;
April 10 and 24;
October 9 and 23;
November 13 and 27;
December 11
Visit Fort Bayard Web Site fortbayard.org
© 2010 by Trail of the Mountain Spirits Scenic Byway.