Fort Craig was established in the spring of 1854 on the abandonment of
Fort Conrad, nine miles north. It was named in honor of Col. L. S. Craig
who was killed by an army deserter on June 6, 1852. The remains of Fort
Craig are located on the west bank of the Rio Grande about thirty-four
miles south of Socorro and five miles, by dirt road, east of U.S.
Highway 85. The fort was established to afford protection against the
many bands of Apaches that roamed this part of the territory.
Fort Craig was well built and became one of the best-garrisoned military
posts in New Mexico. Built on the usual rectangular plan, the parade
ground was bordered on the northeast by two double officers’ quarters;
on the northwest by the guard house, prison room, and sallyport; on the
southwest by three soldiers’ barracks each in the form of a hollow
square enclosing a patio; and on the southeast by various workshops,
storerooms, stables, and corrals. The commanding officers’ quarters
occupied the west corner of the parade ground and the hospital the east
corner. Behind the commanding officers’ quarters there were three large
bombproof storerooms. The entire installation was enclosed within a high
wall, beyond which a ditch encircled the fort. Gun bastions projected
from the north and south corners.
[Illustration: Remnants of guard house, Fort Craig (built of basalt
blocks)]
Fort Craig was one of the most important military posts in New Mexico.
Its troops participated in many engagements with the Indian. In the fall
of 1861, troops from other posts were concentrated at Fort Craig to meet
the threatened invasion of Confederate forces from the south. In
February 1862, these troops were defeated by the Confederate invaders in
the battle of Val Verde which took place about four miles north of the
fort. Upon the withdrawal of Confederate forces from the territory later
in 1862, the troops at Fort Craig returned to the Indian problem. In
March 1885, the fort was relinquished by the army and the improvements
sold. The last soldier left in August 1885 after government property was
removed and sent to Forts Bliss and Stanton. The buildings were sold at
public auction on April 30, 1894, to the Valverde Land and Irrigation
Company for $1070.50.
Fort Craig is now a ruin, but the outlines of most of the buildings can
still be seen. Portions of the plastered walls of the commanding
officers’ quarters remain, as do portions of the hospital and stone
guard house. The wall and ditch surrounding the fort, gun bastions,
storehouses, and cemetery are still much in evidence. Coal marks the
blacksmith’s shop and broken bottles the sutler’s store. Another
frontier fort has passed into history.