Fort Sumner (4)

Fort Sumner (4) (1862-1869) - A U.S. Army post established in 1862 in De Baca County, New Mexico. Named for Major General Edwin V. Sumner. Abandoned in 1869. Fort Sumner (4) History Fort Sumner was established 30 Nov 1862 at the direction of Brigadier General James H. Carleton as a reservation for Navajo and Mescalero Apache Indians. Colonel Kit Carson, 1st New Mexico Infantry, was charged with bringing the Navajo in from their lands. Carson destroyed the Navajo food crops and they were forced onto the reservation in what became know as the "long Walk". Carson marched some 7,000 Navajo several hundred miles to the new reservation. In 1868 General William T. Sherman was convinced to allow them to return to their own lands. With the Navajo gone, the fort was put up for auction. It was purchased by Lucien B. Maxwell who converted the officer's quarters into a mansion. Billy the Kid was killed in one of the rooms on 14 Jul 1881 and he is reportedly buried in the post cemetery. Current Status New Mexico State Monument. Bosque Redondo Memorial and Fort Sumner State Monument, De Baca County, New Mexico. {"selectable":false,"width":"500"} Location: Fort Sumner, De Baca County, New Mexico. Maps & Images Lat: 34.40404 Long: -104.19916 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 3,970' Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 530 Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2,page 104 Links: North American Forts - Fort Sumner Wikipedia - Fort Sumner Bosque Redondo - long Walk Visited: 21 Apr 2015