Camp Michie
Del Rio, Val Verde County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The military estabilshed Camp Michie, formerly known as Camp Del Rio, during the 1910s to serve forces assigned to secure the U.S.-Mexico border during the Mexican Revolution. As part of that duty, troops guarded railroad bridges along the border, including the High Bridge across the Pecos River and other strategic points. This task was important, as the tracks were a vital link for moving men and equipment between the Pacific Coast and the Gulf of Mexico during World War I. In 1920, the camp was renamed Camp Michie in honor of Brigadier General Robert Edward Lee Michie, who died in combat in France in 1918. The federal government officially closed the camp and surplused the property in 1923. (2006)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
During the 1910s the Army established Camp Del Rio to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border amid the upheaval of the Mexican Revolution, with troops guarding vital railroad bridges like the High Bridge over the Pecos. Those tracks were a strategic transcontinental link during World War I. In 1920 the post was renamed Camp Michie for Brigadier General Robert E. L. Michie, who was killed in France in 1918, and the government closed it in 1923.
Why it matters
The camp illustrates how border security and the World War I home front intertwined along the Rio Grande, guarding the rail arteries that connected America's coasts.
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Related people
- · Robert Edward Lee Michie
Related events
- · Mexican Revolution
Themes & tags
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