Fort Bayard, requested by General Carleton, Commander of the District of New Mexico and given approval by Major General Pope to protect the miners, ranchers,and travelers along the southern trails crossing from Texas to California, was established on August 21 , 1866 by Company B, of the125th Colored Infantry. Under the command of Lt. Kerr an encampment in the Apache homeland was the last fort established in New Mexico. In September, Company M of the 3rd Cavalry arrived. followed by Companies B and E of the 5th Cavalry. Hispanic guides acquainted the troops to southwestern New Mexico and Arizona. Communities such as Santa Clara, Pinos Altos, Silver City, and Bayard received economic benefits from the nearby post.
Army leaders such as Lt. John Pershing, Major Albert Morrow, General George Crook, and Col. Zeniius Bliss were assigned to the frontier military post from 1866 through 1899. Fort Bayard was also home to Native American U,S. Army Scouts, Chinese laundresses and a baker, and Buffalo Soldiers including Chaplain Allensworth and Pvt Walter Loving of the Regimental Band of the 24th Infantry. From those assigned to Fort Bayard several were awarded the Medal of Honor. including Cpl. Clinton Greaves whose statue sculpted by Greg Whipple is located on the parade ground.
From its establishment Fort Bayard experienced dismal moments. In the
years 1870 -71, It was thought to receive orders for abandonment in
favor of keeping Fort Cummings. Lt. Col. Devin who lobbied for
living condition improvements kept alive the idea that Fort Bayard
would become a permanent post. In 1872, an official announcement was
given that made Fort Bayard a permanent post. Several of the old
quarters were dismantled. Only the Quartermaster Storehouses, and
Commissary. which formed part of the Sally Port were kept intact.
Under Quartermaster Orsemus Boyd new quarters were constructed. In
1885, just one year before the surrender of the Apache leader
Geronimo, a new hospital was constructed.
In 1899, as the military post was once again facing abandonment,
Surgeon General Geoprge Sternberg proposed transferring the post to the
Army Medical Department because of its natural healing qualities of the
high altitude and dry sunny climate. Major Appel, surgeon, assumed
command. The remaining 9th Calvary marched out of the military post
leaving their horses in the post corrals.
Transformation commenced. New building were built. Contract female
nurses arrived. Chief Nurse, R.N. Dita Kinney was transferred in 1901
to Washington D.C. to be the 1st Supertintendent of the Army Nurse
Corps. In 1903, Major Bushnell assumed command. Through the efforts of
the medical staff Fort Bayard became the first army sanatorium
dedicated to the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.
During WWI several "gas victims" were sent to Fort Bayard. Following
the war the Veterans Administration was organized. Plans were made for
building a new hospital and it was completed in 1922. During WWII
Fort Bayard served not only as a recovery and rehabilitation hospital
but housed German Prisoners of War that helped maintain the fort while
several of the staff served in Europe and Asia..
The Fort Bayard Cemetery, final resting place for it soldiers since
1866, became a National Cemetery on July 5, 1976.
From 1965, until 2010 the State of New Mexico's Health Department
continued to manage the site as a long-term health care facility. The
officer's quarters and other homes were abandoned before the new
facility was built. Today, the 1922 Veterans' Hospital is marked for
demolition. Will Fort Bayard survive?
Through the efforts of the Fort Bayatrd Historic Preservation Society,
formed in 1997, Fort Bayard was named a New Mexico Historic District
and in 2004 a National Historic Landmark. These designations offer
preservation protection but without restoration and maintenance
Fort Bayard may become another of New Mexico's "Ghost Towns". Will
this be the final chapter of Fort Bayard's History?
With your support during this transission Fort Bayard like a phoenix
will survive. Please help Save Historic Fort Bayard.
CELEBRATE FORT BAYARD'S 149th BIRTHDAY
The Fort Bayard Historic Preservation invites the communities of
southwestern New Mexico and visitors to celebrate the 149th Birthday
of Fort Bayard on August 22. The museum. located in the 1910
Commanding Officer's Quarters on the west side of the Parade Ground,
will open at 9:15. A Walking Tour will begin at 9:30. Throughout the
morning there will be old-fashioned games and toys to experience,
authors and artists to visit, and of course birthday cake.
At 7 PM in the New Deal Theater "1912: A Musical Snapshot of America",
a Concert - Lecture by Jane Voss and Hoyle Osborne,
will begin. The doors will open at 6:30. Singer Jane Voss and
pianist Hoyle Osborne will share many aspects of American life in 1912
through the songs such as "Alexander's Ragtime Band" and others of the
time.
Jane Voss is known to audiences across the United States for her
singing, songwriting and authentic interpretations of classic American
styles. Hoyle Osborne has played ragtime piano on Mississippi river
steamboats, western saloons, and movies. They have collaborated on a
variety of musical presentations of 20th Century American History. This
Chautauqua Program is sponsored by the New Mexico Humanities Council.
All of the 149th Birthday elebration is free of charge. However
donations to help preerve, restore and maintain Fort Bayard National
Historic Landmark are welcomed. For more information please call
575-956-3294 or 575-388-9123