Fort Buchanan, Arizona

Coordinates: 31°39′27″N 110°42′25″W / 31.65750°N 110.70694°W / 31.65750; -110.70694
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Fort Buchanan
Sonoita Creek, Arizona
The ruins of Fort Buchanan in 1914
Coordinates31°39′27″N 110°42′25″W / 31.65750°N 110.70694°W / 31.65750; -110.70694
TypeU.S. Army post
Site information
Controlled by Arizona
ConditionTourist attraction
Site history
Built1856
Built by United States
In use1856–1865
Battles/warsApache Wars
Garrison information
Past
commanders
United States Michael Buckley
OccupantsUnited States United States Army

Fort Buchanan was a US Army post founded in 1856 three miles southwest of present-day Sonoita in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, on the east slope of what is now called Hog Canyon. At the time, the area was under constant threat from hostile Apaches. Full-scale war with the local Chiricahua Apache was initiated by the Bascom affair in early 1861, during which Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom and his patrol were based at Fort Buchanan.

Fort Buchanan Bridge ruins

The post was officially abandoned in 1861, though troops of the California Column occasionally manned the post during the American Civil War. In February 1865, Apaches attacked and burned the fort in the Battle of Fort Buchanan, forcing the small garrison to retreat. It was then abandoned for good, and Fort Crittenden was established half a mile east on the flats in 1867.[1]

After having been lost for years, the ruins of the fort were rediscovered in 1929 by Harry J. Karns, mayor of Nogales, Arizona, and Arizona Superior Court Judge W. A. O'Connor.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Arizona Forts of the American West – Legends of America".
  2. ^ "Old Fort Near Border Found". Arizona Daily Star. August 7, 1930. p. 5. Retrieved May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon