Welcome to the Hidden History of Texas. This is Episode 45 – Texas Frontier Forts 1848-1849 -  I’m your host and guide Hank Wilson. And as always, brought to you by Ashby Navis and Tennyson Media Publishers, producers of  a comprehensive catalog of  audiobooks and high-quality games, productivity, and mental health apps. Visit AshbyNavis.com for more information.

After and actually during the War with Mexico, the United States began the process of establishing Army posts or forts in Texas. The first of these  Fort Polk and Fort Brown had been established during the war against Mexico, almost at the mouth of the Rio Grande and the Gulf of Mexico.  In 1849 Maj. Gen. George Mercer Brooke,  assumed command of the Military Department for Texas and  began working on ensuring that Mexico understood the United States was claiming authority along the southern border of Texas. To do so, he placed Ringgold Barracks, Fort McIntosh, and Fort Duncan along the Rio Grande.

After those forts were in place, he then moved to protect the western frontier. In order to accomplish that he established Fort Inge, Fort Lincoln, Fort Martin Scott, Fort Croghan, Fort Gates, Fort Graham, and Fort Worth. In this episode I want to look at 4 of those forts, Fort Martin Scott (December 1848), Fort Inge (March 13, 1849), Fort Croghan (March 16, 1849), and Fort Worth (June 6, 1849).

The first of those, Fort Martin Scott, my favorite of all the forts, because my great-great grandfather was actually stationed there and it’s how part of my family came into existence in Texas.

Located in the heart of the Texas Hill Country just outside of Fredericksburg Texas, is Fort Martin Scott. It was founded on December 5, 1848, when Captain Seth Eastman of the 1st U.S. Infantry, one of the 1st U.S. Army post on the western frontier and named  it  Camp Houston. This fort served as protection for the mostly German settlers in the area and also helped protect the Fredericksburg – San Antonio Road. Eastman stayed at the camp until February of 1849 when he was sent to establish what was to become Fort Inge.

Fort Martin Scott, then  Camp Houston,  started with 2 companies of infantry and one of dragoons. In 1847 Germans who had settled the area had entered into peace treaties with the Comanches; however, those treaties were in danger as more Anglo settlers moved into the region. The camp was formally renamed to Fort Martin Scott in December of 1849 in memory of Major Martin Scott who was killed in action at the battle of Molina del Rey in 1847.  Over time the influx of white settlers led to an increase of tension between the parties and in 1850 several tribes met near the San Saba River. At that time Indian agent John Rollins, with an escort provided by Captain Hamilton W. Merrill met with the tribes and drew up the Fort Martin Scott Treaty.

Due to people moving further west Fort Martin Scott began to lose its tactical value and finally in 1853 Colonel W.G. Freeman recommended the fort be closed and in December 1853, the 8th Military Department ordered that it be closed. The preserved fort can be visited and is now the property of the Fredericksburg Heritage Association.

Next to come into existence was Fort Inge, located on the east bank of the Leona River south of Uvalde. The area’s primary natural  identifier is a 140 foot volcanic plug of phonolite basalt. Some archeologists believe the area has been occupied by one group or another since around 6,000 BC. Several ranches also existed in the region during both the Spanish colonial and the Mexican periods of Texas.

On March 13,  1849, Captain Seth Eastman along with some 56 soldiers of the 1st United States Infantry established a base camp on the Leona. In December of that year, the post was renamed Fort Inge in honor of Lt. Zebulon Inge, a West Point graduate who served in the U.S. Second Dragoons and had been killed during the Battle of Resaca de la Palma.