Fort Bliss, C.S.A.
El Paso, El Paso County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Surrendered with property and $20,000 to Texas Confederates on March 21, 1861. From old fort, the South launched the New Mexico-Arizona campaign. Later, Confederates abandoned and destroyed most of fort and equipment, except for hospital and medical supplies left for their sick and wounded. Federals occupied fort, July 4, 1862, and later escorted the recovered patients by horseback and ambulance over 500 miles down the Rio Grande to Fort Clark. Federals held the trans-Pecos area longer than any other part of Texas. (1964)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Fort Bliss was surrendered to Texas Confederates on March 21, 1861, along with $20,000 and its property. From here the South launched its ambitious campaign to seize New Mexico and Arizona. When that drive collapsed, Confederates abandoned and destroyed most of the post—leaving only a hospital for their sick and wounded—before Federal troops reoccupied it on July 4, 1862 and held the trans-Pecos longer than any other part of Texas.
Why it matters
Fort Bliss anchored the Confederacy's bold bid to extend the war to the Pacific, a far-western theater of the Civil War often overshadowed by the battles back East.
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Related events
- · New Mexico-Arizona Campaign
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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