Fort Duncan
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Fort Duncan
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Fort Duncan 1887
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 Location within Texas
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| Location | Maverick County, Texas |
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| Nearest city | Eagle Pass, Texas |
| Coordinates | 28°42′26″N 100°29′57″W / 28.70722°N 100.49917°WCoordinates: 28°42′26″N 100°29′57″W / 28.70722°N 100.49917°W |
| Area | 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) |
| Built | March 27, 1849 |
| NRHP Reference # | 71000954 |
| TSAL # | 460 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 09, 1971 |
| Designated TSAL | 5/28/1981 |
Fort Duncan was a United States Army base, set up to protect the first U.S. settlement on the Rio Grande near the current town of Eagle Pass, Texas.
A line of seven army posts were established in 1848-49 after the Mexican War to protect the settlers of West Texas and included Fort Worth, Fort Graham, Fort Gates, Fort Croghan, Fort Martin Scott, Fort Lincoln and Fort Duncan. Fort Duncan was established on March 27, 1849, when Captain Sidney Burbank occupied the site with companies A, B, and F of the First United States Infantry. On November 14, 1849, the post was named Fort Duncan, after Col. James Duncan, a hero of the Mexican-American War.
The post consisted of a storehouse, two magazines, four officers' quarters, and a stone hospital, in addition to quarters for enlisted men. Construction was done half by the troops and half by hired workers. There was ample stone but no timber for building, and the men suffered from exposure. Company C, 1st Regiment of Artillery, asked permission to construct quarters at its own expense. During the 1850s, Fort Duncan provided merchants and traders protection from border frontier outlaws and Native Americans. The fort also served as a post for scouting Native Americans.
In 1854, Lt.s Philip Sheridan, Zenas Bliss, Richard W. Johnson and Assistant Surgeon Albert J. Myer were stationed here, the Lieutenants after graduating from West Point.
Fort Duncan became involved in an invasion of Mexico on 2 October 1855, when Texas Ranger Captain James H. Callahan led an effort to capture "runaway slaves", but confronted by Mexican regular troops, Seminoles and the ex-slaves, Callahan retreated to Piedras Negras, which caught fire, threatening his force with annihilation until Capt. Burbank covered Callahan's retreat across the Rio Grande with Fort Duncan artillery.
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Wikipedia