Site of Fort McKavett
Menard, Menard County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Established March 14, 1852 by the United States war department as a protection to frontier settlers against hostile Indians. Named in honor of Captain Henry McKavett, who fell at the Battle of Monterrey, September 21, 1846. Evacuated by federal troops, March 22, 1859. Reoccupied April 1, 1868. Abandoned June 30, 1883.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The U.S. War Department established Fort McKavett in 1852 to shield frontier settlers from raids, naming it for Captain Henry McKavett, who had fallen at the Battle of Monterrey in the Mexican-American War. Federal troops abandoned it in 1859, reoccupied it after the Civil War in 1868, and finally closed it in 1883 as settlement and the railroads pushed the frontier westward. Its life span traces the arc of the U.S. Army's presence on the West Texas frontier.
Why it matters
Fort McKavett was one link in the chain of frontier posts through which the Army policed the edge of Anglo-American settlement, and its opening and closing mark the frontier's westward march.
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Related people
- · Henry McKavett
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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